HB 366 — WILDLIFE PROTECTION & PUBLIC SAFETY ACT

andh e, e 17h O.

"wildlife"trap" poison"includes means a substanceleghold ortrap, mixturelethal ebody- et nu dg 18e ofb substancesl appliede ine a, mannergh intendedgripping totrap killor wildlife."cage =trap; = l ] 19 SECTION 3.

Aand newn Sectiond 17-9-3d NMSAi 1978= is= enactedo toh aP. l r i 20 read:

"wildlife" means a member of a vertebrate l ] b ,d i a º r species that is native to or found in New Mexico that is not e r = t e w d m a tn "17-9-3.o under the direct control of a human or in captivity, but does d m :

[NEWb MATERIALr ] PROHIBITIONS ON PUBLIC LAND.--It m m 21 e dt isº ao violationt ofn the= Wildlife.212258.4 Protections andk Publicm Safety Act r e 22- c4 e- r c 23 for a person or government entity to use a trap, snare or e a n be 24d wildlifer poisone onl public land except as provided in Section u [ 17-9-4A NMSAd 1978."not .213796.2include -a 4feral -or HJC/HBescaped 366domestic animal." SECTION 4.3.

A new Section 17-9-3 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

"17-9-3.

[NEW MATERIAL ] PROHIBITIONS ON PUBLIC LAND.--It is a violation of the Wildlife Protection and Public Safety Act for a person or government entity to use a trap, snare or poison for purposes of capturing, injuring or killing an animal on public land except as provided in Section 4 of the Wildlife Protection and Public Safety Act." SECTION 4.

(1) any land or property that is not defined as public land pursuant to the Wildlife Protection and Public h Safety Act;

g o t hr (2) the taking of wildlife with firearms, g e i k fishing equipment, archery equipment, falconry equipment or h r i s other implements in hand as authorized by law;

h , t, (3) the control of mice, rats, packgophers, rats,e gophers,u g e b l e e h prairie dogs, moles, voles or rock squirrels;squirrels HENRCº as n d d i = = o h authorized by law»HENRC;

l ] b ,d i a º e (4) a government entity acting in the takingcourse r i = r t e w d m a n o of birdsits official duties to prevent or fish;mitigate actual threats to d m :

(5)b ae governmentd entitys actingº ino thet coursen of= its.212258.4 officials dutiesk tom prevente or- mitigate5 actual- threatse toa n e d r e 17l u [ A d human health and safety;

e(5) e n d 18 (6) the department, the United States fish and = = l ] 19 wildlife service or a conservancy district of the state or its a l r i 20 employee, agent or representative acting in the course of its t e a t official duties related to ecosystem management;

m(6) m 21 e d (7) bona fide scientific research;

rHENRCºor»HENRC e(7) 22the cuse eof rcage ctraps 23by (8)an depredationowner trappingof by:property, crops or livestock that are lawfully situated on public land for the lawful capture of offending wildlife, feral animals or domestic animals to abate actual damages caused to property, crops or livestock;

e a n b 24 (a) a designated agent of the department u [ using cage traps;

and .213796.2 - 5 - HJC/HB 366 (b) the department;

provided that the department shall not use wildlife poisons, lethal body-gripping traps or snares designed to cause strangulation;

(9) the use of cage traps by an owner or the owner's agent of property, crops or livestock that are lawfully situated on public land for the lawful capture of offending wildlife, feral animals or domestic animals to abate damages caused to property, crops or livestock;

(a) once the damageanimal has been abated,captured and removed, use of the cage trap shall cease;

and (b) anythe captured wildlifeanimal is disposed of in accordance with rules established by the department;department h HENRCº .»HENRC HENRCº;

(10)or»HENRC g o t hr HENRCº(8) the use of cage traps:

g e i k (a) by an owner of a domestic animal to h r i s recover that animal;

h , t, e u g (b) to engage in a trap-neuter-return e b l e 17e h program for feral animals;

or e e n d 18d (c)i by= an= animalo controlh agency,(c) animalby =the =department lto ]trap 19beavers, shelterl or] animalb welfare,d organizationi toa captureº ferale orr ai l= r imuskrats 20and domesticnutria; animals;

orprovided tthat ethe atrap tis (11)not enrolledentirely memberst ofe aw federallyd m ma 21n eo dsubmerged recognizedin Indianwater.»HENRC nation,d tribem or: pueblo when trapping is r e 22 c e r c 23 conducted solely for religious or ceremonial purposes.

b e d s º o t n = .212258.4 s k m e - 6 - e a n be 24d r e l u [ A d B.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to u [ allow recreational or commercial trapping on public land."land. .213796.2 - 6 - HJC/HB 366 SECTION 5.

C.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow depredation trapping without evidence of actual damage to property, crops or livestock." SECTION 5.

A person who violates the Wildlife Protection and Public Safety Act is guilty of a pettymisdemeanor misdemeanor.and, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978, shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not to exceed six months and to payment of a fine in the amount of:

Every(1) prohibitedfive usehundred ofdollars a($500) trap, snare or wildlife poison shall be prosecuted as a single unit of prosecution for each trap,prohibited snaredevice orused, wildlifeupon poisona used.first conviction;

(2) one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each h prohibited device used, upon a second conviction;

and g o t hr (3) two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each g e i k prohibited device used, upon a third or subsequent conviction.

h r i s B.

In addition to other penalties, upon conviction, h , t, the court may consider appropriate restitution to a state e u g e b l e e h agency that incurs costs in enforcing the Wildlife Protection n d d i = = o h and Public Safety Act." l ] b ,d i a º e SECTION 6.

A new Section 17-9-6 NMSA 1978 is enacted to r i = r t e w d m a n o read:

d m :

b e d s º o t n = .212258.4 s k m e - 7 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d "17-9-6.

[NEW MATERIAL] CIVIL LIABILITY.--A person who is convicted of a violation of the Wildlife Protection and Public Safety Act shall be strictly liable in a civil action for damages related to the conduct for which the person was convicted.

If a violation results in the death of a domestic animal, the court may award up to three times actual damages to the party complaining of the violation." SECTION 7.

Section 17-5-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1939, Chapter 178, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

"17-5-3.

SEASONS--SPECIAL PERMITS TO TAKE ANIMALS DOING DAMAGE.--Fur-bearing animals as defined in Section 17-5-2 NMSA shall be taken only during the seasons declared by regulation of the state game commission promulgated as provided in Section 17-5-4 NMSA 1978.

The director of the department of game and fish may, however, issue permits at any time for the taking of fur-bearing animals doing damage to game, private h property, poultry or livestock pursuant to the provisions of u » r the Wildlife Protection and Public Safety Act." t h g e l i SECTION 8.

Section 17-5-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1939, h r i s Chapter 178, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:

h , e h "17-5-5.

TRAPPER'S LICENSES.-- t u g e b l e e , gh A.

No resident who has reached [his twelfth n d d i = = o h birthday] the age of twelve shall capture, trap or possess any l ] b ,d i a º r fur-bearing animal or attempt to do so without first procuring e r = t e w d m a n o a resident trapper's license;

or, in the case of a resident who d m :

b r e t º o t n = .212258.4 s k m e - 8 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d has reached [his twelfth birthday] the age of twelve but not [his eighteenth birthday ] the age of eighteen, a resident junior trapper's license.

AnyNo penaltiesnonresident undershall thiscapture, sectiontrap shallor bepossess cumulativeany fur-bearing animal or skunk or coyote or attempt to anydo otherso availablewithout penaltiesfirst atprocuring law.a nonresident trapper's license.

InNo additionnonresident towho otherresides penalties,in upona conviction,state thethat courtdoes maynot considerpermit appropriateNew restitutionMexico residents to aprocure statenonresident agencytrapper's thatlicenses incursmay costspurchase ina enforcingNew theMexico Wildlifenonresident Protectiontrapper's andlicense. Public Safety Act." SECTION 6.

AD. new Section 17-9-6 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

eTrappers eshall 17release "17-9-6.all fur-bearing animals trapped during closed seasons, and resident trappers who release all fur-bearing animals during open seasons need not procure a trapper's license.

[NEWE. MATERIAL ] CIVIL LIABILITY.--A person who is e e n d 18 convicted of a violation of the Wildlife Protection and Public = = l ] 19 Safety Act shall be strictly liable in a civil action for a l r i 20 damages related to the conduct for which the person was t e a t convicted.

IfTrappers aon violationofficial resultsbusiness, inpaid thefrom deathstate ofand afederal domesticfunds mand munder 21supervision eof d animal, the courtdepartment mayof awardh upgame toand threefish, timesthe actualNew damagesMexico todepartment rof eagriculture 22or cthe eu » r cUnited 23States thefish partyand complainingwildlife ofservice theneed violation."not epurchase a nt bh 24g SECTIONe 7.l i trapper's license.

EFFECTIVEh DATE.--Ther effectivei dates ofF. the u [ provisions of this act is July 1, 2019.

.213796.2Trapping -of 7animals, -both fur-bearing and h , e h nongame, by a resident in order to protect [his ] livestock or t u g e b l e e , gh domesticated animals or fowl shall not be subject to rules and n d d i = = o h regulations on trapping made pursuant to Section 17-5-4 NMSA l ] b ,d i a º r 1978 or to licensing requirements provided in this section.

e r = t e w d m a n o G.

The state game commission may by regulation d m :

b r e t º o t n = .212258.4 s k m e - 9 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d require holders of trapper's licenses to use bobcat pelt tags and may specify the conditions for use of the tags.

H.

Trapping under this section shall be undertaken pursuant to the provisions of the Wildlife Protection and Public Safety Act." SECTION 9.

EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2019.

- 10 - » g o » r h t i k l i g t h s , e h t l i w l b l e e , g n d l h = = b , a l º d i a r e r = , a t e d m a n o d m :

b r e t º o t n = .212258.4 s k em e e a n e d r e l u [ A d