Legislative History of Wildlife Damage Laws 



Montana's first wildlife damage legislation, enacted in 

 1933, related only to elk damage throughout the state 



and to antelope damage in Chouteau County 



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 specifically. The statutes allowed the Fish and Game 



Commission "to take, kill, remove or dispose of" such 



animals if the following conditions prevailed: their 



numbers needed to be decreased; special or private 



property was being damaged; and a written complaint of 



such damage was filed by the owners with the 



Commission. The Commission also could permit other 



persons to take, kill, remove, or dispose of such 



animals under any rules it might prescribe. 



In 1943, language was added to allow the Commission to 



alleviate antelope damage throughout the state by 



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 opening the season and issuing special licenses. 



Similar provisions for special hunts to decrease elk 



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 and moose populations were enacted in 1945. In 1947, 



a statute was created that allowed the Commission to 



dispose of or to open the season on deer that were 



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 causing property damage. All such statutes were 



combined in 1953 and expanded to cover all "game 



animals . 



The present statute, 87-1-225, MCA, was substituted in 



7 

 1957. The new language required the Department to 



"investigate and study" any complaint by a landowner 



that "wild animals" were doing damage to property or 



crops (See Appendix A) . The Department has the choice 



to: 



— open a special season; 



destroy the animals; or 



