What is Colorado's position on domestic dogs chasing wildlife? Can a licensed hunter kill said animal??

I am not familiar with Colorado's laws on domestic dogs chasing wildlife, but I doubt a hunting license would be valid for taking domestic dogs. I recommend contacting the county animal control officer to pursue the dogs owner and remove the dogs.

Shoot shovel shut up. Jk don't do that.

if a dog is harassing wildlife on it can legally be shot by anyone, that is my understanding of colorado.

make sure it is a safe and legal shot and do it.
by legal i mean not from a road, in town, etc...

I have always been told this

Yeah, colorado is insane like that. I have heard the same thing. If someone shot my dog I would be shooting back. This is one of the worst game laws I have ever heard of. Most every dog has to be broken from deer at some point...

I believe the law is outdated. It was put in the regs because people from the south would come to visit CO with their pack of hounds. Its to stop people from running big game with hounds.

it is NOT to stop people from running game with hounds. it is to prevent the harassment of deer, elk and other game from dogs left to their own devices.
about 3 or 4 years ago there were two dogs in the area of the Aspen hospital that were harassing a yearling cow elk. they were large breed dogs and by the time the DOW officer got there, the two dogs had opened up the belly of the cow elk. the officer shot the two dogs, he was quoted in the paper as saying that the only reason he did not cite the owners of the dogs for illegal take of an elk, is because he killed the dogs. but he could have cited them anyway. i know the officer, he is a good guy and would not have killed the dogs if he did not need to.
there are people all over this more and more liberal state that let their dogs run. in the months of december, january, and february, the deer are very vulnerable. the weather is sometimes brutally cold, their food is buried in the snow, and a dog harassing them often times means a slow and lingering death.
i spend a great amount of time hunting coyotes in the wintering range of deer, which also happens to be near houses. i have seen dogs chasing deer, i have seen dogs eating dead deer, and i have had dogs come at me while they were defending their kill.
there is also the ranching industry, if a dog is out harassing livestock, they can and should be shot. i hunt on quite a bit of land owned by cattle ranchers. they are VERY happy when i take out a domestic dog that is out on the property, and most tell me to shoot any dog that is not theirs when they grant me permission.


the law is NOT outdated, it is needed more now than ever. i was just up scouting for deer yesterday. i was near the trail that goes up over Maroon Pass. i was about 800 yards from a doe with 3 fawns, the trail was about 200 yards from me and 600 yards from the doe. a couple was coming down the trail with 2 dogs, one unleashed (illegal). the doe was focused on them for several minutes until they passed. it stresses the animals when they see a predator. they do not know the difference between a coyote and a dog not on a leash. all they know is it is something that is a threat.

if you are in colorado and see a dog out harassing wildlife or livestock, shoot it. the laws against letting dogs run and dogs harassing animals are not enough deterrent to people letting their dogs run.

i was at a party last summer, there was a woman there that had been cited by the DOW for letting her dogs harass wildlife. numerous people had complained over the span of many months. she did not deny letting her dogs run. she was furious that she had been cited, and professed that it was natural for the dogs to run and chase wildlife. then went on to say many nasty things about the officer (i know him personally). she does not like me much, and didn't come to the party this year.

she is not an unusual type of person around here. she paid the fine, but i doubt her behavior has changed. the only way it will is for the dog to not return home!

Dogs that chase wildlife are Coyotes.

absolutely correct!

Well said PRAIRIESHADOW; well said.

Y'all may want to check with Huntsman 22 that is a member here.

It is hard for me to remember the exact details, but I know his brother shot a dog or two that were chasing wildlife. Deer, I think.

Even though he was legal in doing so according the CO law, he had animal cruelty charges brought against him by another agency with pressure put on them by bunny huggers.

I do think he got off eventually, but I know the defense cost to him was staggering...

It would be good if Huntsman22 would put the details up here for reference.

Huntsman was banned.

I got my information about the law being created for hound hunting directly from CO DOW. I e mailed them about it when I was considering moving to CO because I am a beagler. While my dogs are broken from deer I would not want to live where people are allowed to shoot dogs. There is also a crazy number of days hounds are not allowed to run. It is anytime there is a big game season open in that area. So that is like most the rabbit huntin season.

Dog owners who allow their pets to roam at large are not really pet lovers. They are lazy, irresponsible, and just plain stupid. In my cattle ranching days, I constantly had to control feral packs and roaming pets. It was a constant pain in the [beeep]. Those idiots need to pay the vet bills for the horses and cattle that are chased through a wire fence or shredded by "playing" dogs. Harassing wildlife is just as bad. The lady in CO who lets her dogs roam free to enjoy their "natural" proclivities should be cited for animal cruelty and prohibited from owning a pet, EVER.