HF 117 (LSB 1901HH (1) 86)

HOUSE FILE 117

BY  DEYOE

A BILL FOR

An Act prohibiting the hunting or taking of cougars and making penalties applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  481A.49  Cougars.

   The commission shall not establish a season for hunting cougars.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  481B.5A  Cougars —— taking prohibited.
   1.  A person shall not take or attempt to take a cougar.
   2.  This section does not prohibit any of the following:
   a.  A person acting to carry out an order issued by a court.
   b.  A licensed veterinarian practicing veterinary medicine as provided in chapter 169.
   c.  An action to protect private property from damage as provided by rules adopted by the department. The action may be conducted by the department of natural resources, including a wild animal depredation biologist, or by an agricultural producer suffering financial losses from the destruction of livestock.
   d.  A person reasonably acting to protect a person from injury or death caused by a cougar.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill provides that a person is prohibited from taking or attempting to take a cougar. A taking includes wounding, killing, trapping, capturing, or collecting (Code section 481B.1). The bill provides for a number of exceptions. A person violating the prohibition is guilty of a simple misdemeanor (Code section 481B.10). 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.