House Bill 450

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-1-29 AND 49-7-58.2, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE, FISHERIES AND PARKS TO REQUIRE ANNUAL CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE TESTING OF WHITE-TAILED DEER HARVESTED WITHIN ANY ENCLOSURE; TO AMEND SECTION 49-7-58.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE OWNER OF AN ENCLOSURE TO COMPLY WITH ANNUAL CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE TESTING OF WHITE-TAILED DEER HARVESTED WITHIN THE ENCLOSURE AND ANY OTHER TESTING REQUIRED BY THE DEPARTMENT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 49-7-58, 49-11-3 AND 69-15-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 49-1-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-1-29. The commission may promulgate rules and regulations, inaugurate studies and surveys, and establish any services it deems necessary to carry out wildlife laws. A violation of any rules or regulations promulgated by the commission shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in Section 49-7-101.

The executive director shall have authority with commission approval:

(a) To close or shorten the open season as prescribed by law in cases of urgent emergency on any species of game birds, game or fur-bearing animals, reptiles, fish or amphibians, in any locality, when it finds after investigation and public review that the action is reasonably necessary to secure the perpetuation of any species of game birds, game or fur-bearing animals, reptiles, fish or amphibians and to maintain an adequate supply in the affected area. The statutes shall continue in full force and effect, except as restricted and limited by the rules and regulations promulgated by the commission.

(b) To designate wildlife refuges, with the consent of the property owner or owners, in any localities it finds necessary to secure perpetuation of any species of game birds, game or fur-bearing animals, reptiles, fish or amphibians and to maintain an adequate supply for the purpose of providing a safe retreat where the animals may rest and replenish adjacent hunting, trapping or fishing grounds or waters, and to approve land suitable for such purposes as eligible for the income tax credit authorized under Section 27-7-22.22.

(c) To acquire and hold for the state by purchase, condemnation, lease, or agreement as authorized from time to time by the Legislature, and to receive by gifts or devise, lands or water suitable for fish habitats, game and bird habitats, state parks, access sites, wildlife refuges, or for public shooting, trapping or fishing grounds or waters, to provide areas on which any citizen may hunt, trap or fish under any special regulations as the commission may prescribe, and to approve lands suitable for such purposes as eligible for the income tax credit authorized under Section 27-7-22.22.

(d) To extend and consolidate lands or waters suitable for the above purposes by exchange of lands or waters under its jurisdiction.

(e) To capture, propagate, transport, sell or exchange any species of game birds, game or fur-bearing animals, reptiles, fish or amphibians needed for stocking or restocking any lands or waters of the state.

(f) To enter into cooperative agreements with persons, firms, corporations or governmental agencies for purposes consistent with this chapter.

(g) To regulate the burning of rubbish, slashings and marshes or other areas it may find reasonably necessary to reduce the danger of destructive fires.

(h) To conduct research in improved wildlife and fisheries conservation methods and to disseminate information to the residents of the state through the schools, public media and other publications.

(i) To have exclusive charge and control of the propagation and distribution of wild birds, animals, reptiles, fish and amphibians, the conduct and control of hatcheries, biological stations and game and fur farms owned or acquired by the state; to expend for the protection, propagation or preservation of game birds, game or fur-bearing animals, reptiles, fish and amphibians all funds of the state acquired for this purpose arising from licenses, gifts or otherwise; and shall have charge of the enforcement of all wildlife laws.

(j) To grant permits and provide regulations for field trials and dog trainers.

(k) To prohibit and to regulate the taking of nongame gross fish, except minnows.

(l) To enter into agreements with landowners to trap and purchase quail on the premises of the landowner and to provide for the distribution of quail.

(m) To operate or lease to third persons concessions or other rights or privileges on lakes owned or leased by the department. Owners of land adjoining land owned or leased by the department shall have priority to the concessions or rights or privileges, if the owners meet the qualifications established by the commission.

(n) To implement a beaver control program and to charge fees, upon the recommendation of the Beaver Control Advisory Board, to landowners participating in the beaver control program described in Section 49-7-201.

(o) To apply for, receive and expend any federal, state or local funds, contributions or funds from any other source for the purpose of beaver control or eradication.

(p) To require the department to divide the districts into zones if necessary, and periodically survey the districts or zones to obtain information that is necessary to properly determine the population and allowable harvest limits of wildlife within the district or zone.

(q) To require annual Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing of white-tailed deer harvested within any enclosure; to grant wildlife personnel authority to access the property and depopulate white-tailed deer within an enclosure where CWD has been diagnosed; and to grant wildlife personnel authority to access the property and utilize lethal collection methods to obtain tissue samples for testing where CWD has been diagnosed within five (5) miles of the enclosure.

SECTION 2. Section 49-7-58.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-58.1. (1) The owner of any enclosure containing white-tailed deer that prevents the free egress of white-tailed deer from the enclosed area shall notify and register with the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. The person shall give his name, the location of the enclosure, the acreage within the enclosure, and whether any deer have been imported into the state and placed in the enclosure, and any other information required by the Commissioner on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

(2) Persons who constructed an enclosure prior to July 1, 2003, shall have until January 1, 2004, to notify and provide the information required under this section. The person shall use acceptable hunting and wildlife management practices as may be determined by the department.

(3) The owner of such an enclosure shall comply with annual chronic wasting disease testing of white-tailed deer harvested within the enclosure and any other testing of white-tailed deer harvested within the enclosure as may be required by the department. If chronic wasting disease is diagnosed within five (5) miles of the enclosure, the owner of such enclosure shall allow department personnel to enter the enclosure to utilize lethal collection methods to obtain tissue samples for testing. If chronic wasting disease is diagnosed within the enclosure, the owner shall allow department personnel to enter the enclosure and depopulate the white-tailed deer within the enclosure.

(4) A violation of this section is a Class I violation and is punishable as provided in Section 49-7-141.

SECTION 3. Section 49-7-58.2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-58.2. (1) The Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall develop and implement a program for inspecting, monitoring, testing and preventing chronic wasting disease. The Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is authorized to require the annual chronic wasting disease testing of white-tailed deer harvested within any enclosure. If chronic wasting disease is diagnosed in white-tailed deer within an enclosure, the department is authorized to enter the enclosure and depopulate the white-tailed deer within the enclosure. If chronic wasting disease is diagnosed within five (5) miles of the enclosure, the department is authorized to enter the enclosure and utilize lethal collection methods to obtain tissue samples.

(2) If a live test for chronic wasting disease is developed, the department is authorized to conduct such tests annually on white-tailed deer within any enclosure.

SECTION 4. Section 49-7-58, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

49-7-58. (1) (a) In addition to the ban on importing white-tailed deer under Section 49-7-54, there is hereby imposed a temporary moratorium on the importation of elk, red deer, mule deer, black-tailed deer and other cervids designated as susceptible to chronic wasting disease by the State Veterinarian and crosses of any such animals into the State of Mississippi. The moratorium on importing such animals shall end upon the adoption of chronic wasting disease regulations by the United States Department of Agriculture.

(b) Any person who possesses, buys, imports or transports any cervid that has been imported in the state in violation of the moratorium shall be subject to a Class I penalty under Section 49-7-141. Any person that imports any exotic animal into the state in violation of entry requirements or regulations of the Board of Animal Health or the Department of Wildlife shall be subject to a Class I penalty under Section 49-7-141. A second or subsequent violation under this section shall be punished by the maximum fine under Section 49-7-141. The agency issuing a permit for cervids or exotic animals within an enclosure shall revoke the permit of any person found in violation of the moratorium. If any cervid in an enclosure tests positive for chronic wasting disease or if any cervids within the enclosure have been imported from an area diagnosed with chronic wasting disease, then all cervids in the enclosure shall be deemed a threat to native wildlife and to public health and may be killed and disposed of by the state.

(2) It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, the Board of Animal Health, the State Veterinarian, the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to consult and coordinate efforts on matters related to chronic wasting disease, the prevention of the introduction of chronic wasting disease in the state and to ensure the health and safety of the public and wildlife.

(3) The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall have plenary authority in matters related to the importation of white-tailed deer, white-tailed deer in enclosures, and prevention of the introduction of chronic wasting disease into the native wildlife population.

SECTION 5. Section 49-11-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

49-11-3. (1) The department may issue operating licenses to any person, partnership, association or corporation for the operation of shooting preserves or commercial wildlife enclosures that meet the following requirements and any applicable regulations:

(a) Each shooting preserve shall contain a minimum of one hundred (100) acres in one (1) tract of leased or owned land (including water area, if any) and shall be restricted to not more than six hundred forty (640) contiguous acres (including water area, if any), except that preserves confined to the releasing of ducks only may be authorized to operate with a minimum of fifty (50) contiguous acres (including water area).

(b) The boundaries of each shooting preserve shall be clearly defined and posted with signs erected at intervals of three hundred (300) feet or less.

(c) Each commercial wildlife enclosure shall contain a minimum of three hundred (300) acres in one (1) tract of leased or owned land (including water area, if any). No commercial wildlife enclosure shall be constructed in such a manner as to allow ingress of native wild animals without providing means of egress.

(d) The preserve or enclosure must be privately owned and operated.

(2) The commission may issue any rules or regulations necessary to regulate shooting preserves and commercial wildlife enclosures and to enforce this chapter.

(3) The commission may regulate the hunting of nonnative cervids within a commercial wildlife enclosure, and the department may enter such enclosure as provided under Section 49-11-25 and enforce such regulations.

SECTION 6. Section 69-15-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

69-15-9. (1) (a) The Board of Animal Health shall have plenary power to deal with all contagious and infectious diseases of animals as in the opinion of the board may be prevented, controlled or eradicated, and with full power to make, promulgate and enforce such rules and regulations as in the judgment of the board may be necessary to control, eradicate and prevent the introduction and spread of anthrax, tuberculosis, hog cholera, Texas and splenic fever and the fever-carrying tick (margaropus annulatus), cattle brucellosis, anaplasmosis, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, muscosal disease, cattle viral diarrhea, cattle scabies, sheep scabies, hog cholera, swine erysipelas, swine brucellosis, equine encephalomyelitis, rabies, vesicular diseases, salmonella group, newcastle disease, infectious laryngotracheitis, ornithosis-psittacosis, mycoplasma group, chronic wasting disease and any suspected new and/or foreign diseases of livestock and poultry and all other diseases of animals in this state, and the board is hereby vested with full authority to establish and maintain quarantine lines and to quarantine by county, supervisors district, parcel of land or herd. The State Veterinarian shall appoint as many inspectors and range riders as may be deemed necessary, and the funds at his disposal will permit, and shall delegate authority to said inspectors and range riders, to enter premises to inspect and disinfect livestock and premises, and enforce quarantine including counties, farms, pens, stables and other premises.

(b) No veterinarian may provide veterinary services for the control, eradication or prevention of diseases in animals at a stockyard, livestock auction, equine sale or other place or event of livestock trading unless he has first been approved by the board for this purpose. The board shall have the authority to adopt rules and regulations as may be necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this paragraph.

(2) No officer or agent of the State Veterinarian may enter the actual enclosures of any person except with the consent of the person lawfully in possession thereof or in the absence of such consent, with a proper writ obtained as in other cases of searches and seizures under constitutional law. When such officers and agents are lawfully on the premises, either by permission or writ, they shall be authorized to inspect the premises and the livestock and animals found thereon by entering the enclosures and buildings and they are authorized to check livestock and poultry found therein for any contagious diseases and take proper action to control or eradicate any such diseases that may be found. While such officers and agents are performing their duties hereunder, they shall not be personally liable except for gross negligence. The refusal without lawful reason of any person to give the consent aforesaid shall be deemed a misdemeanor and shall be punishable as for violations of Article 5 of this chapter as provided for in Section 69-15-115.

The Board of Animal Health shall administer the special fund created in Section 69-15-19.

(3) (a) The Board of Animal Health shall have plenary power to control, prevent, eradicate, inspect and monitor chronic wasting disease or other contagious disease of exotic cervids or other exotic livestock. It shall be the duty of the board to develop an inspection, testing and monitoring program for such diseases.

(b) An officer or agent of the State Veterinarian is authorized to enter any facility containing cervids or other exotic livestock to inspect the premises and the cervids or exotic livestock. Such officer or agent may inspect, monitor or test any cervid or exotic livestock for disease and may take proper action to control or eradicate any diseases found. While such officers or agents are performing their duties, they shall not be personally liable, except for gross negligence.

(c) As a condition of maintaining a permit for a cervid or other exotic livestock facility, it shall be the duty of the permittee to allow the agents of the State Veterinarian to enter the facility and to conduct inspections and tests.

(4) As a condition of maintaining a permit for a cervid or other exotic livestock facility, the permittee shall immediately notify the State Veterinarian upon discovery of the escape of a cervid or exotic livestock. Any such animal shall be treated as an escaped wild animal and may be disposed of accordingly.

SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2020.