HF 118 (LSB 1721YH (2) 90)

HOUSE FILE 118

BY  FISHER

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to taking certain animals that are deemed a nuisance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 481A.87, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   481A.87  Open seasons.
   1.  Except as otherwise provided, a person shall not take, capture, kill, or have in possession a fur-bearing animal or any of its parts at any time except during the open season as set by the commission except where. 
   2.  A person may kill, trap, or ensnare a fur-bearing animal when the killing, trapping, or ensnaring is for the protection of a person or public or private property with the prior permission of a duly appointed representative of the commission. If prior permission is impractical or impossible to obtain and the fur-bearing animal represents a threat to a person, domestic animal, or private property, the fur-bearing animal may be taken without prior permission.
   3.  Prior permission is not required for an owner or tenant of agricultural property or an associated residence, or an agent of the owner or tenant, to take, capture, kill, or temporarily possess, for the purpose of destroying or disposing of, a coyote, raccoon, opossum, skunk, or groundhog on the property if the owner, tenant, or agent deems the animal to be a nuisance.
   4.  All fur-bearing animals and all parts thereof taken as provided in this section subsection 2 or 3 shall be disposed of on the site or shall be relinquished to a representative of the commission.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the taking of fur-bearing animals without prior permission of the natural resource commission (NRC).
   Under current law, a person may kill, trap, or ensnare a fur-bearing animal outside of the open season if the killing, trapping, or ensnaring is for the protection of a person or public or private property and with the prior permission of a duly appointed representative of NRC. A person may take a fur-bearing animal without receiving prior permission if prior permission is impractical or impossible to obtain and the fur-bearing animal represents a threat to a person, domestic animal, or private property.
   Under the bill, an owner or tenant of agricultural property or an associated residence, or an agent of the owner or tenant, may take, capture, kill, or temporarily possess, for the purpose of destroying or disposing of, a coyote, raccoon, opossum, skunk, or groundhog without receiving prior permission if the owner, tenant, or agent deems the animal to be a nuisance. Any fur-bearing animal taken pursuant to an exception in Code section 481A.87 shall be disposed of onsite or shall be relinquished to a representative of the commission.