R657-33-23. Livestock and Commercial Crop Depredation

  (1) If a bear is harassing, chasing, disturbing, harming, attacking or killing livestock, or has committed such an act within the past 72 hours:

  (a) the livestock owner, an immediate family member or an employee of the owner on a regular payroll, and not hired specifically to take bear, may kill the bear;

  (b) a landowner or livestock owner may notify the division of the depredating bear and the division may:

  (i) authorize a local hunter to take a bear using a valid permit; or

  (ii) request that the offending bear be removed by Wildlife Services specialist, supervised by the USDA Wildlife Program; or

  (c) the livestock owner may notify a Wildlife Services specialist of the depredation, and that specialist or another agency employee may take the depredating bear.

  (2) Depredating bear may be taken at any time by a Wildlife Services specialist while acting in the performance of the person's assigned duties and in accordance with procedures approved by the division.

  (3) A depredating bear may be taken by those persons authorized in Subsection (1)(a) with:

  (a) any weapon authorized for taking bear; or

  (b) snares only with written authorization from the director of the division and subject to all the conditions and restrictions set out in the written authorization.

  (i) The option in Subsection (3)(b) may only be authorized in the case of chronic depredation verified by Wildlife Services or division personnel where numerous livestock have been killed by a depredating bear.

  (4)(a) The division may issue one or more control permits to an owner or lessee of private land to remove a bear causing damage to cultivated crops on cleared and planted land provided the following conditions are satisfied:

  (i) the landowner or lessee contacts the appropriate division office within 72 hours of the damage occurring or provides documentation of previous chronic damage incidents;

  (ii) the damaged cultivated crop is raised and utilized by the landowner or lessee for commercial gain and with a reasonable expectation of generating a profit;

  (iii) at least 5 acres of the private land is placed in agricultural use pursuant to Section 59-2-502 and eligible for agricultural use valuation as provided in Sections 59-2-503 and 59-2-504;

  (iv) the division confirms that the private land where the cultivated crop occurs has experienced chronic recurring damage from bears, or that there will likely be chronic recurring damage if offending bears are not immediately removed;

  (v) the landowner, an immediate family member, or an employee of the owner on a regular payroll, and not hired specifically to take bear, receives the control permit from the division to remove the bear prior to initiating such action; and

  (vi) the bear removal is otherwise in accordance with Utah law.

  (b) The division may issue control permits described in Subsection (4)(v) to identify restrictions necessary and to balance the threat to commercial crops on cleared and planted land and the wildlife resource, such as:

  (i) locations on the landowner or lessee's private property where offending bears may be taken;

  (ii) the total number of control permits that may be issued; and

  (iii) reporting requirements to the division.

  (c) Nothing herein mandates the division to issue control permits for a landowner or lessee to remove bears from their private property in lieu of:

  (i) the landowner or lessee taking nonlethal preventative measures in protecting their private property; and

  (ii) the division undertaking wildlife management techniques as they deem appropriate.

  (5)(a) Any bear taken pursuant to Subsections (1)(a) and (4) shall:

  (i) be delivered to a division office or employee within 48 hours; and

  (ii) remain the property of the state, except the division may sell a bear damage permit to a person who has killed a depredating bear if that person wishes to maintain possession of the bear.

  (b) A person may only retain one bear carcass annually under this Section.

  (6)(a) Hunters interested in taking depredating bear as provided in Subsection (1)(b) may contact the division.

  (b) Hunters will be contacted by the division to take depredating bear as needed.