1. (1) Cougar may be taken or pursued only during open seasons and using methods prescribed in Rule R657-11, Taking Furbearer and Trapping, and the guidebook of the Wildlife Board for taking cougar. Otherwise, under Title 23A, the Wildlife Resources Act, it is unlawful for any person to pursue, possess, capture, kill, injure, drug, rope, trap, snare or in any way harm or transport cougar.

2. (2)(a) A person may not pursue a single cougar in repeated pursuits such that it renders the cougar physically unable to escape.

   1. (b) After a cougar has been pursued, chased, treed, cornered or held at bay, a person may not, in any manner, restrict or hinder the animal's ability to escape if the person does not intend to harvest the cougar.
   2. (c) A person must make reasonable efforts to call dogs off of a cougar that has been cornered or held at bay.
3. (3) A person may not engage in a canned hunt.
4. (4) A person may not take any wildlife from an airplane or any other airborne vehicle or device or any motorized terrestrial or aquatic vehicle, including snowmobiles and other recreational vehicles.
5. (5) Electronic locating equipment may not be used to locate cougars wearing electronic radio devices.

6. (6)(a) A person may not place, maintain, or use a trail camera as prohibited in Section 23A-5-307;

   1. (b) engage in the sale or purchase of trail camera or other non-handheld device media, including images, video, location, time, or date data to take, attempt to take, or aid in the take or attempted take of cougar; or
   2. (c) engage in the storage and sale or purchase of stored media, including image, video, location, time or date data to take, attempt to take, or aid in the take or attempted take of cougar.

7. (7)(a) A person may not use any protected gps location data or protected radio collar data to locate, track, take, or retrieve or any attempt to locate, track, take, or retrieve cougar or their parts.

   1. (b) For the purposes of this subsection, "protected" means "a record classified as protected under the Government Records Access and Management Act, Section 63G-2-305".

KEY: wildlife, cougar, game laws

Date of Last Change: August 7, 2025

Notice of Continuation: June 2, 2026

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 23A-2-304; 23A-2-305