Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 490 - Fisheries and Game
Section 26-82. - Killing of deer regulated. Damage permit. Jacklight permit. Penalties. Plan by homeowner association, municipality or nonprofit land-holding organization to take deer.

(a) No person shall hunt, pursue, wound or kill any deer or sell or offer for sale or have in possession the flesh of any deer captured or killed in this state, or have in possession the flesh of any deer from any other state or country unless it is properly tagged as required by such state or country except as provided by the terms of this chapter or regulations adopted pursuant thereto, and except that any landowner or primary lessee of land owned by such landowner or the husband or wife or any lineal descendant of such landowner or lessee or any designated agent of such landowner or lessee may kill deer with a shotgun, rifle or bow and arrow provided a damage permit has first been obtained from the commissioner and such person has not been convicted for any violation of this section, section 26-85, 26-86a, 26-86b or 26-90 or subsection (b) of section 26-86a-2 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies within three years preceding the date of application. Upon the receipt of an application, on forms provided by the commissioner and containing such information as said commissioner may require, from any landowner who has or whose primary lessee has an actual or potential gross annual income of twenty-five hundred dollars or more from the commercial cultivated production of grain, forage, fruit, vegetables, flowers, ornamental plants or Christmas trees and who is experiencing an actual or potential loss of income because of severe damage by deer, the commissioner shall issue not more than six damage permits without fee to such landowner or the primary lessee of such landowner, or the wife, husband, lineal descendant or designated agent of such landowner or lessee. The application shall be notarized and signed by all landowners or by the landowner or a lessee to whom a farmer tax exemption permit has been issued pursuant to subdivision (63) of section 12-412. Such damage permit shall be valid through October thirty-first of the year in which it is issued and may specify the hunting implement or shot size or both which shall be used to take such deer. The commissioner may at any time revoke such permit for violation of any provision of this section or for violation of any regulation pursuant thereto or upon the request of the applicant. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 26-85, the commissioner may issue a permit to any landowner or primary lessee of land owned by such landowner or the husband or wife or any lineal descendant of such landowner or lessee and to not more than three designated agents of such landowner or lessee to use a jacklight for the purpose of taking deer when it is shown, to the satisfaction of the commissioner, that such deer are causing damage which cannot be reduced during the daylight hours between sunrise and one-half hour after sunset on the land of such landowner. The commissioner may require notification as specified on such permit prior to its use. Any deer killed in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be the property of the owner of the land upon which the same has been killed, but shall not be sold, bartered, traded or offered for sale, and the person who kills any such deer shall tag and report each deer killed, as provided in section 26-86b. Upon receipt of the report required by section 26-86b, the commissioner shall issue an additional damage permit to the person making such report. Any deer killed otherwise than under the conditions provided for in this chapter or regulations adopted pursuant thereto shall remain the property of the state and may be disposed of by the commissioner at the commissioner's discretion to any state institution or may be sold and the proceeds of such sale shall be remitted to the State Treasurer, who shall apply the same to the General Fund, and no person, except the commissioner, shall retail, sell or offer for sale the whole or any part of any such deer. No person shall be a designated agent of more than one landowner or primary lessee in any calendar year. No person shall make, set or use any trap, snare, salt lick, bait or other device for the purpose of taking, injuring or killing any deer, except that deer may be taken over an attractant in areas designated by the commissioner. For the purposes of this section, an attractant means any natural or artificial substance placed, exposed, deposited, distributed or scattered that is used to attract, entice or lure deer to a specific location including, but not limited to, salt, chemicals or minerals, including their residues or any natural or artificial food, hay, grain, fruit or nuts. The commissioner may authorize any municipality, homeowner association or nonprofit land-holding organization approved by the commissioner under the provisions of this section to take deer at any time, other than Sundays, or place using any method consistent with professional wildlife management principles when a severe nuisance or ecological damage can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commissioner. Any such municipality, homeowner association or nonprofit land-holding organization shall submit to the commissioner, for the commissioner's review and approval, a plan that describes the extent and degree of the nuisance or ecological damage and the proposed methods of taking. Prior to the implementation of any such approved plan, the municipality, homeowner association or nonprofit land-holding organization shall provide notice of such plan to any abutting landowners of such place where the plan will be implemented. Such plan shall not authorize the use of a snare. No person shall hunt, pursue or kill deer being pursued by any dog, whether or not such dog is owned or controlled by such person, except that no person shall be guilty of a violation under this section when such a deer is struck by a motor vehicle operated by such person. No person shall use or allow any dog in such person's charge to hunt, pursue or kill deer. No permit shall be issued when in the opinion of the commissioner the public safety may be jeopardized.

(b) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars or more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not less than thirty days or more than six months, or shall be both fined and imprisoned, for the first offense, and for each subsequent offense shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or shall be both fined and imprisoned.
(1949 Rev., S. 4898, 4901; 1949, S. 2493d; 1959, P.A. 398, S. 13; 1963, P.A. 327; 422; February, 1965, P.A. 78; 1969, P.A. 53, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 273; P.A. 74-151, S. 2, 7; P.A. 75-192; P.A. 79-445, S. 1, 2; P.A. 80-305; P.A. 84-172; P.A. 90-167; P.A. 97-250, S. 4; P.A. 02-103, S. 34; P.A. 03-123, S. 9; 03-192, S. 6; P.A. 04-109, S. 14; 04-257, S. 44.)
History: 1959 act required that proceeds from sale of illegally seized deer be deposited in general fund rather than game fund; 1963 acts clarified definition of “regular employee” by specifying employees “for wages to perform agricultural, management or maintenance duties on the property for which a permit is issued”, by specifying that twelve-month employment period is “prior to killing any deer”, and prohibited taking more than one deer in any year without board's authorization; 1965 act prohibited hunting, pursuing or killing deer which is being pursued by a dog, but exempted persons who strike a deer with a motor vehicle from consideration as violators of provisions; 1969 act excluded references to lessees throughout section, made deer killed except as allowed under “chapter” rather than “section” property of the state; 1971 act replaced references to board of fisheries and game and its director with references to environmental protection commissioner; P.A. 74-151 deleted provisions defining “regular employee” and authorizing such employees to kill deer, referring instead to designated agents of landowners, added provisions re specific crop protection permits, deleted provision which had allowed use of bow and arrow and replaced previous reporting procedure with requirement that kills be tagged and reported as provided in Sec. 26-86b; P.A. 75-192 allowed issuance of three permits rather than one, reducing from two to one the number of kills allowed per permit and set duration of permit at four months rather than one year; P.A. 79-445 changed landowner's qualifications for permit from ownership of ten or more acres used for agricultural purposes to landowners with actual or potential loss of $500 or more from cultivated products, increased number of permits allowed to each landowner from three to six, restored original expiration date of December thirty-first, authorized commissioner to specify weapon or shot size to be used, deleted commissioner's power to allow taking more than one deer with a permit, allowed landowner to designate up to three agents rather than one, authorized issuance of additional permit after commissioner receives required report, prohibited agents from serving more than one landowner in a year and forbade use of bait to take deer; P.A. 80-305 added Subsec. (b) re penalties for violation of provisions; P.A. 84-172 amended Subsec. (a) to make a primary lessee eligible for a damage permit, to eliminate the restriction on the number of deer that may be taken under a permit and to make a primary lessee, husband or wife or lineal descendant of the landowner or lessee eligible for a jacklight permit, inserted new Subsec. (b) authorizing damage permits where no commercial damage occurs and relettered the remaining Subsec. accordingly; P.A. 90-167 amended Subsec. (a) to prohibit possessing the flesh of deer from another state or country unless it is properly tagged, prohibited persons who are convicted of violating certain statutes from killing deer pursuant to a damage permit, substituted “twenty-five hundred” for “five hundred”, required that all landowners or the landowner or lessee holding a farmer tax exemption permit sign the application, substituted “October thirty-first” for “December thirty-first”, required a showing that damage cannot be reduced during the daylight hours, authorized the commissioner to require notification as specified on the permit, deleted Subsec. (b) re damage permits where no commercial damage occurs and relettered the remaining Subsec. accordingly; P.A. 97-250 amended Subsec. (a) to allow taking of deer under this section with bow and arrow by persons holding deer damage permits; P.A. 02-103 made technical changes in Subsec. (a); P.A. 03-123 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective June 26, 2003; P.A. 03-192 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing reference to violation of Sec. 26-82 with reference to violation of “this section” and adding provisions re the taking of deer over an attractant in areas designated by the commissioner and plans by municipalities, homeowner associations and nonprofit land-holding organizations to take deer when such plan is approved by the commissioner and notice to abutting landowners is provided; P.A. 04-109 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective May 21, 2004; P.A. 04-257 made technical changes in Subsec. (b), effective June 14, 2004.

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