House Bill 1032

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-7-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE COMMISSION ON WILDLIFE, FISHERIES AND PARKS TO AUTHORIZE THE HUNTING OF DEER OVER GRAIN OR CORN PROVIDED THAT THE INDIVIDUAL ENGAGED IN THE ACT OF HUNTING HAS A LIFETIME SPORTSMAN LICENSE; TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-7-33 AND 49-7-33.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 49-7-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-31. (1) The open season on deer shall be as follows:

(a) With bow and arrow: October 1 through the Friday prior to Thanksgiving.

(b) With guns and with dogs: from the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving through December 1.

(d) With guns and without dogs: December 16 through December 23. However, the commission may allow hunting statewide or in specific areas with any legal weapon which it may designate without dogs after the end of the last season for hunting deer with guns and with dogs, but the season with legal designated weapons and without dogs shall not extend beyond January 31.

(e) The commission shall establish an extended season with primitive weapons and bow and arrow without dogs from February 1 through February 15 for the area south of U.S. Highway 84 and east of Mississippi Highway 35 only for legal bucks. Any antlered deer taken in this area during any open season under this section must be a legal buck as defined in this paragraph. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "legal buck" means a deer with antlers of four (4) points or more with a minimum inside spread of ten (10) inches or a minimum main beam length of thirteen (13) inches. The commission may regulate the taking of deer with antlers of four (4) points or less under this paragraph for the proper management of antlered deer. The commission may delay the opening date and change the length of bow and arrow season in subsection (1)(a) in this area.

(f) With guns and with dogs: December 24 through a date fixed by the commission that will provide a total of thirty-nine (39) days of hunting deer with guns and with dogs when added to the number of days provided for hunting deer with guns and with dogs in paragraph (b).

(2) The commission may set and regulate the deer seasons on wildlife management areas which it administers.

(3) (a) The commission may allow the harvesting of antlerless deer in the districts or zones upon the recommendation of the executive director based upon good and substantial quantitative data and research evaluations that demonstrate that the harvesting is necessary to properly manage the herd.

(b) The commission, only upon the recommendation of the executive director, may allow the harvesting of antlerless deer during the deer season with guns and with dogs by a majority vote of the commission.

(c) Nothing in this subsection prohibits the harvesting of either-sex deer by landowners or leaseholders on private lands under the deer management assistance program prescribed or approved by the executive director.

(4) The commission may provide a special permit for the harvesting of deer when they are depredating and destroying crops. The department shall supervise the harvesting and provide for the salvaging of the meat of the animals. The commission may authorize the department to assist any farmer in this state, who sustains crop damage by wildlife, in eradication of the problem wildlife.

(5) The commission shall authorize the hunting of deer over grain or corn during any open season on deer on private lands in which a spincast, above ground covered feeding container dispenses the grain or corn within the hunter's line of sight, and twenty (20) yards from the stand located one hundred (100) yards or more from the adjacent landowner's property, provided that the individual hunter has on his possession a native son or daughter nonresident lifetime sportsman hunting and fishing license or a resident lifetime sportsman hunting and fishing license.

SECTION 2. Section 49-7-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-33. (1) It is unlawful to hunt, trap or kill any wild bird or wild animal of any kind with the aid of bait, recordings of bird or animal calls, or electrically amplified imitations of calls of any kind, except a person:

(a) May use electrically amplified sound devices for hunting crow;

(b) May use liquid scents for any animal or bird;

(d) May take nuisance animals as provided in Section 49-7-31.5; * * * ~~and~~

(e) May take deer with the use of supplemental feed as authorized under Section 49-7-33.1 * * *.; and

(f) May take deer with the use of corn or other grain as authorized under Section 49-7-31(5).

(2) The commission, in its discretion, may relax the restrictions regarding the use of lures or sound devices if a condition arises or exists, as decided by the State Board of Health or county board of health, that may endanger persons or livestock in a certain community, county or area.

SECTION 3. Section 49-7-33.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-33.1. (1) (a) The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall allow the taking of deer with the use of supplemental feed and may place any reasonable conditions or restrictions on such taking.

(b) The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall establish a zone or zones of contiguous counties for the management and implementation of a program to allow the taking of deer with the use of supplemental feed.

(d) The commission shall allow the taking of deer with the use of corn or other grain on private lands only as provided in Section 49-7-31(5).

(2) The commission shall take any action it deems necessary and use its emergency powers to prevent the introduction of disease, to control disease, to eradicate disease, and to manage the taking of deer with the use of supplemental feed, corn or other grain.

(3) (a) The Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall study and analyze all relevant data and issues with regard to the taking of deer with the supplemental feed program, including, but not limited to, the impact that the program has upon the health and density of deer populations and other wildlife, its effect on surrounding habitat, the effectiveness of wildlife law enforcement, the extent to which hunters who participate in the program are successful in harvesting deer and are supportive of the program, the perception of the program by the general public, and the extent to which the program has a favorable impact on economic development and tourism.

(b) The department shall file annual progress reports with the Legislature. The department shall file a final report with recommendations on the feasibility of continuing the taking of deer with the use of supplemental feed.

(4) A violation of this section or any regulation of the commission promulgated under this section shall be punishable as a Class II violation as defined in Section 49-7-143, and if the violator is a nonresident, then upon conviction, he or she shall lose the opportunity to obtain a nonresident license as defined in Section 49-7-8.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.