GAME
Wild birds and beasts. The word includes all game birds and game animals.
The state, in its sovereign power, owns game
for the benefit of the general public. The only
manner in which a private individual can acquire
ownership in game is by possessing it lawfully
such as by hunting and killing it under a license.
Generally, every individual has the right to
hunt and take game in any public place where
his or her presence is lawful, so long as the per-
son neither violates statutory regulations nor
injures or infringes upon the rights of others. A
hunter does not acquire an absolute right to a
wild animal by mere pursuit alone, and the indi-
vidual forfeits any potential ownership by aban-
doning the chase prior to capture. The exclusive
right to hunt or take game on privately owned
property vests in the owner or his or her
grantees. This property right of the owner is
limited by the right of the state to regulate and
preserve the game for public use.A suit for TRES-
PASS may be brought against one who interferes
with another’s right to hunt.
A statute that proscribes the hunting of game
without a license, and that requires the payment
of a fee for such license, constitutes a proper
exercise of the POLICE POWER of the state.
Game laws govern the killing or taking of
birds and beasts. Game wardens ordinarily can
arrest violators, seize illegally taken game, bring
actions for trespass, or institute prosecutions for
violations of the game laws.
Under a number of game laws, it is a penal
offense to kill or take certain types of game in
certain seasons of the year or without a license.
A hunter is required to exhibit a license when
properly called on to do so, and it constitutes a
legal violation if the person cannot do so.
In a situation where an individual has law-
fully obtained possession of game—enclosing
and caring for them as domestic animals—the
person can kill one or more of them if necessary
for care and management or for humane pur-
poses. In addition, an individual might be justi-
fied in killing game in violation of the law if it
