House File 41 - Introduced



                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  ARNOLD


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

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to bobcat hunting in the state.
  2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  3 TLSB 1479YH 83
  4 av/nh/24

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  481A.88  BOBCAT HUNTING.
  1  2    The commission shall limit the number of bobcats that may
  1  3 be taken each year in designated areas to a harvest of one
  1  4 thousand bobcats in 2009, two thousand bobcats in 2010, and to
  1  5 one bobcat per person for each year thereafter.  A person
  1  6 hunting bobcats shall have a valid fur harvester license and
  1  7 be otherwise qualified to trap or hunt fur=bearing animals in
  1  8 the state.  The commission shall, by rule, establish a season
  1  9 and the areas in the state where bobcats may be harvested but
  1 10 shall not establish a limit on the number of bobcats that may
  1 11 be harvested each year except as provided in this section.
  1 12                           EXPLANATION
  1 13    This bill provides that the natural resource commission
  1 14 shall establish a harvest limitation of 1,000 bobcats in 2009,
  1 15 2,000 bobcats in 2010, and one bobcat per person for each year
  1 16 thereafter with no harvest limit.  A person hunting bobcats
  1 17 must have a valid fur harvester license and be otherwise
  1 18 qualified to trap or hunt fur=bearing animals in the state.
  1 19 The commission is required to establish, by rule, a season and
  1 20 the areas in the state where bobcats may be harvested but is
  1 21 prohibited from establishing a limit on the number of bobcats
  1 22 that may be harvested each year except as provided in the bill
  1 23 for 2009 and 2010.
  1 24    Currently, administrative rules specify the counties where
  1 25 bobcats may be harvested, establish a season, provide a
  1 26 seasonal bag limit of one bobcat per person, and limit the
  1 27 number of bobcats that may be harvested to 200 bobcats per
  1 28 year.
  1 29 LSB 1479YH 83
  1 30 av/nh/24.2