The looming reductions are the latest development in ongoing challenges the agency has faced with the stateβs fish and wildlife account.
The post Wisconsin DNR will cut musky stocking by 70 percent, close fish hatcheries appeared first on WPR.
Wisconsin Watch partners withΒ GigafactΒ to produce Fact Briefs β bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Twenty-four states provide a constitutional right to hunt and fish, according to a November 2025 count by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Nearly all 24, including Wisconsin and Minnesota, did so with constitutional amendments approved by voters since 1996.Β
Illinois, Iowa and Michigan do not have the constitutional protection.
Nationally, βwell-organized animal rights groups and limitations on methods, seasons and bag limits for certain game speciesβ spurred the amendments, according to NCSL.
Wisconsinβs 2003 amendment passed with 82% of the vote.Β
It reads: βThe people have the right to fish, hunt, trap and take game subject only to reasonable restrictions as prescribed by law.β
The measure was among a wave of Wisconsin constitutional amendments led by Republicans.
About 800,000 licenses are sold annually in Wisconsin for both deer hunting and fishing.
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Do about half the states, including Wisconsin, have a constitutional right to hunt and fish? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
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