CHAPTER 41-11
PROTECTION OF BIRDS AND SMALL GAME
41-11-1 Wild birds and wild animals as property of state.
41-11-2 Taking, possession, sale or transportation of wild bird or small game prohibited except as provided.
41-11-3 41-11-3. Repealed by omission from SL 1969, ch 100
41-11-4 Hunting, transportation, sale or possession of game birds prohibited--Violation as misdemeanor.
41-11-5 Establishing season for game birds--Closing.
41-11-5.1 41-11-5.1. Repealed by SL 1972, ch 227, § 3
41-11-5.2 41-11-5.2. Repealed by SL 1991, ch 337, § 73
41-11-5.3 41-11-5.3. Repealed by SL 1972, ch 227, § 3
41-11-5.4 41-11-5.4. Repealed by SL 1977, ch 190, § 576
41-11-5.5 Pheasant hunt--Disabled veterans and former prisoners of war--Promulgation of rules.
41-11-6 41-11-6. Repealed by SL 1981, ch 302
41-11-7 Possession or destruction of nest or eggs of protected birds prohibited--Violation as misdemeanor.
41-11-8 Sale of parts of protected bird prohibited--Exceptions--Violation as misdemeanor.
41-11-9 41-11-9. Repealed by SL 1991, ch 337, § 76
41-11-10 Birds not protected or conditionally protected by chapter.
41-11-11 Raptor license required--Violation as misdemeanor.
41-11-12 41-11-12 to 41-11-14. Repealed by SL 1985, ch 15, §§ 54 to 56
41-11-15 Reintroduction of black-footed ferret.
41-11-1. Wild birds and wild animals as property of state.
All wild birds or animals as defined by subdivision 41-1-1(24), both resident and migratory, in this state shall be and are hereby declared to be property of the state.
Source: SDC 1939, § 25.0401; SL 1969, ch 100.
41-11-2. Taking, possession, sale or transportation of wild bird or small game prohibited except as provided.
Except as permitted by § 41-11-10 and the rules prescribed by the Game, Fish and Parks Commission, no person may kill, catch, or have in possession, living or dead, any wild bird other than small game, or purchase, offer or expose for sale, transport, or ship within or without the state, any such wild bird or small game after it has been killed or caught. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Source: SDC 1939, § 25.0402; SL 1945, ch 96; SL 1967, ch 85, § 1; SL 1969, ch 100; SL 1991, ch 337, § 71.
41-11-4. Hunting, transportation, sale or possession of game birds prohibited--Violation as misdemeanor.
Except as provided in § 41-11-5, no person may hunt, take, kill, ship, convey, or cause to be shipped or transported by common or private carrier to any person, either within or without the state, buy, barter, expose for sale, sell to anyone, have in possession or under control at any time, any snipe, prairie chicken or pinnated grouse, white-breasted or sharp-tailed grouse, partridge, or ruffed grouse, sage grouse, Hungarian partridge, Chukar partridge, Chinese ring-necked or English pheasant, wild turkey, upland plover, golden plover, crow, mourning dove, quail, wild duck of any variety, wild geese of any variety, brant, or any variety of aquatic fowl, or any part thereof. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Source: SDC 1939, § 25.0501; SL 1941, ch 110; SL 1943, ch 95; SL 1949, ch 95; SL 1951, ch 122; SL 1953, ch 109; SL 1959, ch 117, § 2; SL 1981, ch 301, § 1; SL 1991, ch 337, § 72.
41-11-5. Establishing season for game birds--Closing.
The Game, Fish and Parks Commission may establish a season on any fowl specified in § 41-11-4 throughout all or any portion of the state and provide the extent of the season by rules adopted pursuant to § 41-2-18. The commission may close or curtail open season once it has been opened as provided in this section.
Source: SDC 1939, § 25.0501; SL 1941, ch 110; SL 1943, ch 95; SL 1949, ch 95; SL 1951, ch 122; SL 1953, ch 109; SL 1959, ch 117, § 2; SL 1973, ch 264, § 4; SL 1979, ch 284, § 1; SL 1984, ch 273, § 80.
41-11-5.5. Pheasant hunt--Disabled veterans and former prisoners of war--Promulgation of rules.
Any nonprofit organization may establish a special pheasant hunt in which disabled veterans or Purple Heart recipients of the United States Armed Forces may participate. The special pheasant hunt may be held before or during the regular pheasant season. No fee may be charged to participants in any such special pheasant hunt, by either the state or the sponsoring organization. The Game, Fish and Parks Commission shall promulgate rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26, to administer the special pheasant hunts authorized in this section.
For the purposes of this section a disabled veteran is a person who meets one of the following criteria:
(1) A resident or nonresident veteran who has been adjudicated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as twenty percent or more disabled due to a service-connected disability or has received the United States Department of Veterans Affairs K Award; or
(2) A resident who has served on active duty in the armed forces of the United States or has served as a member of the armed forces reserve or national guard, and the resident is forty percent or more disabled for the purposes of receiving social security benefits.
Source: SL 1998, ch 252, § 23; SL 2016, ch 208, § 2; SL 2019, ch 189, § 1; SL 2020, ch 180, § 1.
41-11-7. Possession or destruction of nest or eggs of protected birds prohibited--Violation as misdemeanor.
Except as permitted by statute, no person may take or have in possession or break or destroy any nest or the eggs of the kinds of birds, the taking or killing of which is at any time or at all times prohibited. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Source: SDC 1939, § 25.0403; SL 1991, ch 337, § 74.
41-11-8. Sale of parts of protected bird prohibited--Exceptions--Violation as misdemeanor.
No part of the plumage, skin, or body of any bird protected by law may be sold or had in possession for sale, irrespective of whether such bird was captured or killed within or without the state, except that the plumage or skin of the Chinese pheasant, sharptail grouse, Hungarian partridge, and prairie chicken legally taken may be sold or had in possession for sale. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Source: SDC 1939, § 25.0402; SL 1945, ch 96; SL 1967, ch 85, § 1; SL 1969, ch 100; SL 1982, ch 291, § 1; SL 1991, ch 337, § 75.
41-11-10. Birds not protected or conditionally protected by chapter.
The English or European house sparrow, unbanded undomesticated pigeon (rock dove), Eurasian collared dove, and European starling are not included among the birds protected by this chapter. Purple grackle, crow, magpie, brown headed cow bird, red-winged blackbird, Brewers blackbird, rusty blackbird, and the bronzed grackle may be taken when committing or about to commit depredation upon ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock or wildlife, or when concentrated in such numbers and manner as to constitute a health hazard or other nuisance.
Source: SDC 1939, § 25.0407; SL 1959, ch 114; SL 1961, ch 119; SL 1967, ch 85, § 2; SL 1981, ch 301, § 2; SL 1998, ch 252, § 22; SL 2007, ch 244, § 1.
41-11-11. Raptor license required--Violation as misdemeanor.
A person shall obtain a raptor license from the Department of Game, Fish and Parks to capture or possess a raptor. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Source: SL 1972, ch 226; SL 1984, ch 273, § 81.
41-11-15. Reintroduction of black-footed ferret.
The Department of Game, Fish and Parks and the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources may participate in programs to reintroduce the black-footed ferret if the following conditions are being met:
(1) Areas containing prairie dogs but not having the potential to support black-footed ferrets shall be identified, evaluated and declared ferret-free;
(2) The existing United States Forest Service Prairie Dog Management Plan for the Conata Basin, Buffalo Gap National Grasslands shall be strictly adhered to, and if future increases in prairie dog acres are needed, a funding mechanism shall be established to provide financial compensation to landowners suffering lost income;
(3) No additional land may be acquired for ferrets through condemnation, and the multiple use concept of the United States Forest Service shall be continued;
(4) The initial ferret reintroduction efforts shall be concentrated within the boundaries of Badlands National Park, and once release techniques are refined, the prairie dog management plan on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands is functioning and local citizens have had the opportunity to view the progress, then reintroduction efforts may be expanded to the grasslands; and
(5) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service shall attempt to provide for the continued meeting on a regular basis during and after the ferret reintroduction of the local level committee consisting of representatives of the United States Forest Service, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, United States National Parks Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, affected state agencies, private organizations, and local landowners.
Source: SL 1992, ch 301; SL 2021, ch 1 (Ex. Ord. 21-3), § 14, eff. Apr. 19, 2021.
