No person may possess in the field or transport a big game animal, except turkey, unless it is accompanied by the animal's lawfully tagged leg along with either the animal's head or a hind quarter with the visible external sex organs left naturally attached to it. Any person licensed to take "any deer," "any elk," or "any antelope" is exempt from transporting the animal's head or hind quarter if the lawfully tagged leg accompanies the animal for such license. However, the provisions of this section do not apply to a big game licensee who transports big game parts from the licensee's domicile to another location if the licensee possesses the big game tag or big game license entitling the licensee to the animal, or to big game that has been cooked or cured, by means other than freezing, for personal consumption.
transportation of deer
Contributors to this thread:South Dakota
From: Hunterjames
16-Aug-16
I have been trying to find it on south Dakotas website but I cant find the information I am looking for. I was wondering if it is legal to quarter up and debone a deer for packing it out to the vehicle. and if it is do you have to leave evidence of sex on a quarter? or is it like in Minnesota were that is illegal and you have to drag the whole thing back to the vehicle? thanks for any help
From: Griz34
16-Aug-16
This is all I could find on the subject. When my son took his bow hunting safety course the instructor told us that you have to remove the entire deer, elk or antelope from the field minus the guts. I couldn't find anything about that though.
From: Brotsky
16-Aug-16
James, you can quarter and partially de-bone the animal in the field. You must, however, leave the hind hoof and leg attached to one quarter and affix the tag to that quarter as prescribed on your license (between hoof and first joint). If you have any type of tag that is not an "any deer" tag, you will also need to leave the proof of sex attached to the same quarter that you affix the tag. You do not need to leave proof of sex attached if you have an "any deer" license type. This is directly from several conservation officers I've discussed this topic with in the field and it is how I've proceeded for many years. I have passed through multiple game checks using this method and have never had an issue. Good luck to you.
