Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 23-3-115 (2026)

Taking black bear, mountain lion, gray wolf,

✓ current as of May 2026 Cite as: Wyo. Stat. § 23-3-115 (2026)

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WY-LEGwyoleg.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

bobcat, weasel, badger, squirrels or muskrat for damaging
property.

     (a) Any black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, weasel, badger,
gray, red and fox squirrels or muskrat doing damage to private
property may be immediately taken and killed by the owner of the
property, employee of the owner or lessee of the property.

     (b) The owner, employee or lessee shall immediately notify
the nearest game warden of the killing of black bear, bobcat or
mountain lion. The owner, employee or lessee shall save and care
for the skin and procure a Wyoming game tag for the skin of
black bear, mountain lion or bobcat.

     (c) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section
relating to the taking of animals doing damage to private
property shall apply to gray wolves from and 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. For purposes of this section as
it applies to gray wolves, "doing damage to private property"
means actual biting, wounding, grasping or killing of livestock
or a dog, or chasing, molesting or harassing of livestock or a
dog by a wolf that would indicate to a reasonable person that
actual biting, wounding, grasping or killing of the livestock or
dog is likely to occur at any moment. The owner, employee or
lessee acting under authority of this section shall notify the
department of the killing of a gray wolf within an area of the
state in which the gray wolf is designated as a trophy game
animal. The notification shall be made within seventy-two (72)
hours of the kill.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases, 1993–2017 · leading case: Parker Land & Cattle Co. v. Wyoming Game & Fish Commission

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Parker Land & Cattle Co. v. Wyoming Game & Fish Commission (1993) wyo · cites it 12× “" [Wyo. Stat. § 23-3-115]. The language of these companion statutes also connotes property damage caused by an animal's natural physical activities.”

Wyoming v. United States Department of the Interior (2005) wyd · cites it 4× “Also, Wyo. Stat. § 23-3-115 provides for the taking of gray wolves damaging private property by the owner of the property, employee of the owner or lessee of the property.”

Defenders of Wildlife v. Ryan Zinke (2017) cadc “” Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 23-3-115 . Although the Service relied on the State’s ability to limit human-caused mortality, e.”

Defenders of Wildlife v. Hall (2008) mtd “” Wyo. Stat. § 23-3-115(a). Unlike the § 10(j) regulations, Wyoming law does not limit its reach to wolves that are attacking or harassing persons, livestock, or domestic animals.”

— Wyo. Stat. § 23-3-115(a) — 2 cases

Parker Land & Cattle Co. v. Wyoming Game & Fish Commission (1993) wyo “" [Wyo. Stat. § 23-3-115]. The language of these companion statutes also connotes property damage caused by an animal's natural physical activities.”

— Wyo. Stat. § 23-3-115(e) — 1 case

Wyoming v. United States Department of the Interior (2005) wyd “Also, Wyo. Stat. § 23-3-115 provides for the taking of gray wolves damaging private property by the owner of the property, employee of the owner or lessee of the property.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.