R657-10-21. Livestock Depredation and Human Health and Safety

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

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

  (b) a landowner or livestock owner may notify the division of the depredation or human health and safety concerns, who shall authorize a local hunter to take the offending cougar or notify a USDA, Wildlife Services specialist; or

  (c) the livestock owner may notify a USDA, Wildlife Services specialist of the depredation who may take the depredating cougar.

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

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

  (a) any weapon authorized for taking cougar; or

  (b) with the use of 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 a chronic depredation situation where numerous livestock have been killed by a depredating cougar and must be verified by Wildlife Services or division personnel.

  (4)(a) The Division may issue depredation permits to take cougar on specified private lands and public land grazing allotments with a chronic depredation situation where numerous livestock have been killed by cougar.

  (b) The Division may:

  (i) issue one or more depredation permits to the affected livestock owner or a designee, provided the livestock owner does not receive monetary consideration from the designee for the opportunity to use the depredation permit;

  (ii) determine the legal weapons and methods of take allowed; and

  (iii) specify the area and season that the permit is valid.

  (5)(a) Any cougar taken under Subsection (1)(a) or (4)(a) shall remain the property of the state and must be delivered to a division office or employee within 72 hours.

  (b) The division may issue a cougar damage permit to a person who has killed a depredating cougar under Subsection (1)(a) that authorizes the person to keep the carcass.

  (c) A person that takes a cougar under Subsection (1)(a) or (4)(a) may acquire and use a limited entry permit or harvest objective cougar permit in the same year.

  (d) Notwithstanding Subsections (5)(b) and (5)(c), a person may retain no more than one cougar annually.

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

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