Act No. 165 Page 1 of 2
2022
This act summary is provided for the convenience of the public and members of the General
Assembly. It is intended to provide a general summary of the act and may not be
exhaustive. It has been prepared by the staff of the Office of Legislative Counsel without
input from members of the General Assembly. It is not intended to aid in the interpretation
of legislation or to serve as a source of legislative intent.
Act No. 165 (S.281). Fish and wildlife; hunting; hunting coyote with dogs; use of
gun suppressors to take game
An act relating to hunting coyote with dogs
This act establishes a moratorium on the pursuit of coyote with the aid of dogs
until the Fish and Wildlife Board adopts rules regulating the pursuit of coyote
with dogs. During the moratorium, a person may only pursue coyote with the aid
of dogs in defense of a person or property if the person is the landowner or has
obtained a courtesy permission card from the landowner.
The act provides that the intent of the Fish and Wildlife Board Rules is to
reduce conflicts between landowners and persons pursuing coyote with dogs. The
rules shall address a limit on the number of dogs used to pursue coyote; a
prohibition on substituting a new dog for another dog during pursuit of a coyote;
the legal method of taking coyote pursued with the aid of dogs; a definition of
control to minimize the risk that dogs pursuing coyote enter onto posted land,
enter land where pursuit of coyote is not allowed, or harass or harm people or
domestic animals; provisions to encourage persons pursuing coyote with the aid
of dogs to seek landowner permission before entering or releasing dogs onto land
that is not posted; and required reporting of every coyote killed during pursuit
with the aid of dogs.
Once the rules are adopted, the moratorium is repealed, and no person may
pursue coyote with the aid of dogs unless permitted by the Commissioner of Fish
and Wildlife. The Commissioner shall not issue more than 100 permits a year.
The number of permits that the Commissioner issues to nonresidents in any given
year shall not exceed 10 percent of the number of permits issued to residents in
the preceding year. The Commissioner shall issue permits to a resident for a fee
of $50.00. The application fee for a nonresident permit shall be $10.00, and the
fee for a nonresident permit issued under this section shall be $200.00 for a
successful applicant.
In addition, once the moratorium is repealed, a person shall not release a dog
onto posted land for the purpose of pursuing coyote with the aid of dogs unless
the dog owner or handler has obtained a courtesy permission card from the
landowner allowing the pursuit of coyote with the aid of dogs on the land. A
person also shall not release onto land a dog for the purpose of pursuing coyote
with the aid of dogs if in the previous 365 days a dog had been previously found
on the land, and the dog owner, a handler of the dog, or a person participating in
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the hunt has been informed by law enforcement that hunting dogs are not
permitted on the property.
The act also authorizes a person under both criminal and fish and game law to
possess, carry, or use a gun suppressor in the act of taking game. The authority to
use gun suppressors to take game is repealed on July 1, 2024.
Multiple effective dates, beginning on June 1, 2022
VT LEG #363435 v.2


Statutes affected:
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Official: 13-4010, 10-4701, 10-4704, 10-4001, 13-4010(c), 10-4701(d)
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Unofficial: 13-4010, 10-4701, 10-4704, 10-4001, 13-4010(c), 10-4701(d)
As Enacted: 13-4010, 10-4701, 10-4704, 10-4001, 13-4010(c), 10-4701(d)