Bill Text: NY S07078 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to wild and exotic animal protection; prohibits release of such animals; requires owners of exotic animals to pay for costs associated with animal recapture.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-06-19 - SUBSTITUTED BY A10041B [S07078 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-S07078-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        7078--A
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                    April 27, 2012
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sens.  GRISANTI, AVELLA, OPPENHEIMER, ROBACH, SERRANO --
         read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
         the  Committee  on Environmental Conservation -- committee discharged,
         bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
         committee
       AN  ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to wild
         and exotic animal protection
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1. Subdivisions 1, 8 and 9 of section 11-0512 of the environ-
    2  mental conservation law, as amended by chapter 10 of the laws  of  2005,
    3  are amended to read as follows:
    4    1.  No person shall knowingly possess, harbor, sell, barter, transfer,
    5  exchange, RELEASE, or import any wild animal for use as  a  pet  in  New
    6  York state, except as provided in subdivision three of this section.
    7    8.  The department, any police or peace officer of this state, a local
    8  animal  control  officer,  or  a  duly  incorporated  society  for   the
    9  prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals is hereby authorized to enforce the
   10  provisions of this section and issue notices of violation to persons  in
   11  violation  of  this  section,  and shall have the authority to seize any
   12  wild animal held in violation of this section. A county society for  the
   13  prevention  of cruelty to animals must obtain a warrant before seizing a
   14  wild animal or arresting a person who owns or possesses  a  wild  animal
   15  under  this  section. Wild animals seized or surrendered pursuant to the
   16  provisions of this section shall be transferred to a  duly  incorporated
   17  wildlife sanctuary as defined in this section, or a zoological facility,
   18  or  shall  be  humanely  euthanized.  Any costs associated with seizing,
   19  transferring, RECAPTURING or euthanizing a wild animal shall be borne by
   20  the person who owned, harbored or possessed the animal.  The  department
   21  shall  also have the authority to seek injunctive relief in any court of
   22  appropriate  jurisdiction  to  prevent  continued  violations  of   this
   23  section.
   24    9. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who knowing-
   25  ly  breeds  a  wild animal or knowingly possesses, owns, harbors, sells,
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD14078-06-2
       S. 7078--A                          2
    1  barters, transfers, exchanges, or imports a wild animal for use as a pet
    2  in violation of the provisions of this section shall  be  subject  to  a
    3  penalty  of not more than five hundred dollars for the first offense and
    4  not more than one thousand dollars for a second and subsequent offenses.
    5  Each  instance  of  breeding,  owning, harboring, sale, barter, RELEASE,
    6  transfer, exchange, or import of a wild  animal  in  violation  of  this
    7  section shall constitute a separate offense.
    8    S  2.  Paragraphs  b  and c of subdivision 3 of section 11-0512 of the
    9  environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 10 of the laws  of
   10  2005, are amended and a new paragraph d is added to read as follows:
   11    b.  Applies  to the department within six months of the effective date
   12  of this section, and obtains from the department, a license pursuant  to
   13  subdivision four of this section; [and]
   14    c. Complies with all applicable federal, state, or local laws, includ-
   15  ing  any  ordinance,  rule  or  regulation  adopted  by a local board of
   16  health, or any rules and regulations established by  the  department  as
   17  requisites for ownership of such wild animal[.]; AND
   18    D.    REPORTS  A  RELEASE  TO  THE  LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT AND ANIMAL
   19  CONTROL IMMEDIATELY UPON DISCOVERY OF THE RELEASE. EACH ESCAPE DURING  A
   20  TWELVE  MONTH  PERIOD OF TIME WILL SUBJECT THE POSSESSOR TO PENALTIES BY
   21  THE DEPARTMENT PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISIONS EIGHT AND NINE OF THIS SECTION.
   22    S 3. Section 11-0512 of the environmental conservation law is  amended
   23  by adding a new subdivision 11 to read as follows:
   24    11.  FOR  PURPOSES  OF THIS SECTION, "RELEASE" SHALL MEAN KNOWINGLY OR
   25  NEGLIGENTLY FREEING  OR  SETTING  AT-LARGE  ANY  WILD  ANIMAL  FROM  THE
   26  LOCATION WHERE THE ANIMAL IS PERMITTED TO BE POSSESSED OR HARBORED.
   27    S  4.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
   28  have become a law.