HOUSE FILE 258

BY  HORBACH

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for hunting preserves confining swine, which is a member of the species sus scrofa linnaeus, making penalties applicable, and including contingent effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 484B.1, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  01.  “Boar” means a member of the species sus scrofa linnaeus, including but not limited to swine commonly known as a Russian boar or European boar of either sex.
   Sec. 2.  Section 484B.4, subsection 1, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  A person who owns or controls by lease or otherwise for five or more years, a contiguous tract of land having an area of not less than three hundred twenty acres, and who desires to establish a hunting preserve, may apply to the department for a hunting preserve operator’s license under this chapter or rules adopted by the commission. The application shall allow the person to propagate and sell game birds and their young or unhatched eggs,;and shoot game birds and or ungulates on the land, under this chapter or the rules of the commission, shall make application to the department for an operator’s license; or breed, raise, or maintain boars for hunting on the land. The application shall be made under oath of the applicant or under oath of one of its principal officers if the applicant is an association or corporation. Under the authority of this license, any property or facilities to be used for propagating, holding, processing, or pasturing of game birds or ungulates shall not be required to be contained within the contiguous land area used for hunting purposes. The application shall be accompanied by an a hunting preserve operator’s license fee of two hundred dollars.
   Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  484B.5A  Boars.
   1.  A person issued a hunting preserve operator’s license under section 484B.4 may confine a boar within a hunting preserve subject to the license as provided in this section. 
   2.
  a.  A hunting preserve holding and releasing boars shall be enclosed by boundary fences which confine boars within the hunting preserve and which exclude all other swine from entering into the hunting preserve. A boar may be released within the hunting preserve for purposes of hunting.
   b.  A hunting preserve holding and releasing boars shall have signs posted on or near the boundary fences in a manner that reasonably notifies the public that the hunting preserve maintains boars.
   c.  A hunting preserve shall not confine a boar unless it has been born and reared in captivity.
   3.  The department shall adopt rules necessary to administer and enforce this section.
   Sec. 4.  Section 484B.7, subsection 2, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Each licensee shall file an annual report with the department on or before April 30. The report shall detail the hunting preserve operations during the preceding license year. The original report shall be forwarded to the department and a copy shall be retained in the hunting preserve’s file for three years from the date of expiration of the hunting preserve’s last license issued. Records required by this section shall be entered in the annual report record within twenty-four hours of the event. Failure to keep or submit the required records and reports is grounds for refusal to renew a license for the succeeding year. An on-site inspection of property and facilities shall be conducted by an authorized agent of the department prior to the initial issuance of a hunting preserve license. The hunting preserve may be reinspected by an agent of the department at any reasonable time. A licensed hunting preserve shall maintain adequate facilities for all designated birds,and ungulates, or boars held under the hunting preserve license.
   Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  484B.9A  Boar transportation tags —— markings.
   The department shall prepare transportation tags suitable for use upon the carcasses of boars. The tags shall be used to designate all boars taken by hunters upon a licensed hunting preserve. The department shall provide licensees with the tags. A boar taken on a licensed hunting preserve shall be tagged with a numbered tag prior to being removed from the hunting preserve. The hunter shall tag the boar taken in accordance with the rules as determined by the department. The tag shall remain attached to the carcass of the dead boar until processed for consumption. The hunter shall be provided with a bill of sale by the licensee. The bill of sale shall remain in the possession of the hunter. Boar tags issued to a hunting preserve are not transferable.
   Sec. 6.  Section 484B.12, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   484B.12  Health requirements —— ungulates and boars.
   All ungulates or boars which are purchased, propagated, confined, released, or sold by a licensed hunting preserve shall be free of diseases considered significant for wildlife, poultry, or livestock. The department of agriculture and land stewardship shall provide for the regulation of farm all of the following:
   1.  The health of boars which shall meet the same requirements as for other swine as provided in Title V, Subtitle 2, of the Code, including the prevention, control, and eradication of diseases afflicting swine.
   2.  Farm deer as provided in chapter 170.
   Sec. 7.  Section 717F.7, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  12A.
  A hunting preserve licensed pursuant to section 484B.5A, which confines a member of the species sus scrofa linnaeus, including but not limited to swine commonly known as a Russian boar or European boar of either sex.
   Sec. 8.  CONTINGENT EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act becomes effective on the date that a declaration by the secretary of agriculture stating that a hunting preserve may confine swine which is a member of the species sus scrofa linnaeus, including but not limited to swine commonly known as Russian boar or European boar of either sex, is published in the Iowa administrative bulletin. The declaration shall be based upon a finding that hunting such swine confined in a hunting preserve contributes to the economic value of the state. The secretary shall deliver the declaration to the administrative code editor and the Iowa Code editor upon making the determination.
EXPLANATION
   This bill provides that a hunting preserve may enclose swine belonging to the species sus scrofa linnaeus including but not limited to swine commonly known as a Russian boar or European boar of either sex (referred to in the bill as a boar).
   Currently, a person is prohibited from owning a boar because its species is classified as a wild or dangerous animal under Code chapter 717F. The department of natural resources licenses hunting preserves which enclose captive-raised game, including game birds and ungulates under Code chapter 484B.
   The bill provides restrictions upon keeping a boar as part of a hunting preserve, including maintaining boundary fences and posting warning notices to the public. The bill provides that a hunting preserve cannot keep a boar unless it has been born and reared in captivity. It provides that a boar must meet health requirements of other swine as regulated by the department of agriculture and land stewardship. It also provides for the same reporting requirements and transportation tags as for other game.
   A person who violates a provision of Code chapter 484B is guilty of a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than 30 days or a fine of at least $65 but not more than $625 or by both.
   The bill takes effect on the date that a declaration by the secretary of agriculture stating that a hunting preserve may confine such swine is published in the Iowa administrative bulletin.