Minnesota § 97A.255 PROSECUTIONS

Minnesota Statutes

§ 97A.255 — PROSECUTIONS

Minnesota § 97A.255

PartGAME AND FISH

This text of Minnesota § 97A.255 (PROSECUTIONS) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Minn. Stat. § 97A.255 (2026).

Text

Subdivision 1.Statute of limitations. A prosecution under the game and fish laws may not be brought more than three years after commission of the offense. Subd. 2.Burden of proof.

(a)In a prosecution that alleges animals have been taken, bought, sold, transported, or possessed in violation of the game and fish laws, the burden of establishing that the animals were domesticated, reared in a private preserve, raised in a private fish hatchery or aquatic farm, taken for scientific purposes, lawfully taken, or received as a gift, is on the defendant.

(b)The commissioner may by rule prescribe the documentation or other evidence sufficient to demonstrate lawful possession of:

(1)a wild animal received as a gift; and

(2)a wild animal taken on an Indian reservation or in another state, provi

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Subdivision 1.Statute of limitations.
A prosecution under the game and fish laws may not be brought more than three years after commission of the offense.

Subd. 2.Burden of proof.
(a) In a prosecution that alleges animals have been taken, bought, sold, transported, or possessed in violation of the game and fish laws, the burden of establishing that the animals were domesticated, reared in a private preserve, raised in a private fish hatchery or aquatic farm, taken for scientific purposes, lawfully taken, or received as a gift, is on the defendant.
(b) The commissioner may by rule prescribe the documentation or other evidence sufficient to demonstrate lawful possession of:
(1) a wild animal received as a gift; and
(2) a wild animal taken on an Indian reservation or in another state, province, or country.

Subd. 3.
[Repealed,1987 c 149 art 1 s 54]

Subd. 4.Separate offenses; prosecution of aggregated offenses.
(a) Except as allowed in paragraph (b), each wild animal unlawfully taken, bought, sold, transported, or possessed is a separate offense. If acquitted, a person may not be prosecuted for a similar offense involving another animal in the same incident.
(b) In any prosecution that involves two or more offenses committed by the same person within six months in two or more counties, the accused may be prosecuted in any county in which one of the offenses was committed for all of the offenses in aggregate.

Subd. 5.Joint and several liability.
When two or more people intentionally aid, advise, counsel, conspire with, or act in concert with each other to unlawfully take, transport, or possess wild animals when the restitution value of the wild animals exceeds $500, each person is jointly and severally liable for the wild animals for purposes of:
(1) license seizure, invalidation, and revocation under sections97A.420and97A.421;
(2) equipment and property seizure under section97A.221;
(3) boat, motor, and trailer seizure under section97A.225; and
(4) restitution under section97A.341.
[See Note.]