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25LSO-0703
ORIGINAL House
ENGROSSED
Bill No
.
HB0275
ENROLLED ACT NO. 46,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2025 General Session
AN ACT relating to crimes and offenses; providing a misdemeanor offense and amending the offense of felony animal cruelty to address actions where wildlife is reduced to possession; prohibiting the torture of wildlife as specified; specifying the required treatment of certain wildlife; specifying penalties; providing for license revocation and suspension and forfeiture of devices and equipment for specified convictions; clarifying trapping requirements; removing a reporting requirement; providing definitions; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
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W.S. 6
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1001(a) by creating new paragraphs (iv) through (vi), 6
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1004 by creating a new subsection (c), 6
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1005(a)(intro), (i), (ii), by creating a new paragraph (iii) and by creating a new subsection (c), 23
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103(a) and by creating new subsections (d) and (e), 23
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306 by creating a new subsection (j) and 23
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206(a)(intro) and (iii) are amended to read:
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1001.
Definitions.
(a)
As used in this article:
(iv)
"Predacious bird" means as defined in W.S. 23
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101(a)(vii);
(v)
"Predatory animal" means as defined in W.S. 23
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101(a)(viii);
(vi)
"Wildlife" means as defined in W.S. 23
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101(a)(xiii). "Wildlife" shall not include amphibians, crustaceans, fish, mollusks and reptiles.
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1004.
Penalties; misdemeanor offenses.
(c)
A first offense of cruelty to animals under W.S. 6
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1005(a)(iii) and 23
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103(d) is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both. The person shall also be subject to revocation and suspension of licenses and privileges as provided in W.S. 6
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1005(c) and 23
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103(d).
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1005.
Felony cruelty to animals; penalty.
(a)
Except as provided in W.S. 6
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1004(c) and paragraph (a)(iii) of this section a
person commits felony cruelty to animals if the person:
(i)
Commits cruelty to animals as defined in W.S. 6
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1002(a)(v) through (ix), that results in the death or required euthanasia of the animal;
or
(ii)
Knowingly, and with intent to cause death or undue suffering, beats with cruelty, tortures, torments or mutilates an animal
; or
(iii)
Knowingly, and with intent to cause undue suffering, tortures, torments or mutilates living wildlife, including predatory animals and predacious birds, after reducing the living wildlife to possession. For purposes of this paragraph:
(A)
The immediate killing of living wildlife reduced to possession shall not be a violation of this paragraph;
(B)
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to require an owner of a trap or snare to check the trap or snare before the time required in title 23 of the Wyoming statutes and rules promulgated by the game and fish commission. Wildlife discovered in a snare or trap shall be considered within the possession of the owner of the snare or trap upon discovery by the owner;
(C)
A first offense of cruelty to animals under this paragraph and W.S. 23
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103(d) is a misdemeanor punishable as provided in W.S. 6
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1004(c). A second or subsequent offense under this paragraph or W.S. 23
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103(d) is punishable as provided by subsections (b) and (c) of this section
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(c)
Upon a conviction of a first or subsequent violation of paragraph (a)(iii) of this section and W.S. 23
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103(d) and in addition to any penalty specified in subsection (b) of this section, the court may revoke any license issued under title 23 of the Wyoming statutes and suspend a person's privilege to purchase or receive any other license as specified in title 23 of the Wyoming statutes or to take any wildlife under W.S. 23
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206(a)(iii).
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103.
Taking predatory animals, predacious birds and trophy animals; taking furbearing animals and game birds without license prohibited.
(a)
Predatory animals and predacious birds may be taken without a license in any manner and at any time except as provided by W.S.
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1005(a)(iii),
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303(d) and (e), 23
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112, 23
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304(b), 23
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305, 23
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306(b) and 23
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307
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. The department shall report annually to the Wyoming department of agriculture the number of predatory animals and predacious birds taken by the department's animal damage control agents, and include in the report the area where taken and the control method used
provided that any predatory animal or predacious bird reduced to possession shall be promptly killed or released subject to subsection (d) of this section
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(d)
No person shall knowingly, and with intent to cause undue suffering, torture, torment or mutilate living wildlife, including predatory animals and predacious birds, after reducing the living wildlife to possession. A person violating this subsection shall be liable under W.S. 6
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1004(c) for a first offense and under W.S. 6
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1005(a)(iii), (b) and (c) for a second or subsequent offense. Upon any conviction of a violation of this subsection the court may revoke any license issued under this act and suspend a person's privilege to purchase or receive any other license under this act or to take any wildlife as provided under W.S. 23
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206(a)(iii). For purposes of this subsection, "wildlife" means as defined by W.S. 6
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1001(a)(vi).
(e)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an owner of a trap or snare to check the trap or snare before the time required in title 23 of the Wyoming statutes and rules promulgated by the game and fish commission. Wildlife discovered in a snare or trap shall be considered within the possession of the owner of the snare or trap upon discovery by the owner.
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306.
Use of aircraft, automobiles, motorized and snow vehicles and artificial light for hunting or fishing prohibited; exceptions; penalties.
(j)
Any person who pursues a predatory animal or predacious bird by use of any vehicle or other conveyance specified in subsection (a) of this section and injures or incapacitates the predatory animal or predacious bird shall make a reasonable effort to immediately kill the injured or incapacitated animal. This subsection shall not apply to governmental agencies or their employees, contractors or designees while using any aircraft to perform their lawful duties. As used in this subsection, "incapacitate" means injury or a state of physical exhaustion to the point the animal has ceased to attempt to elude the vehicle or other conveyance.
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206.
Revocation of license; hunting after suspended license.
(a)
The court may, in its discretion, revoke any license issued under this act to any person convicted of a violation of this act
or W.S. 6
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1005(a)(iii)
, for the remainder of the year in which the conviction occurs, and may suspend the person's privilege to purchase or receive any other license under this act, or to take any wildlife for the following time periods provided in paragraphs (i) through (iii) and shall suspend the person's privilege to purchase or receive any other license under this act for the time period provided in paragraph (iv) of this subsection:
(iii)
Up to three (3) years for conviction of a low misdemeanor as provided in W.S. 23
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202(a)(v)
or for conviction of a violation of W.S. 6
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1005(a)(iii) or 23
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103(d)
;
Section 2
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This act is effective July 1, 2025
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(END)
Speaker of the House
President of the Senate
Governor
TIME APPROVED: _________
DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.
Chief Clerk
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