Section 10.02. Protected wild animals.

  The following wild animals are designated protected. No person may take, attempt to take, transport or possess any protected wild animal at any time unless expressly authorized by the department.

(1)  

(a) Except as provided in par. (b) , cougar, Canada lynx, badger, moose, gray wolf, wolverine and flying squirrel.

(b) On private land, the landowner, lessee or occupant of the land, or any other person with permission of the landowner, lessee or occupant may shoot and kill any gray wolf or cougar in the act of killing, wounding or biting a domestic animal. Shootings shall be reported within 24 hours to a department conservation warden. The carcass of the wolf or cougar shall be turned over to the department.

(2)  Endangered or threatened species listed in ch. NR 27 .

(3)  Albino and white deer which have a coat of all white hair except that the hair on the tarsal glands, head or parts of the head may be a color other than white. For the purposes of this paragraph, white hair that has been discolored or stained by blood, soil or similar materials shall continue to be considered white hair.

(4)  Woodchuck except as provided in s. 29.337 , Stats.

(5)  Prairie chicken, Canada spruce grouse (spruce hen), swans, cranes, bitterns, plovers, kingfishers, cormorants, herons, sandpipers and grebes.

(6)  Eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls except as provided in ch. NR 18 .

(7)  Hen pheasants except as expressly provided in this chapter, or in ch. 29 or 169 , Stats.

(8)  Any other wild bird not specified in this chapter.

(9)  Timber rattlesnake of the species Crotalus horridus , except that a timber rattlesnake may be killed in emergency situations involving an immediate threat to human life or domestic animals. It is requested that each person who kills a rattlesnake under this provision provide to the department no later than 48 hours after the kill, not to include Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, factual information related to the kill including the location, date of the kill and the name and address of the person who killed it.

(10)  Gophersnakes Pituophis catenifer , gray ratsnakes Pantherophis spiloides , and the North American racers Coluber constrictor .

(11)  Blanding's turtles Emydoidea blandingii .

1-2-56 ; am. (2), Register, August, 1956, No. 8 , eff. 9-1-56; am. (1), Register, August, 1957, No. 20 , eff. 9-1-57; am. (1) and (2), Register, August, 1958, No. 32 , eff. 9-1-58; am. (1) emerg. eff. 9-20-58; am. (1), Register, August, 1959, No. 44 , eff. 9-1-59; am. (2), cr. (3), Register, September, 1965, No. 117 , eff. 10-1-65; am. (2), Register, March, 1966, No. 123 , eff. 4-1-66; am. (1), Register, August, 1967, No. 140 , eff. 9-1-67; renum. to be NR 10.02; am. (2), Register, June, 1970, No. 174 , eff. 7-1-70; am. (1), Register, September, 1972, No. 201 , eff. 10-1-72; r. (3), Register, December, 1977, No. 264 , eff. 1-1-78; r. and recr. Register, August, 1979, No. 284 , eff. 9-1-79; am. (1), Register, September, 1983, No. 333 , eff. 10-1-83; am. (1), Register, July, 1985, No. 355 , eff. 8-1-85; cr. (intro.) Register, September, 1985, No. 357 , eff. 10-1-85; r. and recr. (3), Register, August, 1996, No. 488 , eff. 9-1-96; cr. (9), Register, March, 1998, No. 507 , eff. 4-1-98; am. (1), Register, September, 1998, No. 513 , eff. 10-1-98; cr. (10), Register, May, 2000, No. 533 , eff. 6-1-00; am. (5), Register, September, 2000, No. 537 , eff. 5-1-01; CR 03-018 : am. (1) Register November 2003 No. 575 , eff. 1-1-04; CR 03-081 : am. (1) Register July 2004 No. 583 , eff. 8-1-04; CR 05-017 : rn. (1) to be (1) (a) and am., cr. (1) (b) Register October 2005 No. 598 , eff. 11-1-05; CR 05-031 : am. (3) and (7) Register October 2005 No. 598 , eff. 11-1-05; CR 08-013 : am. (3) Register August 2008 No. 632 , eff. 9-1-08; CR 11-007 : am. (1) (b) Register October 2011 No. 670 , eff. 11-1-11; CR 14-025 : am. (9), (10), cr. (11) Register May 2015 No. 713 , eff. 6-1-15; EmR1405 : emerg. am. (3), eff. 2-25-14; CR 13-071 : am. (3) Register July 2015 No. 715 , eff. 8-1-15.

Note

Possession of the timber rattlesnake or any part lawfully taken in Wisconsin prior to April 1, 1998, lawfully purchased or lawfully taken outside the state of Wisconsin is not prohibited by this section, but the person possessing it has an obligation under s. 29.971 , Stats., to prove such facts. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 The department's conservation program for the timber rattlesnake, under s. 29.039 (1) , Stats., includes a department response and assistance element for occupants or owners of land, or other persons, requesting assistance because of the presence of rattlesnakes. In addition, upon complaint, the department may, under s. 29.885 , Stats., investigate and authorize removal, relocation or destruction if the species constitutes a nuisance. Requests for assistance, or complaints, should be directed to the Bureau of Endangered Resources, Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707, telephone 1-888-74SNAKE. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1