NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1981 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 1203

HOUSE BILL 713

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND G.S. 113-291.4 WITH RESPECT TO FOX MANAGEMENT.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1. Subsection (f) of G.S. 113-291.4 is amended by deleting the first sentence of the subsection and by inserting in lieu thereof the following:

"When there is filed with the Wildlife Resources Commission a written petition requesting establishment in a county of an open season for taking foxes by trapping or with weapons, and the petition has been signed by not less than fifteen percent (15%) of the residents of the county who hold either a current and valid hunting license or trapping license, the Commission, upon verification of the petitioners in accordance with its policy, must institute a survey of the population of foxes in the county and, if adequate foxes are found to be available, must hold a public hearing in the county on the advisability of opening a fox season in the county. Population surveys must be conducted in accordance with policy developed by the Commission, consistent with its regional personnel and financial capabilities. If, on the basis of the survey and other available information, the Commission determines the population of foxes in the county is fully adequate to support a harvest of that population, the Commission may open a season for taking foxes by trapping or with weapons in the county, or in such portion of the county as it may deem appropriate. The petition authorized by this subsection must be submitted on forms provided by the Commission and must include each petitioner's signature, address, telephone number, if any, type of license held, the number of the license, and the driver's license number, if any, and must identify the sponsor of the petition. A petition determined by the Commission to contain inadvertent defects will be returned to the sponsor with an explanation of its deficiencies and necessary corrective measures; a fraudulent petition will be impounded by the Commission, and its sponsor will be so notified."

Sec. 2. G.S. 113-291.4 is amended by adding a new subsection (i) to read as follows:

"(i)        Upon notification by the North Carolina Division of Health Services of the presence of a contagious animal disease in a local fox population, the Commission is authorized to establish such population control measures as are appropriate until notified by public health authorities that the problem is deemed to have passed."

Sec. 3. G.S. 113-291.4(c)(1) is amended to read:

"(1)      As provided in subsections (f) or (i)."

Sec. 4. This act shall become effective upon ratification, and Section 1 shall remain in effect only until July 1, 1987.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 18th day of June, 1982.