On Tuesday, February 14, a Montana Senate committee will consider a bill that would modify the laws regarding bird dog training. Montana residents who wish to comment on this expansion of existing law can do so with the information found below.
Summary:
Under current Montana law, training of bird hunting dogs is allowed under the following conditions:
- A person training bird hunting dogs with a method that kills game birds shall tag or mark the game bird prior to release. Game birds must be obtained from a game bird farm licensed under 87-4-903 or from a source of game birds approved by the department.
- A person who takes an untagged or unmarked game bird while training a bird hunting dog outside of the established season for that species or who is not licensed to take that species shall immediately report the taking to a representative of the department.
Montana Senate Bill 280 would expand the types of bird training available to game birds not raised in captivity through a low-cost licensing system. A Class D-5 license would be required costing $5 for residents and $10 for nonresidents. To clarify: a Class D-5 license would not be required for a person training bird hunting dogs with a method that kills game birds raised in captivity.
What You Can Do:
Public Hearing Information:
The Senate Fish and Game Committee will conduct a public hearing on February 14, 2023, at 3 pm MST in room 422 of the Montana State Capitol in Helena on 1301 East Sixth Avenue.
Committee Contact Information:
Those who wish to contact members of the committee can do so by clicking HERE.
Click HERE to find out who your senator is. If you are a constituent of a member of the committee, please make sure to include that in your communication.
AKC Government Relations continues to monitor bills in Montana impacting dog owners and will provide updates. For questions or more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org .