23-2-303. Trapping licenses; tagging; traps and snares; penalty; confiscation; inspection; interference with trapping.

(a) Any person may, in the discretion of the department upon application and the payment of the proper fee, receive a license to trap any furbearing animal. The department shall issue a trapping license to a nonresident only if his state issues licenses to Wyoming residents to trap the same species for which residents of that state may be licensed to trap in that state. Any nonresident applying for a Wyoming trapping license shall furnish:

(i) A notarized affidavit stating the applicant's legal address including his state of residence; and

(ii) A copy of the most current statutes or rules and regulations of the applicant's state of residence which show that the state issues nonresident trapping licenses which authorize Wyoming residents to trap the same species for which residents of that state may be licensed to trap in that state.

(b) At the time of application for a trapping license, the department shall determine:

(i) The area in the district where the trapper may take furbearing animals;

(ii) Allowable harvests of furbearing animals within designated areas which may be taken in a given time.

(c) Repealed by Laws 1987, ch. 156, § 2.

(d) The commission, following consultation with other affected entities, may promulgate rules and regulations establishing specifications for snares, breakaway weights, location of breakaway devices, loop size and anchors for trapping and snaring of furbearing and predatory animals. All traps and snares used for furbearing or predatory animals shall be permanently marked or tagged with the name and address of the owner or the identification number assigned to the owner by the department. Any identification number attached to a trap or snare pursuant to this subsection is solely for the use of the department or appropriate law enforcement officers and is not a public record for purposes of W.S. 16-4-201 through 16-4-205. No trap or snare shall be set for furbearing or predatory animals within thirty (30) feet of any exposed bait or carcass over five (5) pounds in weight. As used in this subsection, "exposed bait or carcass" means the meat or viscera of any part of a mammal, bird or fish, excluding dried bones. All snares used for taking furbearing or predatory animals shall be equipped with a break-away device. Unless otherwise specified in this subsection, all steel-jawed leghold traps shall be checked by the owner at least once during each seventy-two (72) hour period unless extensions are granted by the department. All snares and quick kill body grip traps shall be checked by the owner not less than once each week unless extensions are granted by the department. All wildlife caught in any trap or snare shall upon discovery, be removed immediately by the owner. Violation of this subsection constitutes a low misdemeanor punishable as provided in W.S. 23-6-202(a)(v).

(e) 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. 23-1-108 the commission may enact rules and regulations setting forth the specifications for traps and snares used for the taking of gray wolves and the time period for checking such traps and snares. Except as otherwise provided by commission rule, the provisions in this section regulating the trapping of furbearing and predatory animals shall apply to the trapping of gray wolves.

(f) Any trap or snare found in the field not bearing the name and address of the owner of the trap or snare or the identification number assigned by the department to the owner of the trap or snare may be confiscated by any employee of the department. Any landowner or his agent may inspect any trap or snare set on his property, may remove the trap or snare and may release or remove from the trap or snare any wildlife which has not been taken lawfully. The landowner or his agent shall notify the department of any such wildlife, excluding predatory animals, as soon as practicably possible after removing the wildlife from a trap or snare.

(g) A violation of this subsection constitutes a low misdemeanor punishable as provided in W.S. 23-6-202(a)(v). Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person shall intentionally:

(i) Tamper with or remove a trap or snare set and maintained in compliance with this act; or

(ii) Release or remove a furbearer or predator from a trap or snare set and maintained in compliance with this act.