HB 577 — Limit Ownership of Certain Animals.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2019 H 21 HOUSE BILL 577 Second Edition Engrossed 5/2/19 Short Title:

Judiciary, if favorable, Wildlife Resources, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House April 4, 2019 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE OWNERSHIP, POSSESSION, IMPORT, PURCHASE, OR SALE OF BIG CATS, BEARS, HYENAS, AND GREAT APES IN CERTAIN SITUATIONSSITUATIONS. AND TO STUDY SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTITIES EXEMPT FROM THE PROHIBITION.

*H577-v-2* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 1.

*H577-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 (4) "Law enforcement officer" means an animal control officer, an animal cruelty investigator as provided for in Article 4 of this Chapter, a State or local law enforcement officer, or a public prosecutor.

Page 2 House Bill 577-Second Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 (10) A motion picture or television production company employing or contracting with a dealer or exhibitor licensed under section 2133 of the federal Animal Page 2 House Bill 577-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 Welfare Act (7 U.S.C.

House Bill 577-Second Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 (b) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly release a big cat, bear, hyena, or great ape into the wild.

House Bill 577-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 (a) The provisions of this Article shall be enforced by any State law enforcement officer, orbyanyotherlaw enforcement officerin whosejurisdiction aviolation occurs,orbyanyanimal control authority for the jurisdiction in which a violation occurs.

(5) Nothing in this Article shall be construed to prevent the voluntary, permanent relinquishment of any big cat, bear, hyena, or great ape by its owner to a person legallyable to possess the big cat, bear, hyena, or great ape and willing Page 4 House Bill 577-Second Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 and able to take possession.

(c) Any big cat, bear, hyena, or great ape found to be not properly confined, whether on the property of the owner or running at large, may be humanely destroyed by law enforcement Page 4 House Bill 577-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 officers in order to protect public safety.

The owner of a big cat, bear, hyena, or great ape will be liableforcosts accrued to lawenforcementofficers in humanelydestroyingorotherwisesecuringhumanelydestroying orotherwisesecuring that animal.

For the purposes of this section, "member of the public" does not include employees, supervised interns or volunteers, or students at public or private colleges or universities engaged in academic coursework or research."research. SECTION 2.

TheJointLegislative(c) OversightAny Committeeperson onwho Agriculturelives andin Naturalthe andcounty Economicin Resourceswhich shalla studybig thecat, safetybear, requirementshyena, andor regulationsgreat applicableape tois thekept institutions,may entities,bring anda organizationscivil exemptaction fromagainst Articlean 7owner or custodian of Chapterthe 19Abig pursuantcat, bear, hyena, or great ape to G.S.enjoin a violation of this Article." SECTION 2.

19A-73.This act becomes effective December 1, 2019, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.

TheHouse studyBill shall577-First includeEdition thePage following5 for each type of institution, entity, or organization:

(1) A determination on what safety requirements and regulations currently exist, including whether or not there is a requirement for a safety plan and safety drills,andwhetherornot theplanisrequiredtobesharedto alawenforcement agency.

(2) A determination on what procedures exist to review incidents with animals resulting in death or injury to a person, and what consequences may result if a lack of property safety equipment or protocols is found.

(3) A determination on whether or not liability insurance is required and in what amounts for property damage, bodily injury, or death caused by an animal.

(4) Whether additional statutes or regulations are needed to protect persons from death or injury by animals in the custody or care of the institution, entity, or organization.

The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources shall report its findings and any recommendations to the General Assembly by April 1, 2020.

SECTION 3.

Section 1 of this act becomes effective December 1, 2019, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.

The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.

House Bill 577-Second Edition Page 5