Iowa § 481A.56A Retrieval of wounded deer by leashed dogs

Iowa Statutes

§ 481A.56A — Retrieval of wounded deer by leashed dogs

Iowa § 481A.56A

Title XINATURAL RESOURCES

Ch. 481AWILDLIFE CONSERVATION

This text of Iowa § 481A.56A (Retrieval of wounded deer by leashed dogs) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Iowa Code § 481A.56A (2026).

Text

A person having a valid hunting license and a valid deer hunting license who has wounded
a deer while hunting may use a dog to track and retrieve the wounded deer. An unarmed
dog handler assisting in the recovery of a wounded deer is exempt from the licensing
requirements as long as the handler is associated with the licensed hunter who wounded the
deer. Any person using a dog for tracking wounded deer must maintain physical control of
the dog at all times during the search by means of a maximum fifty-foot lead attached to the
dog’s collar or harness. The licensed hunter who wounded the deer may dispatch the deer
using a legal method of take authorized by the person’s deer hunting license consistent with
all rules and regulations for that season. A person shall not chase, hunt, wound, or k

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A person having a valid hunting license and a valid deer hunting license who has wounded
a deer while hunting may use a dog to track and retrieve the wounded deer. An unarmed
dog handler assisting in the recovery of a wounded deer is exempt from the licensing
requirements as long as the handler is associated with the licensed hunter who wounded the
deer. Any person using a dog for tracking wounded deer must maintain physical control of
the dog at all times during the search by means of a maximum fifty-foot lead attached to the
dog’s collar or harness. The licensed hunter who wounded the deer may dispatch the deer
using a legal method of take authorized by the person’s deer hunting license consistent with
all rules and regulations for that season. A person shall not chase, hunt, wound, or kill any
animal other than the deer that the hunter is tracking, except in self-defense. Using a dog to
track a wounded deer on private property is permissible with consent of the property owner.
A person using a dog to track a wounded deer outside of legal deer hunting hours shall not
be in possession of a firearm or archery device. The commission may adopt rules pursuant
to chapter 17A to implement this section.