169.19 Bird hunting preserve licenses.

(1) Issuance. The department shall issue a Class A or a Class B bird hunting preserve license to any person who files a proper application and who pays the applicable fee.

(2) Authorization.

(a) A Class A or a Class B bird hunting preserve license authorizes all of the following:

1. Possessing, stocking, propagating, releasing into the wild, selling, and purchasing of live wild birds of the species authorized under par. (b) by the holder of the license.

2. Hunting or taking of released wild birds of those species that have been stocked in the preserve by the holder of the license and other persons authorized by the holder.

(b) The department may authorize any of the following species of live wild birds under a Class A or a Class B bird hunting preserve license:

1. Pheasants of the species Phasianus colchicus or the species Syrmaticus reevesii.

2. Quail that are of the subfamily Odontophorinae.

3. Gray partridge.

4. Chukar partridge.

5. Red-legged partridge.

6. Mallard ducks that are bred in captivity.

7. Wild turkeys, if the wild turkeys are located outside a wild turkey hunting zone established under s. 29.164.

(c) The department shall specify on the license the species of wild birds that the department authorizes under the license.

(3) Regulation of number of birds.

(a) A person holding a bird hunting preserve license may not allow the number of wild birds of a given species in the preserve that are killed or taken in a given year to exceed the number of captive wild birds of that species that have been stocked in the preserve for that license year.

(b) A Class A bird hunting preserve license authorizes the person holding the license to possess any number of the species specified in sub. (2) (b) 2. to 7. and requires the person to stock at least 1,001 adult pheasants in the preserve during the license year.

(c) A Class B bird hunting preserve license authorizes the person holding the license to possess any number of the species specified in sub. (2) (b) 2. to 7. and prohibits the person from stocking more than 1,000 adult pheasants in the preserve. A holder of a Class B bird hunting preserve license possessing pheasants under the license shall stock a minimum of one adult pheasant per 4 acres that are within the boundaries of the licensed preserve during the license year.

(d) A municipality or county may not limit the number of wild birds that are released into the wild under the authority of a bird hunting preserve license.

(4) Requirements for mallard ducks. A person possessing mallard ducks under the authority of a bird hunting preserve license may possess only mallard ducks that are bred in captivity and shall identify them as required under 50 CFR 21.13 (b). The person shall house the mallard ducks in pens that are covered and maintained to prevent free-roaming wild waterfowl from being attracted to the pens with the mallard ducks that are being bred.

(4m) Restrictions on hen pheasants. A person holding a Class B bird hunting preserve license may not allow the hunting or taking of hen pheasants beginning on December 15 of each year and ending on the following March 31 within the boundaries of the licensed preserve if the preserve is located totally or partially within a pheasant management zone, as established by the department, for purposes of s. 29.191.

(5) Exemption from hunting restrictions.

(a) A person hunting or taking wild birds on a bird hunting preserve that have been stocked on the preserve is exempt from having any approval issued under ch. 29.

(b) Except as provided in par. (c), a person hunting or taking wild birds on a bird hunting preserve that have been stocked on the preserve is exempt from any closed season restrictions, bag limits, or other conditions or restrictions established by the department under s. 29.014 (1) or 29.192.

(c) A person hunting mallard ducks shall comply with rules promulgated by the department under ss. 29.014 and 29.192 governing the hunting of waterfowl.

(6) Rules. The department may promulgate rules to establish additional standards, limitations, and requirements for bird hunting preserve licenses and for bird hunting preserves.

History: 2001 a. 56; 2011 a. 32.