BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1480|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1480
Author: Corbett (D), et al.
Amended: 8/20/12
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMM. : 5-3, 4/10/12
AYES: Pavley, Kehoe, Padilla, Simitian, Wolk
NOES: La Malfa, Cannella, Fuller
NO VOTE RECORDED: Evans
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Dutton
SENATE FLOOR : 22-14, 5/31/12
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, De Le�n,
DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu,
Liu, Lowenthal, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Simitian,
Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Cannella, Dutton,
Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa,
Walters, Wright, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Negrete McLeod, Rubio, Runner, Strickland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 47-28, 8/23/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Trapping
SOURCE : Born Free USA
San Francisco Wildlife Center
CONTINUED
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DIGEST : This bill makes it unlawful to trap bats and
will restrict the netting and exclusion of bats, and
creates a special trapping license for persons offering
trapping services to the public and establish conditions
for use of that license.
Assembly Amendments make this bill operative 7/1/13;
requires publicly-used lands to be posted with "Danger!
Keep Dogs Out! Lethal Traps Set for Wildlife"; and make
clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
Several key provisions of the Fish and Game Code deal with
trapping of mammals.
1.Section 4005 requires those who trap fur-bearing mammals
or nongame mammals for profit to be licensed by the Fish
and Game Commission (Commission). The Department of Fish
and Game (DFG) has the responsibility to develop
standards for trappers which may be implemented in
regulations developed by the Commission. If not trapping
for profit, an owner of property or a tenant, as well as
various government officials, are not subject to this
limitation. Fees for trapping licenses are currently set
in statute in section 4006.
2.When commercial trapping services are used, Section 4152
imposes the important principle that limits trapping of
nongame mammals and other specified animals to situations
in which the animals are injuring growing crops or other
property. As above, if not trapping for profit, an owner
of property or a tenant, as well as various government
officials, are not subject to this limitation.
3.Section 4180 requires that traps used to kill fur-bearing
mammals must be inspected daily and any animals removed
at least daily.
4.Section 4004 limits the killer-type trap of the conibear
variety to 10 x 10 inches. Conibear traps are illegal
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for fur trappers to use but nuisance wildlife trappers
may use them. Conibear traps come in a variety of sizes
and have a square frame with two rotating jaws. Larger
versions typically have two springs. Commercial fur
trappers are prohibited from using conibear traps but
nuisance wildlife trappers may. Only two other states
allow conibear traps of this size, Texas and Tennessee.
5.Section 4008 prohibits issuance of a trapping license
when a previous license has lapsed within one year unless
the applicant fully documents the fur-bearing or other
mammals that were trapped under the previous license,
among other criteria.
6.Government agencies are authorized to trap mammals
involved in dangerous human disease outbreaks.
This bill:
1. Reduces the maximum size of conibear killer-type traps
that may be used, other than in water or wetlands.
Requires publicly-used lands to be posted with "Danger!
Keep Dogs Out! Lethal Traps Set for Wildlife."
2. Prohibits killing trapped mammals by drowning, injecting
with chemicals other than those sold for animal
euthanasia, or chest crushing (other than with an
authorized trap).
3. Prohibits the trapping of bats but allows the netting
and exclusion of bats to protect property or for the
protection of human health and safety, as specified.
Allows, but does not require, DFG to provide assistance
and expertise on excluding bats.
4. After July 1, 2013, converts the existing testing and
licensing requirements for fur trappers into a class I
license program and creates a class II testing and
licensing program for for-profit nuisance mammal
trapping. Requires DFG to post on its Internet Web
site, at least annually, a list of class II licensees
and the business names under which they operate
5. Requires, after July 1, 2013, that a class II licensee
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make reasonable efforts to detect when dependent young
animals may be present and not orphan known or suspected
young animals in inaccessible areas of structures.
Specifies that lawful and humane methods shall be used
to induce the mother to relocate the young.
6. Requires, after July 1, 2013, that class II licensees
provide customers with a written contract including, but
not limited to, contact information and consumer
disclosures detailing lawful methods of setting and
checking traps and releasing or euthanizing caught
animals. Requires contracts to be kept on file for
three years and made available to DFG upon request.
7. Maintains existing exemptions from trapping license
requirements for specified state, federal and local
officials. Allows DFG to enter into cooperative
agreements with special districts or state or local
agencies that are responsible for levee maintenance for
the purpose of controlling harmful nongame mammals.
Comments
Non-target victims of conibear-type body crushing traps
include raccoons, skunks, dogs, and dozens of wetland
species from river otters to wood ducks to snapping
turtles. Many states have limited the size of
conibear-type traps in order to prevent the killing of
non-target species, including domestic pets. California is
one of the last three states to allow conibear traps that
are 10 by 10 inches, the other two are Texas and Tennessee.
Six states have restricted conibear traps to 6 by 6 inches
and ten have completely prohibited them on land.
With respect to bats, DFG currently lists a dozen
California bats as Species of Special Concern and notes one
is already listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
According to DFG, bats play a critical role in the
ecosystem and are important for pollination, seed
dispersal, and pest control. Just one of California's
little brown bats, for example, can catch and eat 600
mosquitoes per hour. DFG states that current California
law allows property owners or their employees to legally
remove bats from property when bats are damaging it but
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that it is illegal to capture or possess bats for any other
reason without a DFG permit. DFG warns that the use of
poisons or fumigants on bats is not only illegal under both
state and federal law but that it is costly and ineffective
because unless access points are sealed, more bats will be
back next year. DFG notes that besides being unnecessarily
cruel, excluding bats during the maternity season can
actually make problems worse with dead baby bats creating
unpleasant odors and attracting insects.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there
will be one-time costs in 2012-13 of approximately $125,000
to DFG to establish class II commercial trapping license
base fee and to develop regulations ($100,000) and modify
the automated licensing system ($25,000) (special fund).
The staff analysis estimates annual costs of approximately
$220,000 to DFG for a warden to monitor trapper activities
($200,000) and for staff to administer sales, update Web
site, and coordinate with regional staff ($20,000) (special
fund) with annual fee revenue, beginning in 2012-13, of an
unknown amount but presumably sufficient to cover all DFG's
one-time and ongoing costs that result from implementation
of the requirements of this bill (special fund).
Appropriations Committee staff advise that DFG is concerned
that the Class II fee paying universe may be too small to
support the Class II fee, which DFG preliminarily estimates
will be $1,200 to $1,500, if a large number of current
commercial trapping operations cease operation as a result
of the fee.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/29/12) (Unable to reverify at time
of writing)
Born Free USA (co-source)
San Francisco Wildlife Center (co-source)
Animal Protection and Rescue League
AnimalPlace
ASPCA
Bat Conservation International
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California Council for Wildlife Rehabilitation
Humane Society of the United States
Last Chance for Animals
League of Humane Voters
Marin Humane Society
National Urban Wildlife Coalition
Native Animal Rescue
Ohlone Humane Society
Paw PAC
Project Coyote
Public Interest Coalition
RedRover
Sacramento SPCA
SPCA Los Angeles
Wildcare
WildEarth Guardians
Yolo County SPCA
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/29/12) (Unable to reverify at
time of writing)
Association of California Water Agencies
Animal Pest Management Services
California Cattlemen's Association
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Sportsman's Lobby
California Waterfowl Association
Outdoor Sportsman's Coalition of California
Safari Club International
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters of this bill state that
currently California consumers have no way of confirming
whether a perspective trapper is licensed and are often
overcharged for services they might not need. Supporters
advise that bad acting trappers cause thousands of animals
to suffer needlessly each year and that cruel and inhumane
methods to kill wildlife can also cause non-targeted
animals, such as pets, to fall victim. Supporters note
that many other professional contractors are required to
provide their clients with written contracts that summarize
relevant laws and consumer rights and that this bill will
help homeowners protect themselves, increase DFG licensing
revenues, and reduce DFG enforcement burdens by encouraging
compliance. With respect to this bill's bat provisions,
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supporters note that the value of bats to U.S. agriculture
is more than $3.7 billion per year and that methods of bat
removal other than exclusion are not only ineffective but
can result in high mortality of bats and increased risk to
human health and safety by causing disoriented bats to come
into contact with people and pets.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents are concerned about
the level of fees that might be charged for Class II
licenses and find the consumer contract requirements in
this bill onerous and impractical. Opponents state that
while many other industries have specific regulations
relating to their field of work they are not required to
list each one of them at the top of their contracts.
Opponents advise that verbally explaining trapping services
to clients and filing out service reports detailing the
services performed should be enough. Some opponents also
state that limiting trapping to damage to property is too
narrow while others would like to continue to use larger
conibear-type traps on land in order to trap badgers.
This bill was amended in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee to allow the use of larger conibear-type traps
where the traps are submerged, partially submerged, or
placed in managed wetland areas in order to trap beaver and
muskrat; require the posting of signs warning of danger to
dogs from conibear traps; allow, but not require, DFG to
provide information and assistance with bat exclusion; and,
postpone the effective date of the Class II licensing and
contracting requirements until July 1, 2013.
With respect to badgers, the DFG Wildlife Habitat
Relationship System states that the American badger, which
helps control small mammal populations like rats, mice,
chipmunks, ground squirrels and pocket gophers, is now
considered a Species of Special Concern because predator
controlling using indiscriminate trapping and persistent
poisons causes extensive losses. In addition, even if the
provisions of this bill are enacted, badgers causing crop
or property damage could still be taken by other methods,
such as shot.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 47-28, 8/23/12
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AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Hill, Hueso, Huffman, Lara,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman,
Harkey, Huber, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor,
Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva,
Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Roger
Hern�ndez, Mendoza
CTW:DWL:d 8/25/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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