HF 2166 (LSB 5603YH (7) 87)

HOUSE FILE 2166

BY  BAXTER, LUNDGREN, OURTH, HOLZ, COWNIE, BALTIMORE, and PRICHARD

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the management of the spread of diseases in wild animals and making penalties applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 481A.38, subsection 1, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  a.  The commission may upon its own motion and after an investigation, alter, limit, or restrict the methods or means employed and the instruments or equipment used in taking wild mammals, birds subject to section 481A.48, fish, reptiles, and amphibians, if the investigation reveals that the action would be desirable or beneficial in promoting the interests of conservation, or the commission may, after an investigation when it is found there is imminent danger of loss of fish through natural causes, authorize the taking of fish by means found advisable to salvage imperiled fish populations.
   b.  The commission shall act to prevent, control, or eradicate an infectious or contagious disease in any wild animal as necessary to comply with section 456A.23. After an investigation when it is found there is imminent danger of loss of fish through natural causes, the commission may authorize the taking of fish by means found advisable to salvage imperiled fish populations. Upon the discovery of an infectious or contagious disease in any wild animal, the commission may establish a disease management zone and take such actions within the zone as are necessary to protect animal health and conserve biological balance. Such actions may include but are not limited to establishing special seasons, preventing the artificial movement of wild animals, carcasses, or parts thereof, requiring disease sample collection from harvested animals, and limiting the unnatural congregation of wild animals. The commission shall give at least twenty-four hours’ notice by mail or electronic means before establishing a zone and such notice shall identify the specific activity requirements or restrictions imposed in the zone.
   c.  The importation into the state of hunter-harvested Cervidae carcasses from any state, province, or country that chronic wasting disease has been confirmed within either captive or wild cervid populations is prohibited, except for:
   (1)  Quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached.
   (2)  Meat that is boned out or that is cut and wrapped, either commercially or privately.
   (3)  Hides and teeth.
   (4)  Antlers or skull plates with antlers attached but with no brain tissue attached.
   (5)  Finished taxidermy mounts.
   Nonresidents transporting whole or partial carcasses on a direct route through Iowa are exempt from this prohibition.

   b.  d.  The commission shall adopt a rule permitting a crossbow to be used only by individuals with disabilities who are physically incapable of using a bow and arrow under the conditions in which a bow and arrow is permitted. The commission shall prepare an application to be used by an individual requesting the status. The application shall require the individual’s physician to sign a statement declaring that the individual is not physically able to use a bow and arrow.
   e.  A person who violates paragraph “c” shall, in lieu of the provisions of section 481A.32, be assessed a minimum fine of one hundred dollars. Each carcass transported into the state in violation of paragraph “c” shall be a separate offense.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires the natural resource commission to act to prevent, control, or eradicate an infectious or contagious disease in any wild animal. The bill allows the commission to authorize the taking of fish by means found advisable in order to salvage imperiled fish populations. The bill also authorizes the commission to establish a disease management zone for any other wild animal, upon the finding of an infectious or contagious disease in a population of that animal, and take certain actions to prevent the spread of disease through that animal population. The bill prohibits the importation of Cervidae carcasses into the state from any state, province, or country where chronic wasting disease has been confirmed within either captive or wild cervid populations except under certain conditions.
   A person who transports a Cervidae carcass into the state in violation of the provisions of the bill shall be assessed a minimum $100 fine.