Colorado § 33-3-106 - Excessive damage to property - permit to take wildlife - when - harassment by dogs.

§ 33-3-106. Excessive damage to property - permit to take wildlife - when - harassment by dogs.

(1) (a) Where wildlife is causing excessive damage to property, as determined by the division after consultation with the property owner, the division is authorized to issue a permit to the property owner, the property owner's designee, or to such other person selected by the division to kill a specified number of the species of wildlife causing such excessive damage. Upon request by the property owner, whenever the wildlife causing the excessive damage exceeds the wildlife objective set by the division for that species for that geographical area for the current year, the division is encouraged to issue a permit under this section. Any determination by the division that the damage being caused is not excessive may, upon application by the property owner, be reviewed by the commission.

(b) No permit to take wildlife pursuant to this subsection (1) shall be issued or used in violation of any local restriction on firearm use.

(2) Any wildlife killed, as permitted under subsection (1) of this section, shall remain the property of the state and shall be field dressed promptly, and such killing shall be reported to the division within forty-eight hours; except that the killing of a bear or mountain lion shall be reported within five days.

(3) Nothing in this section shall make it unlawful to trap, kill, or otherwise dispose of bears, mountain lions, or dogs without a permit in situations when it is necessary to prevent them from inflicting death, damage, or injury to livestock, real property, a motor vehicle, or human life and additionally, in the case of dogs, when it is necessary to prevent them from inflicting death or injury to big game and to small game, birds, and mammals. Any wildlife killed as permitted under this subsection (3) shall remain the property of the state, and such killing shall be reported to the division within five days. The division may bring a civil action against the owner of any dog inflicting death or injury to any big game and to small game, birds, and mammals for the value of each game animal injured or killed. The minimum value of each animal shall be as set forth in section 33-6-110.

(4) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 1939, § 2, effective May 22, 2003.)

Source: L. 69: R&RE, p. 410, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 62-3-5. L. 73: p. 660, §§ 1, 2. L. 75: (3) amended, p. 1306, § 6, effective July 14. L. 85: (3) amended, p. 1364, § 32, effective June 28. L. 2003: (2) to (4) amended, p. 1939, § 2, effective May 22. L. 2009: (1) amended, (SB 09-024), ch. 323, p. 1727, § 4, effective June 1.

ANNOTATION

Landowner not entitled to compensation for crop losses caused by wild geese. Losses of $250 per annum in crop damage due to geese choosing landowner's land as a flocking location after state had foreclosed hunting geese on landowner's property did not entitle landowner to compensation. Collopy v. Wildlife Comm'n, 625 P.2d 994 (Colo. 1981).