169.18 Wild fur farm license.

(1) Issuance. The department shall issue a wild fur farm license to any person who files a proper application and who pays the applicable fee.

(2) Authorization; limitations.

(a) A wild fur farm license authorizes all of the following:

1. The holder of the license to possess and propagate live muskrat, beaver, coyote, raccoon, otter, and mink on the land subject to the license.

2. The holder of the license and other persons authorized by the holder to take the live fur-bearing wild animals specified in subd. 1. or kill by trapping the fur-bearing wild animals specified in subd. 1.

3. The holder of the license to sell the live fur-bearing wild animals specified in subd. 1. to persons authorized to possess the fur-bearing wild animals.

(b) Section 29.501 applies to the possession and selling of the raw furs and dressed furs of the fur-bearing wild animals that are possessed as authorized under a wild fur farm license.

(c) The number of otter that are taken or killed may not exceed the quota established by rule by the department under sub. (5) (a).

(3) Eligible land.

(a) Except as provided in par. (b), a wild fur farm licensed under this section shall be in a single parcel and may not exceed 640 acres.

(b) Upon the request of the applicant for a license under this section, the department shall issue a single license for a wild fur farm that does not meet all of the requirements of par. (a) if the wild fur farm is licensed as a fur animal farm under s. 29.869, 1999 stats., on January 1, 2003.

(4) Exemption from trapping restrictions. Except as provided in sub. (2) (c), a person trapping fur-bearing wild animals on a wild fur farm is exempt from having any trapping approval issued under ch. 29 and 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.

(5) Rules.

(a) The department shall promulgate by rule a quota for taking, or killing by trapping, otter for purposes of this section.

(b) The department shall promulgate rules for the purpose of determining whether a piece of land qualifies as a single parcel under sub. (3).

(c) The department may promulgate rules to establish additional standards, limitations, and requirements for wild fur farm licenses and for wild fur farms.

History: 2001 a. 56.