§ 37-504 — Violations; penalties; exception

(1) Any person who at any time, except during an open season ordered by the commission as authorized in the Game Law, unlawfully hunts, traps, or has in his or her possession:
(a) Any deer, antelope, swan, or wild turkey shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined at least five hundred dollars for each violation; or
(b) Any elk shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined at least one thousand dollars for each violation.
(2) Any person who at any time, except during an open season ordered by the commission as authorized in the Game Law, unlawfully hunts, traps, or has in his or her possession any mountain sheep shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor and shall be fined at least one thousand dollars upon conviction.
(3) Any person who at any time, except during an open season ordered by the commission as authorized in the Game Law, unlawfully hunts, traps, or has in his or her possession any quail, pheasant, partridge, Hungarian partridge, curlew, grouse, mourning dove, sandhill crane, or waterfowl shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor and shall be fined at least five hundred dollars upon conviction.
(4) Any person who unlawfully takes any game or unlawfully has in his or her possession any such game shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor and, except as otherwise provided in this section and section 37-501 , shall be fined at least fifty dollars for each animal unlawfully taken or unlawfully possessed up to the maximum fine authorized by law upon conviction.
(5) Any person who, in violation of the Game Law, takes any mourning dove that is not flying shall be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor.
(6) Any person who, in violation of the Game Law, has in his or her possession any protected bird, or destroys or takes the eggs or nest of any such bird, shall be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor.
(7) The provisions of this section shall not render it unlawful for anyone operating a captive wildlife facility or an aquaculture facility, pursuant to the laws of this state, to at any time kill game or fish actually raised thereon or lawfully placed thereon by such person.
(8) A person holding a special permit pursuant to the Game Law for the taking of any game or any birds not included in the definition of game shall not be liable under this section while acting under the authority of such permit.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1929, c. 112, III, § 9, p. 419; C.S.1929, § 37-309; Laws 1937, c. 89, § 10, p. 295; Laws 1941, c. 72, § 4, p. 302; C.S.Supp.,1941, § 37-309; Laws 1943, c. 94, § 8, p. 327; R.S.1943, § 37-308; Laws 1947, c. 134, § 1, p. 377; Laws 1949, c. 104, § 1, p. 283; Laws 1953, c. 123, § 3, p. 387; Laws 1957, c. 139, § 10, p. 469; Laws 1975, LB 142, § 3; Laws 1977, LB 40, § 182; Laws 1981, LB 72, § 16; Laws 1989, LB 34, § 18; Laws 1997, LB 107, § 4; R.S.Supp.,1997, § 37-308; Laws 1998, LB 922, § 224; Laws 1999, LB 176, § 67; Laws 2009, LB105, § 28; Laws 2017, LB566, § 2. Annotations: Penalty is prescribed for illegal possession of game birds. State v. Allen, 159 Neb. 314, 66 N.W.2d 830 (1954).