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Code · Iowa · Chapter 481A — Wildlife Conservation

481A.123 Prohibited hunting near buildings, feedlots.

735 words·~3 min read·/ia/chapter-481a-wildlife-conservation/481a-123·

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1. A person shall not discharge a firearm or shoot or attempt to shoot a game or fur-bearing animal within two hundred yards of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock or within two hundred yards of a feedlot unless the owner or tenant has given consent. However, within the corporate limits of a city, a person may take deer with a firearm within fifty yards of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock, or a feedlot pursuant to an approved special deer population control plan, if the person obtains permission of the owner or tenant of the building or feedlot.
2. As used in this section, “feedlot” means a lot, yard, corral, or other area in which livestock are present and confined, for the purposes of feeding and growth before slaughter. The term does not include areas which are used for the raising of crops or other vegetation and upon which livestock are allowed to graze or feed.
3. a. This section does not apply to the discharge of a firearm for the purpose of target shooting on premises posted as a target shooting range that is open to the public, if the premises have been used as a target shooting range prior to the erection of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock, or prior to the construction of a feedlot, located within two hundred yards of the target shooting range. This subsection applies only to the erection of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock or to the construction of a feedlot located within two hundred yards of a target shooting range that is open to the public and that is identified as a target shooting range by the city, county, state, or federal government, which erection or construction occurs on or after May 14, 2004.
b. As used in this subsection, “target shooting” means the discharge of a firearm at an inanimate object, for amusement or as a test of skill in marksmanship.
4. a. This section does not apply to the discharge of a firearm on premises identified as a public hunting area, if the premises have been identified as a public hunting area prior to the erection of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock, or prior to the construction of a feedlot, located within two hundred yards of the public hunting area. This subsection applies only to the erection of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock or to the construction of a feedlot located within two hundred yards of a public hunting area, which erection or construction occurs on or after May 14, 2004.
b. As used in this subsection, “public hunting area” means public lands or waters available for hunting by the public, and identified as a public hunting area by the city, county, state, or federal government.
5. a. This section does not apply to the discharge of a firearm on a farm unit by the owner or tenant of the farm unit or by a family member of the owner or tenant of the farm unit.
b. As used in this subsection, “family member”, “farm unit”, “owner”, and “tenant” mean the same as defined in section 483A.24, subsection 2.
6. This section does not apply to the discharge of a firearm for the purpose of developing and retaining the shooting proficiency of certified law enforcement officers on premises owned by the state, a county, or a municipality, and operated by a law enforcement agency, which are not open to the general public and which were in operation prior to March 28, 2013.
7. Subject to subsection 1, an owner or tenant of private premises located in the unincorporated area of a county, or a person to whom the owner or tenant has given consent, may discharge a firearm for the purpose of target shooting on those private premises. The use of such private premises for target shooting shall not be found to be in violation of a noise ordinance or declared a public or private nuisance or be otherwise prohibited under state or local law. As used in this subsection, “target shooting” means the discharge of a firearm at an inanimate object, for amusement or as a test of skill in marksmanship.
[C77, 79, 81, §109.123]
C93, §481A.123 2; 2017 Acts, ch 69, §48
Referred to in §805.8B(3)(c)
For applicable scheduled fine, see §805.8B, subsection 3, paragraph c
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