GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2009

S                                                                                                                                                    D

SENATE DRS55154-LL-139  (2/15)

Short Title:        Prohibit Penning of Wildlife.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Senator Hunt.
Referred to:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to prohibit the placing of live foxes or coyotes in enclosed areas for the purpose of field trials or the training of dogs.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 113‑292(e) reads as rewritten:

"(e)       It is unlawful for any person to:

(1)        Release or place exotic species of wild animals or wild birds in an area for the purpose of stocking the area for hunting or trapping;

(2)        Release or place species of wild animals or wild birds not indigenous to that area in an area for the purpose of stocking the area for hunting or trapping;

(2a) Release or place live foxes or coyotes in an enclosed area in which the animals are intentionally confined for the purpose of field trials or the training of dogs, regardless of the size of the enclosure;

(3)        Take by hunting or trapping any animal or bird released or placed in an area in contravention of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, except under a permit to hunt or trap which may be issued by the Wildlife Resources Commission for the purpose of eradicating or controlling the population of any species of wildlife that has been so released or placed in the area."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 113‑273(g) reads as rewritten:

"(g)       Controlled Hunting Preserve Operator License. – The Wildlife Resources Commission is authorized by rule to set standards for and to license the operation of controlled hunting preserves operated by private persons. Controlled hunting preserves are of two types: one A controlled hunting preserve is an area marked with appropriate signs along the outside boundaries on which only domestically raised game birds other than wild turkeys are taken; the other is an area enclosed with a dog‑proof fence on which foxes and coyotes may be hunted with dogs only. A controlled fox and coyote hunting preserve operated for private use may be of any size; a controlled hunting preserve operated for commercial purposes shall be an area of not less than 500 acres or of such size as set by regulation of the Wildlife Resources Commission, which shall take into account differences in terrain and topography, as well as the welfare of the wildlife. taken.

Operators of controlled fox hunting preserves may purchase live foxes and coyotes from licensed trappers who live‑trap foxes and coyotes during any open season for trapping them and may, at any time, take live foxes from their preserves for sale to other licensed operators. The controlled hunting preserve operator license may be purchased for a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00), and is an annual license issued beginning 1 July each year running until the following 30 June."

SECTION 3.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective December 1, 2009, and applies to acts committed on or after that date. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.