Citations Affected: IC 14-8; IC 14-22; IC 15-2.1.
Synopsis: Deer livestock facilities. Prohibits the department of natural
resources from refusing to grant a game breeder's licence because the
game mammal is a whitetail deer. Establishes a permit process to
operate a cervidae livestock facility. Provides procedures for the
Indiana state board of animal health to issue permits to persons who
meet certain requirements. Requires the cervidae livestock facility to
be inspected and wild and free ranging cervidae to be removed from
the facility before a permit is approved. Provides for penalties.
Effective: July 1, 2003.
January 23, 2003, read first time and referred to Committee on Roads and Transportation.
February 27, 2003, amended, reported _ Do Pass.
March 3, 2003, read second time, amended, ordered engrossed.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
animals.
land, and address.
(C) The cervidae species and the maximum number of
cervidae proposed to be allowed at the cervidae livestock
facility location.
(D) The applicant's business plan, including the methods,
protocols, and procedures the person intends on
implementing to comply with this chapter.
(E) The actions and precautions taken to prevent the
transmission of disease among or between wild or free
ranging cervidae and privately owned cervidae, including
methods of fencing and animal identification.
(F) The proposed method to remove wild or free ranging
cervidae from the proposed facility, and the proposed
method to verify that the wild or free ranging cervidae
have been removed, if applicable.
(G) The record keeping system that will be used.
(H) The current zoning ordinances that apply to the
proposed facility.
(I) Any ordinances concerning fences that apply to the
facility.
(J) Any other information required by the board.
(2) Pays the application fee determined by the board.
(b) The board shall forward a copy of the initial application to
the county commissioners and any area plan commission or board
of zoning appeals where the proposed cervidae livestock facility
will be located. Within thirty (30) days after receipt of the
application, the local unit of government may respond to the board
indicating if the applicant's cervidae livestock facility would violate
a local zoning or fence ordinance.
Sec. 6. The board shall inspect a proposed cervidae livestock
facility not more than thirty (30) days after the applicant has
informed the board that the facility is completed and ready to be
inspected.
Sec. 7. (a) The board shall issue a cervidae livestock facility
permit to a person when the following requirements have been
met:
(1) A completed application has been submitted.
(2) The application fee has been paid.
(3) The cervidae livestock facility has been inspected and
meets the board's:
(A) operational standards; and
(B) fencing and construction requirements.
(4) The facility complies with the business plan submitted to
the board.
(5) The applicant has taken actions to remove the wild or free
ranging cervidae species from the cervidae livestock facility
proposed under section 5(a)(1)(F) of this chapter and has
verified that those animals have been removed.
(6) The applicant can appropriately identify the facility's
individual cervidae.
(7) The cervidae livestock facility complies with local zoning
and fence ordinances. If the board does not receive a response
from a local unit of government under section 5(b) of this
chapter indicating that the proposed facility would violate a
local zoning or fence ordinance, the board may presume that
the facility complies with the local zoning and fence
ordinances.
(b) If the board denies an applicant a cervidae livestock facility
permit, the board shall give the applicant a written denial that
specifies the deficiencies that need to be corrected in order for a
permit to be issued. Without filing a second application, an
applicant may submit a revised application and request a second
inspection after the deficiencies have been corrected.
(c) A cervidae livestock facility permit expires three (3) years
after the date the permit is issued.
Sec. 8. A cervidae livestock facility permit must contain the
following information:
(1) The complete name, business name, and business address
of the cervidae livestock facility permit holder.
(2) The permit registration number and expiration date.
(3) The complete address of the cervidae livestock facility
location.
(4) The cervidae species and the maximum number of
cervidae allowed at the cervidae livestock facility location.
(5) The complete name, address, and telephone number of the
board contact person concerning cervidae livestock facilities.
Sec. 9. The board shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to regulate
the following:
(1) The operational standards for cervidae livestock facilities.
(2) Application and renewal fees. The fees must be determined
by the size of the facility and the number of cervidae located
at the facility. However, the fees may not exceed:
(A) five hundred dollars ($500) per facility; or
(B) fifty dollars ($50) for small facilities that do not operate
commercially.
All fees collected under this section shall be deposited in the
board's general operating account.
(3) Fence height and construction requirements for different
species of cervidae.
(4) Standards to appropriately identify individual animals.
(5) Standards and procedures to renew or amend cervidae
livestock facility permits.
(6) Any other matters that are necessary to implement this
chapter.
(7) The board shall establish different classes of cervidae
livestock facility permits for distinct types of cervidae
livestock facilities and establish different standards under this
section for each class of facility.
(8) Standards for the harvest, import, export, and transport
of cervidae.
Sec. 10. (a) The board shall send a cervidae livestock facility
permit holder a renewal application sixty (60) days before the
expiration of the holder's permit.
(b) If the holder of a cervidae livestock facility permit submits
a complete renewal application and renewal fee to the board before
the expiration of the permit, the expiration of the current permit
is extended until the renewal application is approved or denied.
Sec. 11. The board may inspect any cervidae livestock facility
and collect samples or specimens at the facility during normal
business hours.
Sec. 12. If a cervidae livestock facility is sold or transferred, the
new owner shall inform the board in writing not more than ten (10)
business days after the sale or transfer. The new owner of the
cervidae livestock facility may operate under the existing cervidae
livestock facility permit for:
(1) one hundred eighty (180) days; or
(2) until the existing permit expires;
whichever comes first.
Sec. 13. (a) A person may not release cervidae from a cervidae
livestock facility into the wild.
(b) A holder of a cervidae livestock facility permit shall inform
the board within one (1) business day if a cervidae escapes from a
cervidae livestock facility.
(c) A person may not intentionally or knowingly cause the
ingress of wild cervidae into a cervidae livestock facility.
Sec. 14. (a) The board may deny, suspend, revoke, or limit a
cervidae livestock facility permit if, after a hearing, the board
determines that the applicant or holder of the permit has failed to
comply with this chapter or standards adopted by the board.
(b) The board shall issue written notice to the applicant or
licensee stating the board's action, the opportunity for a hearing
under IC 4-21.5, and the procedure and time limit for requesting
a hearing. If the applicant or licensee does not request a hearing
before the board within fifteen (15) days after receiving the notice,
the right to a hearing before the board is waived and the notice
becomes the final order under IC 4-21.5. If a hearing is requested,
the hearing shall be held in compliance with IC 4-21.5.
Sec. 15. A person who violates section 4 or 13 of this chapter
commits a Class B infraction.