WHAT IS HIP CERTIFICATION?
HIP stands for Harvest Information Program. Anytime a customer requests a hunting license that allows for the hunting of migratory birds, the terminal will prompt you to ask whether or not the customer intends to actually hunt migratory birds. If you select “Yes”, a series of questions will appear on the terminal and you are required to ask the customer for information related to last year’s migratory bird hunt.
HIP is free but mandatory - We do not charge a fee for HIP certification but it is a federal and state legal requirement of hunters who intend to hunt migratory birds this year, even if they were unsuccessful last year, or did not hunt at all.
Why is the information collected? The primary reason for HIP certification is to support harvest monitoring for migratory game bird management, and hunting regulations. Hunters who are HIP certified may be asked to keep a hunting log or send in the wings of harvested birds. The HIP certification is not used by wardens to investigate over-harvesting or other violations, a common misconception.
What is a migratory game bird? Most duck and goose hunters understand they are hunting migratory birds. However, hunters often overlook, forget, don't know…that woodcock, snipe, moorhen and mourning dove are also migratory birds and someone hunting these species must be HIP certified as well. Some hunters that hunt non-migratory game birds such as grouse will hunt a migratory game bird such as woodcock at the same time because they are both woodland birds. Another example would be pheasant hunters who may have the opportunity to harvest doves in agricultural areas. These hunters must be HIP certified.
Please have customers answer all questions. We ask that you make sure all sales clerks take the time to ask the customers the questions and select the appropriate answer on the terminal. The survey itself takes literally seconds to complete while the benefits for Wisconsin hunters lasts well into the future.