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