Section 12.16. Conditions of permits to shoot deer causing damage.

  In addition to s. NR 12.15 , the following conditions shall apply to all shooting permits for deer causing damage.

(1)   Shooting hours. Permittees and participants shall comply with shooting hours described in s. NR 10.06 (5) , unless exempted by the department. Exemptions shall be granted to allow hunting of deer one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset during the closed season in situations where permit eligibility is based under s. NR 12.10 (2) (b) 2. and with permit conditions restricting permit shooting of deer to within the fenced area and restricting shooter presence to one person at any one time.

(2)  

(a) Harvest objective. The permittee and participants, unless granted an exemption under par. (b) or issued a shooting permit under s. NR 12.37 (4) (a) 5. , shall kill at least 80% of the number of deer authorized for harvest on the permit and shall kill at least 50% of the number of deer authorized for harvest during the first 45 days after permit issuance. If issued a shooting permit under s. NR 12.37 (4) (a) 5. , the permittee shall kill at least 80% of the number of deer authorized for harvest on the permit by September 15 of the same year. The permittee is not eligible for a shooting permit the next year if the permittee fails to comply with these harvest objectives unless a shooting permit is prescribed damage abatement under s. 29.889 , Stats.

(b) Harvest objective exemption.

1. The department may exempt the permittee from killing the deer necessary to meet harvest objectives if deer are unavailable for harvest within the authorized area.

2. The department may grant an exemption to the harvest objective requirement in par. (a) if there is compelling evidence that deer were unavailable to be shot. The following criteria and procedures shall be used to determine if deer were unavailable to be shot.

a. Compelling evidence that deer were not available include accurate shooting permit participant hunting logs documenting significant hunter effort. These logs shall include participant names and phone numbers and dates participants hunted. If a significant number of hunters regularly attempted to remove deer, but were unsuccessful this information along with other supporting evidence may establish that deer were unavailable to be shot.

b. A minimum of 5 hunter days per week for the duration of the permit valid period may be used as an indication of significant hunter effort. A minimum of 5 hunter days per week requirement means any combination of hunters hunting deer a total of 5 days under the permittee's deer damage shooting permit during each week of the valid period of the permit. One day of hunting shall be a total of at least 3 hours hunted in a day or a hunter successfully harvesting at least one deer in a day.

c. If a permittee had difficulty getting participants, the permittee contacted the department, the county or its agent to seek assistance.

d. Documents to support the information in the hunting log of significant hunter effort to meet the harvest objective include: written statements by these hunters with descriptions of hunting conditions; aerial photos documenting lack of deer habitat; records that show the permittee was in regular contact with county or its agent and local department staff keeping them informed of the permittee's difficulty; that the permittee implemented reasonable measures prescribed by the county, its agent or the department to improve shooting permit performance; and any other evidence deemed appropriate by the county, its agent and local department staff.

e. The county, its agent and the department shall consult before making a recommendation to grant an exemption to the harvest objective requirement under this section. This group shall review the evidence and, if there is consensus that an exemption is warranted, shall recommend that the department grant an exemption allowing eligibility for a permit the subsequent year.

(3)   Carcass tag distribution. The number of carcass tags provided to the permittee shall be based upon the harvest objective specified under sub. (2) and the expected harvest success rate. The permittee may distribute the carcass tags provided to the permittee to the persons they have authorized to assist or retain them for their use.

(4)   Effective dates. Authorization to kill deer commences the date of permit receipt by the permittee and continues through the open season for the appropriate zone described in s. NR 10.01 (3) (e) , (em) , and (ep) .

(5)   Tagging, transportation and registration of carcasses.

(a) Each person who has killed a deer or if s. 29.324 , Stats., applies, the person who has tagged the deer, shall comply with s. 29.347 , Stats., and ss. NR 10.103 and 10.105 .

(b) Any deer taken during the closed or bow deer season and retained by a participant or permittee shall be registered in accordance with s. NR 10.106 (2) . Any deer taken during the regular deer gun season and retained by a participant or permittee shall be registered in accordance with s. NR 10.106 (2) . Deer shall be registered at a location designated by the department.

(6)   Carcass care and disposition. The department shall offer the permittee and each participant the opportunity to retain at least one deer killed under the deer shooting permit. All deer not retained under this subsection shall be disposed of as directed by the department.

(7)   Deer type. Unless exempted by the department, only deer without antlers or with an antler less than 3 inches in length may be killed.

(8)   Weapon use. The following conditions shall apply to the use of firearms and bows on deer shooting permits:

(a) Permittees, all participants and persons assisting participants, shall comply with the blaze orange clothing regulations of s. 29.301 (2) , Stats., unless exempted by the department. Exemptions will be granted where local ordinances prohibit the discharge of firearms and bow hunting or a trained sharpshooter during the closed deer gun season are the only methods available to remove deer.

(b) Except as provided under par. (c) , all participants shall comply with the firearm type restrictions applicable to the permittee's land during the gun-deer season specified under s. NR 10.01 (3) (e) or (et) .

(c) In counties with shotgun seasons, a permittee, their employees or members of their family that have been authorized to participate by the permittee may use a rifle during the time period closed to gun deer hunting.

Cr. Register, May, 1990, No. 413 , eff. 6-1-90; am. (intro), (1), (2) and (8) (a), r. and recr. (5), Register, May, 1994, No. 461 , eff. 6-1-94; am. (8) (intro.), (a), (b), Register, July, 1995, No. 475 , eff. 8-1-95; am. (2) (a), renum. (2) (b) to be (2) (b) 1. and cr. (2) (b) 2., Register, January, 1999, No. 517 , eff. 2-1-99; CR 01-006 : am. (1), Register August 2001 No. 548 , eff. 9-1-01; CR 00-154 :am. (2) (a), Register January 2002 No. 553 , eff. 2-1-02; corrections made to (2) (a) under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register December 2003 No. 576 ; CR 04-046 : am (8) (b) Register September 2004 No. 585 , eff. 10-1-04; CR 05-031 : am. (8) (b) Register October 2005 No. 598 , eff. 11-1-05; CR 10-051 : am. (4), (6) Register December 2010 No. 660 , eff. 1-1-11; EmR1420 : emerg. am. (4), eff. 9-12-14; CR 13-071 : am. (4) Register July 2015 No. 715 , eff. 8-1-15; correction in (5) (a) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register November 2015 No. 719 .

Note

Copies of hunting tables showing these hours shall be provided to all permittees for their reference and for distribution to participants. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1