Except for employees and contract pilots of the department and persons exempted under SDCL 41-8-39.1, a person may not hunt fox and coyote from an aircraft unless the person has been granted a permit and authorization from an extension trapper, conservation officer, or other authorized representative of the department under the provisions of this chapter. The permittee shall obtain authorization from the department each time there is a depredation complaint to be addressed by aerial hunting.

1. (1) The permittee shall leave a message on the answering machine of the department representative indicating the name and phone number of the person experiencing the depredation, the time and date of the call, the nature of the damage incurred, and the planned response; or

2. (2) If circumstances of the depredation complaint do not permit or allow for placing the call and leaving a message on the answering machine due to the inability to place the call or urgency of the depredation complaint, the permittee may proceed to hunt by aircraft provided the permittee notifies the department of the information required in subdivision (1) of this section within the same day.

   Regardless of how the permittee obtains authorization from the department, the permittee shall obtain permission from the landowner or lessee prior to any aerial hunting and each time there is a depredation complaint.

If the permittee is unable to reach a department representative to obtain authorization and the depredation complaint requires a more immediate response, aerial hunting of fox and coyote may be conducted under the following conditions:

Source: 3 SDR 30, effective October 20, 1976; 3 SDR 87, effective June 26, 1977; 8 SDR 162, effective June 10, 1982; 10 SDR 76, 10 SDR 102, effective July 1, 1974; 25 SDR 59, effective October 26, 1998; 28 SDR 24, effective August 28, 2001; 28 SDR 166, effective June 4, 2002.

General Authority: SDCL 41-2-18(2)(14) , 41-8-39.1.

Law Implemented: SDCL 40-36-9 , 41-2-18(2)(14) , 41-8-39.1 , 41-8-39.2.