BILL NUMBER: SB 1480 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Hill)
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to amend Sections 4004, 4005, 4006, 4007, and
4008 of, and to add Sections 4013 and 4014 to,
and to repeal and add Section 4006 of, the Fish and Game
Code, relating to trapping.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1480, as amended, Corbett. Trapping.
(1) Existing law prohibits certain activities related to trapping,
as specified.
This bill would add to those prohibitions the killing of a trapped
mammal through certain specified actions. This bill would prohibit
solicitation of trapping business from the public in certain
specified situations. This bill would also prohibit the trapping of
bats. This bill would permit certain exceptions to the prohibition
against bat trapping where the removal of bats will prevent property
damage or protect human health and safety, as prescribed.
(1) Existing
Existing law, except as specified, requires every
person, other than a fur dealer, who traps fur-bearing mammals or
nongame mammals, designated by the Fish and Game Commission, or who
sells raw furs of those mammals, to have a trapping license from the
Department of Fish and Game. Certain persons taking mammals injurious
to growing crops or other property are exempted from the trapping
license requirement, except those persons providing trapping services
for profit are required to obtain a trapping license from the
department.
This bill would establish 2 classes of trapping licenses. The bill
would authorize a person who has complied with all applicable
licensing and license renewal requirements to trap wildlife for
recreation or fur to be issued a class I trapping license. The bill
would authorize specified persons trapping wildlife for a profit be
issued a class II trapping license. The bill would require the
department to publish a list of class II trapping licensees on its
Internet Web site. The bill would authorize the commission to suspend
or revoke a trapping license at a regularly scheduled meeting of the
commission on prescribed grounds.
The bill would revise fees for trapping licenses, and
would establish the Trapping Enforcement Account in the
Fish and Wildlife Game Preservation
Fund. The bill would require fee revenues to be placed in the
account, to be available, upon appropriation, for specified purposes
relating to the enforcement of existing laws and regulations
governing trapping.
The bill would require a class II trapping licensee to make a
reasonable effort, as defined, to prevent leaving orphaned
dependent animal young to die within inaccessible areas of a
structure such as a home or business, as a consequence of trapping
and killing the mother. not to leave dependent young
animals, that are orphaned as a consequence of the trapping and
killing of their mother, to die within an area of a home or business
that is inaccessible to the licensee. The bill would further
require class II trapping licensees to provide clients with a written
contract, containing prescribed information, prior to setting traps.
(2) Existing law, except as expressly provided, makes any
violation of the Fish and Game Code, or any rule, regulation, or
order made or adopted under that code, a misdemeanor.
The bill would make it unlawful to kill any trapped mammal by
listed methods or to solicit trapping services business from the
public for reasons of health or safety pursuant to specified laws. By
specifying these new Fish and Game Code violations, thereby defining
new crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to
reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs
mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for
making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 4004 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
4004. It is unlawful to do any of the following:
(a) Use a trap with saw-toothed or spiked jaws.
(b) Use or sell leghold steel-jawed traps with a spread of 51/2
inches or larger without offset jaws.
(c) Use steel-jawed traps larger than size 11/2 or with a spread
larger than 47/8 inches for taking muskrat.
(d) Set or maintain traps which do not bear a number or other
identifying mark registered to the department or, in the case of a
federal, state, county, or city agency, bear the name of that agency,
except that traps set pursuant to Section 4152 or 4180 shall bear an
identifying mark in a manner specified by the department. No
registration fee shall be charged pursuant to this subdivision.
(e) Fail to visit and remove all animals from traps at least once
daily. If the trapping is done pursuant to Section 4152 or 4180, the
inspection and removal shall be done by the person who sets the trap
or the owner of the land where the trap is set or an agent of either.
(f) Use a steel leghold trap with a spread exceeding 71/2 inches
or killer-type trap of the conibear type that is larger than 6 inches
by 6 inches, unless partially or wholly submerged in water.
(g) Set or maintain steel leghold traps within 30 feet of bait
placed in a manner or position so that it may be seen by any soaring
bird. As used in this subdivision, "bait" includes any bait composed
of mammal, bird, or fish flesh, fur, hide, entrails, or feathers.
(h) Set or maintain steel leghold traps with a spread of 51/2
inches or larger without a tension device.
(i) Kill any trapped mammal trapped
in accordance with this section by intentional drowning,
chest crushing or thoracic compression, commonly known
as chest crushing, or injection with any chemical not sold for
the purpose of euthanizing animals.
(j) Solicit trapping services business from the
public for reasons of health or safety , or any reason other
than damage to crops or property, under a Class II license,
pursuant to Section 4152, 4180, or 4011.
(k) Trap a bat, except as provided in this subdivision.
(1) For the purposes of this subdivision, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(A) "Exclusion," "exclude," or "excluded" means a nonlethal method
of allowing a bat to leave an area but not to return to that area.
(B) "Owner" means an owner of a structure that humans occupy.
(C) "Protection of human health and safety" means preventing
direct human contact with bats within a structure.
(2) A net may be used in a nonlethal manner to prevent a bat from
causing property damage or for the protection of human health and
safety.
(3) An owner may exclude a bat if the owner does so for the
protection of human health and safety, in accordance with the
following procedures:
(A) The owner shall attempt to seal, screen, or otherwise close
any opening that allows bats to access the interior of the structure.
(B) If the action in subparagraph (A) is not feasible, the owner
shall contact the appropriate regional office of the department and
shall explain to the appropriate members of the department the nature
of the owner's attempts to prevent the bats from entering the owner'
s structure.
(4) If an owner informs the department that a bat is entering the
interior of the structure, and that the owner is unable to close the
bat's point of entry, the department shall provide an effective
remedy to the owner.
(A) The department may recommend the appropriate course of action,
and may request that the owner grant permission for a department
warden or biologist to enter the affected structure so that the
department may further assist the owner.
(B) The department may consider identifying the species of bat,
the protected status of the bat, the size of the bat colony, or other
factors necessary to protect both the health and safety of the
occupants of the structure, and the health and safety of the bats.
(C) The department shall not impose a requirement with respect to
removal or exclusion of bats that prevents a person from protecting
human health or safety.
(D) Unless otherwise authorized by the department, bats may only
be excluded outside of the periods during which nonflying young are
present or when bats are in torpor or hibernation, which is defined
as a period in which the weekday temperature consistently remains
over 50 degrees Fahrenheit for seven consecutive days.
(5) The department may authorize healthy adult bats to be
relocated to a warmer area of the state or temporarily confined at a
licensed wildlife rehabilitation center until the department
determines the temperature is warm enough for the bats to be returned
to the area where they were collected. The department may facilitate
the transport of adult protected bat species or their young, if the
young were orphaned due to exclusion. Any policies adopted by the
department wildlife rehabilitation coordinator relating to temporary
confinement of healthy bats shall carry the same penalty as a
violation of, and may be adopted into, Section 679 of Title 14 of the
California Code of Regulations.
(6) This subdivision does not apply to a person acting pursuant to
a scientific collector's permit issued to that person.
SEC. 2. Section 4005 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:
4005. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, every
person, other than a fur dealer, who traps fur-bearing mammals or
nongame mammals, designated by the commission or who sells raw furs
of those mammals, shall procure a trapping license. "Raw fur" means
any fur, pelt, or skin that has not been tanned or cured, except that
salt-cured or sun-cured pelts are raw furs.
(b) The department shall develop standards that are necessary to
ensure the competence and proficiency of applicants for a trapping
license. A person shall not be issued a license until he or she has
passed a test of his or her knowledge and skill in this field.
(c) Persons trapping mammals in accordance with Section 4152 or
4180 are not required to procure a trapping license except when
providing trapping services for profit.
(d) (1) A person who has complied with all applicable licensing
and license renewal requirements to trap wildlife for recreation or
fur may be issued a class I trapping license.
(2) A person who has passed the trapping license application
test established by the department pursuant to subdivision (b)
or the test for persons trapping wildlife for a
profit in accordance with Section 4152 or 4180 may be issued a class
II trapping license. The department shall publish on the Internet Web
site of the department a list of class II licensees authorized to
provide trapping services to the public for a profit in accordance
with Section 4152 or 4180 , and the registered business name
under which the licensee operates .
(3) A license shall be renewed only for the category of license
that is currently possessed.
(e) No raw furs taken by persons providing trapping services for
profit may be sold.
(f) The license requirement imposed by this section does not apply
to any of the following:
(1) Officers or employees of federal, county, or city agencies or
the department, when acting in their official capacities, or officers
or employees of the Department of Food and Agriculture when acting
pursuant to the Food and Agricultural Code pertaining to pests or
pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 6021) of Chapter 9 of
Part 1 of Division 4 of the Food and Agricultural Code.
(2) Structural pest control operators licensed pursuant to Chapter
14 (commencing with Section 8500) of Division 3 of the Business and
Professions Code, when trapping rats, mice, voles, moles, or gophers.
(3) Persons and businesses licensed or certified by the Department
of Pesticide Regulation pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 11701) and Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 12201) of
Division 6 of, and Chapter 3.6, (commencing with Section 14151) of
Division 7 of, the Food and Agricultural Code, when trapping rats,
mice, voles, moles, or gophers.
(g) Except for species that are listed pursuant to Chapter 1.5
(commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 or Chapter 8 (commencing
with Section 4700), nothing in this code or regulations adopted
pursuant thereto shall prevent or prohibit a person from trapping any
of the following animals:
(1) Gophers.
(2) House mice.
(3) Moles.
(4) Rats.
(5) Voles.
(h) (1) The commission may suspend or revoke a license issued
under this section at a regularly scheduled meeting of the
commission, upon violation of the code or violation of an
implementing regulation adopted pursuant to this article.
(h) (1) Licenses issued in accordance with this section are
subject to revocation pursuant to Section 12156.
(2) The commission may also suspend or revoke a
license issued under this section at a regularly scheduled meeting of
the commission for publication of information about wildlife
diseases that, in the determination of the commission, is false or
misleading. The commission, in making that determination may
consider, but shall not be limited to consideration of, information
about wildlife diseases published by the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and by the department on its Internet Web
site.
SEC. 3. Section 4006 of the Fish and Game Code
is repealed.
SEC. 4. Section 4006 is added to the Fish and
Game Code, to read:
4006. (a) The department shall issue a trapping license as
follows:
(1) To any resident of this state over 16 years of age, upon
payment of a fee determined by the commission and adjusted annually
in accordance with Section 713.
(2) To any resident of this state under 16 years of years, upon
payment of a fee determined by the commission and adjusted annually
in accordance with Section 713.
(3) To any person not a resident of this state, upon payment of a
fee determined by the commission and adjusted annually in accordance
with Section 713. A license shall not be issued to a nonresident if
the state in which he or she resides does not provide for issuance of
a nonresident trapping license to California residents. Also, a
nonresident issued a license under this paragraph may take only those
species, and may take or possess only that quantity of a species
that a resident of California may take or possess under a nonresident
trapping license or permit in the state of residence of that
nonresident.
(b) (1) Fees set pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be recorded in
the California Code of Regulations. Except for adjustments pursuant
to Section 713, a fee shall not be adjusted except as directed by the
commission in accordance with this section.
(2) The commission shall adjust license fees imposed pursuant to
this section in accordance with findings of the department determined
in a review process to ensure that license fees are set in an amount
sufficient to recover, but not exceed, program costs.
(c) The Trapping Enforcement Account is hereby established within
the Fish and Wildlife Preservation Fund. Revenues of license fees
imposed pursuant to this section shall be placed in the Trapping
Enforcement Account and moneys in the account shall be available,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund the enforcement of the
provisions of this code relating to trapping and of regulations
adopted pursuant to those provisions.
SEC. 3. Section 4006 of the Fish and
Game Code is amended to read:
4006. A trapping license shall be issued as follows:
(a) To any resident of this state over the age of 16 years upon
payment of a base fee of forty-five dollars ($45), as adjusted under
Section 713.
(b) To any resident of this state under the age of 16 years upon
payment of a base fee of fifteen dollars ($15), as adjusted under
Section 713.
(c) To any person not a resident of this state upon payment of a
base fee of two hundred twenty-five dollars ($225), as adjusted under
Section 713.
A license shall not be issued to a nonresident if the state in
which he or she resides does not provide for issuance of a
nonresident trapping license to California residents. Also, a
nonresident issued a license under this subdivision may take only
those species, and may take or possess only that quantity of a
species which a resident of California may take or possess under a
nonresident trapping license or permit in the state of residence of
that nonresident.
(d) The Trapping Enforcement Account is hereby established within
the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. Revenues of the license fees
imposed pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Trapping
Enforcement Account and moneys in the account shall be available,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund the enforcement of the
provisions of this code relating to trapping and of regulations
adopted pursuant to those provisions.
SEC. 5. SEC. 4. Section 4007 of the
Fish and Game Code is amended to read:
4007. A class I trapping license authorizes the person to whom it
is issued to take, during the open season, fur-bearing mammals and
nongame mammals for a term of one year from July 1st, or if issued
after the beginning of that term, for the remainder of the term and
to sell the raw fur of these mammals.
SEC. 6. SEC. 5. Section 4008 of the
Fish and Game Code is amended to read:
4008. A trapping license shall not be issued to any applicant
within one year following the expiration of any trapping license
previously issued to that applicant unless the applicant has
submitted to the department a sworn statement showing the number of
each kind of fur-bearing mammals and nongame mammals taken under the
previous license. A class I trapping licensee shall provide the names
and addresses of the persons to whom furs were shipped or sold.
SEC. 7. SEC. 6. Section 4013 is
added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:
4013. (a) A class II trapping licensee shall make a reasonable
effort to prevent leaving not to leave
orphaned dependent animal young
animals, that are orphaned as a consequence of the trapping and
killing of their mother, to die within an
inaccessible areas area of a structure
such as a home or business , as
a consequence of trapping and killing the mother.
that is inaccessible to the licensee. "Reasonable effort" is
defined as follows: taking any of the
following steps to ascertain whether dependent young animals are
present, including, but not limited to:
(1) Utilizing basic wildlife Using
the natural history information that is
included in the class II trapping license application
examination.
(2) Requesting information from the potential client that would
indicate whether dependent animal young
animals are present, such as infant vocalization and other
sounds and activity commonly associated with young being
present.
(3) Conducting a visual inspection or setting a
one-way-door with a holding trap attached to determine if a lactating
female animal is present within the building if there is uncertainty
as to whether young are present of the area where
sounds or activity have been reported .
(4) Monitoring an entry point with a paper block or tracking
powder to determine whether the entry is disturbed on a daily basis,
indicating a mother returning to her young.
(5) Using a heat sensor or other technology.
(6) Affixing a one-way-door attached to a holding cage across an
entry point of a structure to visually confirm whether the animal is
a lactating female.
(7) Other methods of identifying whether young dependent animals
are present.
(b) A lactating female animal shall not be killed, and traps shall
not be set for a mother if young animal
sounds have been reported or it is known or suspected
that dependent animal young animals
exist on the premises and the removal of young from
within a structure or other area is not possible due to
inaccessibility the fact that the area from
which the licensee is trying to remove the animals is
inaccessible to the licensee .
(c) If a licensee determines that young dependent animals are
present, the licensee shall use lawful and humane methods to
encourage the mother to relocate the young from the area from which
the licensee is trying to remove the animals.
SEC. 8. SEC. 7. Section 4014 is
added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:
4014. (a) Class II trapping licensees that provide trapping
services for profit pursuant to Section 4152 or 4180 shall provide
each client with a written contract prior to setting traps.
(b) The written contract shall contain the following information
and disclosures and shall be printed in at least 12-point typeface
beginning on and continuing from the upper half of the first page of
the contract:
California law requires consumers to be provided with the
following information and disclosures prior to traps being set, when
hiring wildlife trapping services.
µ Name and current contact information of the person setting a
trap.
µ The current year's trapping license number of the individual
setting a trap , and the business name under which the services
are provided .
µ "It is only lawful to trap wildlife for a profit in
California if damage to crops or property has occurred. Animals
posing a risk to human health or safety may only be taken by
specified government officials (Sections 4011, 4152 ,
and 4180 of the Fish and Game Code)."
µ "This is a description of the property damage as confirmed by
the licensed trapper through visual inspection:
__________________________________________."
µ "This is the target animal or species responsible for the
damage:
__________________________________________."
µ "All furbearing and nongame mammals that are legal to trap
must be immediately killed or released. Unless released, trapped
animals shall be killed by shooting where local ordinances,
landowners, and safety permit (T-14 CCR SS 465.5(g)(1))."
(Section 465.5(g)(1) of Title 14 of the California
Code of Regulations). "
µ "Nontarget animals are defined as those animals that become
accidentally trapped, but are not responsible for the documented
property damage. These animals must be immediately released."
µ "Traps must be inspected and all animals removed at least
once each day by the licensed trapper, the person hiring the trapper,
or an agent thereof, pursuant to Sections 4152 and 4180 of the Fish
and Game Code."
µ "This is the name and telephone number of the person charged
with checking the traps each day:
__________________________________________."
µ "A reasonable effort must be made to prevent orphaning
dependent animal young. It is prohibited to set traps for an animal
when young are inaccessible or to kill a lactating female animal if
young are inaccessible within a structure such as a home or
business as a consequence of trapping and killing the mother
(Section 4013 of the Fish and Game Code). A reasonable effort
includes, but is not limited to (a) requesting information about
sounds and activity that would indicate young animals are present,
(b) inspecting the area where sounds or activity is occurring, and
(c) monitoring an access point for evidence of a mother returning
daily to her young (Section 4013 of the Fish and Game Code). "
µ "The following methods of dispatching trapped land
mammals are prohibited: drowning, chest crushing, or
injection with any chemical not sold for the purpose of animal
euthanasia . (Section 4004 of the Fish and
Game Code). "
µ An identifying tag issued by the Department of Fish and Game
is required to be affixed to every trap that is set (Section
465.5(g)(1) of Title 14 of the California Code of
Regulations) .
µ Wildlife that pose a risk to human health or safety
may be taken only by specified government officials pursuant to
Section 4152, 4180, or 4011 of the Fish and Game
Code. A person shall not trap a bat. Bats may be
excluded, as defined in Section 4004(k) of the Fish and Game
Code, during certain time periods, as specified in Section 4004(k) of
the Fish and Game Code. Where necessary to protect human health or
safety, the department may exclude bats, as specified in Section 4004
(k) of the Fish and Game Code.
µ Address and signature of client:
__________________________________________.
µ Signature of licensed trapper who will be placing traps:
__________________________________________.
µ The following is a true and accurate list of each animal (by
species) removed from trapped at this
address , and the date each animal was
removed , and the final disposition of the removed animal
.
Species Trapped: _________________________________
Date: __________________________________________
Final disposition: ________________________________
SEC. 9. SEC. 8. No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred
by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this
act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or
infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the
definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII
B of the California Constitution.