1-1 By: Moncrief S.B. No. 97
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed November 28, 1994; January 11, 1995,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
1-4 March 16, 1995, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; March 16, 1995,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 97 By: Brown
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to controlled killing of, attempting to injure, certain
1-11 uses of, and possession of certain dangerous wild animals;
1-12 providing a criminal penalty.
1-13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-14 SECTION 1. Chapter 62, Parks and Wildlife Code, is amended
1-15 by adding Subchapter F to read as follows:
1-16 SUBCHAPTER F. UNLAWFUL CONTROLLED KILLING OF OR ATTEMPTING TO
1-17 INJURE DANGEROUS WILD ANIMALS
1-18 Sec. 62.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-19 (1) "Captivity" means the state of being held under
1-20 control, kept caged or penned, or confined.
1-21 (2) "Dangerous wild animal" means a lion, tiger,
1-22 leopard, cheetah, hyena, bear, elephant, wolf, or rhinoceros and
1-23 includes any species, subspecies, or hybrid of any of those
1-24 animals.
1-25 (3) "Hybrid" means an offspring of two animals of
1-26 different breeds, species, or genera.
1-27 (4) "Lion" means African and Asiatic lion.
1-28 (5) "Sanctuary" means a place of refuge where abused,
1-29 neglected, unwanted, impounded, abandoned, orphaned, or displaced
1-30 dangerous wild animals are provided care for their lifetime or
1-31 until released back to their natural habitat.
1-32 Sec. 62.102. CONTROLLED KILLING OF OR ATTEMPTING TO INJURE
1-33 DANGEROUS WILD ANIMAL PROHIBITED. No person may:
1-34 (1) kill or attempt to injure a dangerous wild animal
1-35 that is:
1-36 (A) in captivity in this state; or
1-37 (B) released from captivity in this state for
1-38 the purpose of being killed; or
1-39 (2) conduct, promote, assist, or advertise an activity
1-40 prohibited by Subdivision (1).
1-41 Sec. 62.103. UNLAWFUL CONTROLLED KILLING; CERTAIN
1-42 COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY PROHIBITED. No person may:
1-43 (1) sell or offer for sale, or transport or consign
1-44 for transportation in this state, including interstate commerce in
1-45 this state, a dangerous wild animal that is to be used for
1-46 controlled killing prohibited by Section 62.102(1); or
1-47 (2) sell or offer for sale a part of or a product made
1-48 from a dangerous wild animal that is used in a controlled kill
1-49 prohibited by Section 62.102(1).
1-50 Sec. 62.104. SEIZURE OF DANGEROUS WILD ANIMAL OR CARCASS,
1-51 HIDE, PART OR PRODUCT. (a) A peace officer may seize a live
1-52 dangerous wild animal or a carcass, hide, or part of or a product
1-53 made from a dangerous wild animal if the officer has probable cause
1-54 to believe that the live animal, carcass, hide, part, or product
1-55 possessed by a person was killed, wounded, or injured in, or
1-56 obtained as a result of, a controlled kill prohibited by Section
1-57 62.102(1).
1-58 (b) The commission shall adopt rules for the final
1-59 disposition of a carcass, hide, part, product, or live animal
1-60 seized under this section.
1-61 (c) The department, a game warden, or other department
1-62 employee authorized to act under this section is immune from
1-63 criminal or civil liability and from prosecution or civil suit for
1-64 a seizure conducted under this section or rules adopted under this
1-65 section.
1-66 Sec. 62.105. AUTHORITY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This subchapter
1-67 does not restrict the authority of a local government to regulate
1-68 the possession of a dangerous wild animal if the regulation does
2-1 not conflict with this subchapter.
2-2 Sec. 62.106. EXCEPTIONS. (a) This subchapter does not
2-3 apply to a peace officer or other employee of a municipality, a
2-4 county, or this state, or a person acting at the direction of such
2-5 an officer or employee, who, while acting in an official capacity
2-6 or at the direction of such an officer or employee acting in an
2-7 official capacity, injures or kills a dangerous wild animal that
2-8 the officer or employee reasonably believes to present, under the
2-9 circumstances, the possibility of danger to the public. A person
2-10 described by this subsection is immune from criminal or civil
2-11 liability and from prosecution or civil suit for causing injury or
2-12 death to the animal.
2-13 (b) This subchapter does not apply to a licensed
2-14 veterinarian or an employee of a sanctuary exempt from federal
2-15 taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
2-16 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section 501) or of a facility accredited by the
2-17 Association of Zoos and Aquariums, who, while in the course of such
2-18 employment, humanely euthanizes a dangerous wild animal to
2-19 eliminate the suffering of that animal due to illness or injury. A
2-20 person described by this subsection is immune from criminal or
2-21 civil liability and from prosecution or civil suit for causing
2-22 injury or death to the animal.
2-23 Sec. 62.107. CRIMINAL PENALTY. A person who violates this
2-24 subchapter commits an offense that is a Class A Parks and Wildlife
2-25 Code misdemeanor, unless it is shown at the trial of the defendant
2-26 for a violation of this subchapter that the defendant has been
2-27 convicted one or more times before the trial date of a violation of
2-28 this subchapter, in which case the offense is a Parks and Wildlife
2-29 Code felony.
2-30 SECTION 2. Section 240.0025, Local Government Code, is
2-31 amended to read as follows:
2-32 Sec. 240.0025. REGULATION <IN POPULOUS COUNTIES>. (a) The
2-33 commissioners court of a county <with a population of 2.4 million
2-34 or more> by order may prohibit or regulate the keeping of a wild
2-35 animal in the county.
2-36 (b) The order does not apply:
2-37 (1) inside the limits of a municipality; or
2-38 (2) to an exhibitor licensed under the Animal Welfare
2-39 Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2131 et seq.).
2-40 (c) In this section, "wild animal" means a lion, tiger,
2-41 ocelot, cougar, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, hyena, bear, lesser
2-42 panda, binturong, wolf, ape, elephant, and rhinoceros <has the
2-43 meaning assigned by Section 12.601, Parks and Wildlife Code>.
2-44 SECTION 3. Subchapter G, Chapter 12, Parks and Wildlife
2-45 Code, is repealed.
2-46 SECTION 4. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
2-47 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-48 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
2-49 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
2-50 before that date.
2-51 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-52 Act is covered by the law in effect on the date the offense is
2-53 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
2-54 purpose.
2-55 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, except
2-56 that Section 3 of this Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
2-57 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
2-58 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-59 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-60 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-61 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-62 * * * * *