Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 29 - Wild animals and plants.
29.539 - Sale of wild animals.

29.539 Sale of wild animals.
(1)
(a) Except as otherwise expressly provided under this chapter, no person may sell, purchase, barter, or trade, or offer to sell, purchase, barter, or trade or have in possession or under control for the purpose of sale, barter, or trade any of the following:
1. Any deer, elk, squirrel, game bird, game fish, or the carcass of any such wild animal at any time.
1m. Any bear or any carcass of a bear at any time, including any head of a bear, bear claws, or bear teeth.
2. Any other wild animal or its carcass during the closed season for that wild animal.
(b) This subsection applies whether a wild animal listed under par. (a) was lawfully or unlawfully taken within or without the state.
(1m) Subsection (1) does not apply to any of the following:
(a) A lawfully taken wild animal that is not listed in sub. (1) (a) 1. or 1m. for which an open season is established by rule and for which there is no bag or possession limit imposed by rule, or the carcass of such a wild animal.
(b) A fur-bearing animal, or the carcass of a fur-bearing animal, that was lawfully taken and that has a valid registration tag attached by the department.
(c) Liquid scent made from the carcass of a lawfully taken wild animal, other than the gallbladder of a bear.
(d) A farm-raised deer, a farm-raised fish, fish produced in a municipal fish hatchery, a farm-raised game bird, or a wild animal that is subject to regulation under ch. 169 or the carcass of such a wild animal.
(e) The tail or skull of any deer or elk that is lawfully taken, the antlers of any deer or elk that are lawfully taken and that are not in the velvet, and the skin of any deer or elk that is lawfully taken and that is not in the spotted coat.
(f) The hide of any bear that is lawfully taken and that includes the claws, head, and teeth of the bear.
(g) Any claws, head, or teeth that are part of the hide of a bear that is lawfully taken.
(h) A rabbit, or the carcass of a rabbit, that is taken as authorized under s. 29.337 or 29.885.
(i) The tail, claws, skull, or skin of any squirrel that is lawfully taken and that is severed from the rest of the carcass.
(j) The feathers of a lawfully taken grouse, partridge, pheasant, quail, or wild turkey.
(k) The naturally shed feathers of a partridge, pheasant, quail, or wild turkey.
(L) The naturally shed feathers of a grouse that is not listed as endangered or threatened under s. 29.604 (3) and that is not a sharp-tailed grouse.
(m) The naturally shed feathers of a sharp-tailed grouse collected from an area where there is an open season for hunting sharp-tailed grouse.
(2) Except as provided in subs. (3) and (3m), no fish taken by hook and line from outlying waters, except rough fish, may be sold, bartered or traded in any manner.
(3) The eggs from trout and salmon that are not farm-raised fish and that are lawfully taken and possessed under this chapter are exempted from this section if removed from the fish as provided under sub. (3m).
(3m) The eggs from trout and salmon that are not farm-raised fish may not be sold or purchased unless the eggs are first removed from the whole fish in the presence of the buyer. The fish carcass shall be legally disposed of. Eggs that are removed in accordance with this subsection may subsequently be sold or purchased without the fish subject to any licensing requirement under s. 29.503.
(6) The sale and purchase of a species of fish specified under s. 29.506 (7m) (b) or of the carcass of any of these fish is exempt under this section if the sale and purchase are authorized by a permit issued under s. 29.506 (7m).
History: 1973 c. 315, 333; 1975 c. 360; 1977 c. 418; 1985 a. 29, 272; 1987 a. 27, 42, 114; 1991 a. 39, 269; 1995 a. 79; 1997 a. 27; 1997 a. 248 ss. 539 to 545; Stats. 1997 s. 29.539; 2001 a. 56, 109; 2003 a. 247; 2005 a. 288; 2009 a. 38; 2013 a. 20; 2015 a. 248.

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