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25LSO-0671
2025
STATE OF WYOMING
25LSO-0671
Introduced
2.0
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0286
Mountain lion hunting season-changes.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Schmid, Allemand, Haroldson, Webber, Wharff and Winter and Senator(s) Driskill
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to game and fish; requiring an annual mountain lion hunting season; prohibiting hunt areas, hunt area mortality limits, statewide mortality limits, bag limits and hours for taking mountain lions for mountain lion hunting seasons; specifying that a mountain lion may be taken during any hour of the day; requiring the game and fish commission to establish possession tags for mountain lions as specified; authorizing mountain lions to be trapped or snared; authorizing persons with other specified licenses to take mountain lions; repealing mountain lion pursuit seasons; providing definitions; making conforming amendments; requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
.
W.S. 23
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2
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110 is created to read:
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2
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110.
Mountain lion hunting season; prohibitions; definitions.
(a)
For purposes of this section:
(i)
"Bag limit" means the maximum number of mountain lions that may be taken by a person with a valid license;
(ii)
"Hunt area" means the area within a defined geographic boundary where a person may take a mountain lion with a valid license;
(iii)
"Hunt area mortality limit" means the number of mountain lions that may be taken within a hunt area;
(iv)
"Statewide mortality limit" means the number of mountain lions that may be taken within the state per year.
(b)
The mountain lion hunting season shall begin September 1 and end August 31 of each year.
(c)
For any mountain lion hunting season, the commission shall not:
(i)
Establish hunt areas;
(ii)
Impose hunt area mortality limits, statewide mortality limits or bag limits;
(iii)
Impose hours that a person may take a mountain lion with a valid license. A person may take a mountain lion with a valid license during any hour of the day.
(d)
Any person with a valid antelope, deer or elk license may take a mountain lion without a valid mountain lion license.
Section 2.
W.S. 23
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302(a)(ii) and by creating a new paragraph (xxxiv), 23
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102(d), 23
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3
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109(a) and 23
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304(a) are amended to read:
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1
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302.
Powers and duties.
(a)
The commission is directed and empowered:
(ii)
To establish zones and areas in which trophy game animals
except mountain lions as provided by W.S. 23
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110
may be taken as game animals with a license or, with the exception of gray wolves,
in the same manner as predatory animals
without a license, giving proper regard to the livestock and game industries in those particular areas;
(xxxiv)
To establish possession tags to be provided to a person who killed a mountain lion with a valid license before the skull and pelt of the mountain lion may be sold, gifted or mounted.
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102.
Taking certain game animals without license or during a closed season prohibited.
(d)
Any person who knowingly takes any antlered elk, antlered deer, antlered moose, horned antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mountain lion, grizzly bear or black bear without the proper license or during a closed season
and any person who knowingly kills a mountain lion during a mountain lion pursuit season,
except as otherwise permitted by this act, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both. A third or subsequent conviction within ten (10) years for a violation of this subsection shall constitute a felony punishable by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), imprisonment for not more than two (2) years, or both. For the purposes of determining whether a violation of this subsection is a felony, convictions resulting from the same occurrence shall be considered a single conviction even if the result of the occurrence is more than one (1) misdemeanor conviction. The provisions of W.S. 6
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101(a) shall not apply to convictions under this section.
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109.
Use of dogs; dogs injuring big or trophy game animals may be killed; citation of owners of dogs harassing game animals; penalties; leashed dogs for tracking.
(a)
No person shall use any dog to hunt, run or harass any big or trophy game animal, protected animal or furbearing animal except as otherwise provided by this act. The commission shall regulate the use of dogs to take mountain lions and bobcats by residents and nonresidents during hunting or trapping seasons.
The commission shall regulate the use of dogs to pursue mountain lions by residents during hunting or trapping seasons.
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304.
Certain trapping devices unlawful; game for bait prohibited; baiting big game animals prohibited; penalties.
(a)
No person shall take or wound any game animal, game bird, or game fish by use of any pit, pitfall, net, trap, deadfall, poison, or other similar device except as otherwise provided. From and after the date gray wolves are removed from the list of experimental nonessential population, endangered species or threatened species in Wyoming as provided by W.S. 23
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108, gray wolves may be taken with a trap or snare only as allowed by and in accordance with rules and regulations of the commission.
Mountain lions may be taken with a trap or snare only as allowed by and in accordance with rules and regulations of the commission.
Section 3.
W.S. 23
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302(a)(xxxiii) and 23
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307(c) are repealed.
Section 4
.
The game and fish commission shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.
Section 5.
(a)
Except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2025.
(b)
Sections 4 and 5 of this act are effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.
(END)
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HB0286