House File 2406

                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  MERTZ, WHITAKER,
                                           and DOLECHECK

                                       (COMPANION TO LSB 5675SS BY
                                        FRAISE)


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the keeping of farm deer.
  2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  3 TLSB 5675HH 80
  4 da/cf/24

PAG LIN

  1  1    Section 1.  Section 170.4, Code Supplement 2003, is amended
  1  2 to read as follows:
  1  3    170.4  REQUIREMENTS FOR KEEPING WHITETAIL == FENCE
  1  4 CERTIFICATION.
  1  5    A landowner shall not keep whitetail as farm deer, unless
  1  6 the whitetail is kept on land of any number of acres which is
  1  7 enclosed by a fence.  The fence must be constructed and
  1  8 maintained as prescribed by rules adopted by the department.
  1  9 A landowner shall not keep the whitetail unless the fence is
  1 10 certified in a manner and according to procedures required by
  1 11 the department.  The fence shall be constructed and maintained
  1 12 to ensure that whitetail are kept in the enclosure and that
  1 13 other deer are excluded from the enclosure.  A fence that is
  1 14 constructed on or after May 23, 2003, shall be at least eight
  1 15 feet in height above ground level.  The department of
  1 16 agriculture and land stewardship may require that the fence is
  1 17 inspected and approved prior to certification.  The department
  1 18 of natural resources may periodically inspect the fence
  1 19 according to appointment with the enclosure's landowner.
  1 20                           EXPLANATION
  1 21    During the 2003 legislative session the General Assembly
  1 22 passed House File 624 (2003 Acts, chapter 149) regulating farm
  1 23 deer, including whitetail deer.  The bill effectively
  1 24 transferred regulatory authority from the department of
  1 25 natural resources under Code chapter 484 (which supervises
  1 26 hunting preserves) to the department of agriculture and land
  1 27 stewardship under new Code chapter 170.  That Code chapter
  1 28 does not currently establish minimum acreage restrictions.
  1 29 The department's administrative rules provide that an
  1 30 enclosure must include at least 320 contiguous acres.  This
  1 31 bill expressly provides that there is no minimum acreage
  1 32 requirement.
  1 33 LSB 5675HH 80
  1 34 da/cf/24.2
  1 35