Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E. Line and page numbers may not match official copy. By: Moncrief S.B. No. 1235 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to the keeping of dangerous wild animals; providing 1-2 penalties. 1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-4 SECTION 1. Amend Chapter 822, Health and Safety Code, by 1-5 adding a new Subchapter E to read as follows: 1-6 SUBCHAPTER E. DANGEROUS WILD ANIMALS. 1-7 Sec. 822.051. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: 1-8 (a) "Animal control authority" means a municipal or county 1-9 animal control office with authority over the area where the 1-10 dangerous wild animal is kept or a county sheriff in an area with 1-11 no animal control office. 1-12 (b) "Commercial activity" means conducting any activity that 1-13 is not inherent to the dangerous wild animal's nature; allowing 1-14 free roaming public access to the animal's confinement facilities 1-15 or the grounds upon which the animal is kept; utilizing the animal 1-16 for entertainment or exhibition; or selling, trading, bartering, 1-17 auctioning, or donating the animal's body parts. 1-18 (c) "Dangerous wild animals" means: 1-19 (1) lions; 1-20 (2) tigers; 1-21 (3) ocelots; 1-22 (4) cougars; 1-23 (5) leopards; 2-1 (6) cheetahs; 2-2 (7) jaguars; 2-3 (8) hyenas; 2-4 (9) bears; 2-5 (10) lesser pandas; 2-6 (11) binturongs; 2-7 (12) wolves; 2-8 (13) hybrids of a lion and tiger; 2-9 (14) elephants; 2-10 (15) rhinoceroses; 2-11 (16) bobcats; 2-12 (17) coyotes; 2-13 (18) jackals; 2-14 (19) wolverines; and 2-15 (20) non-human primates. 2-16 (d) "Owner" means a person who owns, possesses, or has 2-17 custody or control of, or harbors the dangerous wild animal. 2-18 Sec. 822.052. OWNERSHIP PROHIBITED. (a) A person may not 2-19 own, possess, have custody or control of, or harbor a dangerous 2-20 wild animal for any purpose. 2-21 (b) This section shall not apply to: 2-22 (1) a person possessing or having custody of an 2-23 injured, infirm, orphaned or abandoned dangerous wild animal solely 2-24 for the purpose of transporting the animal for care or treatment to 2-25 a licensed veterinarian, incorporated humane society or animal 3-1 shelter, an organization which is an accredited member of the 3-2 American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums or The 3-3 Association of Sanctuaries, Inc., or a state, federal, or local 3-4 government official with authority or apparent authority to care 3-5 for or treat the animal; 3-6 (2) a person who holds a permit issued pursuant to 3-7 Subchapter C, Chapter 43, Parks and Wildlife Code, authorizing the 3-8 person to possess the dangerous wild animal for rehabilitation 3-9 purposes; a licensed veterinarian; an incorporated humane society 3-10 or an animal shelter while rehabilitating, treating or caring for 3-11 an injured, infirm, orphaned or abandoned dangerous wild animal, 3-12 provided that such person notifies the applicable animal control 3-13 authority within forty-eight hours of obtaining custody of the 3-14 animal; 3-15 (3) a "research facility" within the meaning of 3-16 Section 2(e) of the federal Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 3-17 2132(e)), licensed by the Secretary of Agriculture of the United 3-18 States pursuant to that act; 3-19 (4) an animal control authority and any agent or 3-20 official of the authority acting in his or her official capacity; 3-21 (5) an agency of the State of Texas or the United 3-22 States or any agent or official of the agency acting in his or her 3-23 official capacity; 3-24 (6) an organization which is an accredited member of 3-25 the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums or The 4-1 Association of Sanctuaries, Inc.; 4-2 (7) a dangerous wild animal owned by and in the 4-3 possession, custody and control of a transient circus company and 4-4 used as an integral part of its circus performances, provided the 4-5 animal is kept within this State only during the time the circus is 4-6 performing in this State; 4-7 (8) a dangerous wild animal owned by and in 4-8 possession, custody and control of a college or university solely 4-9 as a mascot for the college or university, provided the college or 4-10 university complies with Sections 822.053(a)(1), (2) and (4) 4-11 through (8); and 4-12 (9) a dangerous wild animal which is a member of a 4-13 "threatened" or "endangered" species within the meaning of Section 4-14 3 of the federal Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. Section 1532), 4-15 owned by and in the possession, control and custody of a non-profit 4-16 organization exempt from federal taxation pursuant to Section 4-17 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code solely for the purpose of 4-18 enhancing its species by significantly adding to the overall 4-19 welfare, health and well being of its species through controlled 4-20 breeding in accordance with the Species Survival Plan of the 4-21 Association of American Zoological Parks and Aquariums, provided 4-22 such organization complies with Sections 822.053(a)(1) and (3) 4-23 through (8). 4-24 Sec. 822.053. EXISTING ANIMALS. (a) Section 822.052 shall 4-25 not apply to a dangerous wild animal owned at the time this 5-1 subchapter becomes effective if its owner meets the following 5-2 requirements: 5-3 (1) within 90 days of the effective date of this 5-4 subchapter, the owner obtains a permit for each dangerous wild 5-5 animal owned from the animal control authority and renews the 5-6 permit on an annual basis; 5-7 (2) the owner does not breed or allow the breeding of 5-8 the animal; 5-9 (3) the owner does not engage in any commercial 5-10 activity with respect to the animal; 5-11 (4) the owner does not sell or transfer ownership of 5-12 the animal or surrender possession, custody, or control of the 5-13 animal to any person other than those listed in Sections 5-14 822.052(b)(4) and (6); 5-15 (5) the owner allows, at reasonable times and without 5-16 a search warrant, animal control authorities and any peace officer 5-17 with jurisdiction to inspect the animal, the confinement facilities 5-18 for the animal and the owner's records relating to the animal, to 5-19 ensure compliance with this subchapter; 5-20 (6) the owner maintains liability insurance coverage 5-21 in an amount of at least $250,000 to cover damages resulting from 5-22 an attack by the animal causing death or bodily injury to a person; 5-23 (7) before the owner moves the animal to a new 5-24 location, the owner notifies the animal control authorities for the 5-25 area from which and to which the animal is moved of the animal's 6-1 new location; and 6-2 (8) the owner keeps the animal confined at all times 6-3 in facilities meeting the requirements of Section 822.054 and in 6-4 accordance with the guidelines of the United States Department of 6-5 Agriculture adopted pursuant to the federal Animal Welfare Act (7 6-6 U.S.C. Section 2131, et seq.). 6-7 (b) Any person required to obtain a dangerous wild animal 6-8 permit pursuant to this section shall apply for the permit on an 6-9 application form provided by the animal control authority which 6-10 application form shall contain a pre-printed animal identification 6-11 number. 6-12 (c) The applicant shall complete the application with the 6-13 following information before the application will be considered by 6-14 the animal control authority: 6-15 (1) name, address, and telephone number of the 6-16 applicant; 6-17 (2) a complete identification of the animal, including 6-18 species, sex, and age, if known, and any distinguishing marks or 6-19 coloration which would aid in the identification of the animal; and 6-20 (3) a statement that the applicant has read this 6-21 subchapter and that all confinement facilities used by the 6-22 applicant to confine or enclose the animal comply with the 6-23 requirements of Section 822.054. 6-24 (d) The applicant shall file the completed application with 6-25 the animal control authority along with the following items: 7-1 (1) an application fee of $35 for each permit; and 7-2 (2) a certificate from a licensed veterinarian 7-3 verifying that the animal has been tattooed or microchipped with 7-4 the identification number shown on the application form and 7-5 specifying where the identification number can be found on the 7-6 animal; 7-7 (3) a certificate from a licensed veterinarian that 7-8 the confinement facilities proposed to confine or enclose the 7-9 dangerous wild animal are adequate to maintain the animal safely; 7-10 and 7-11 (4) proof of liability insurance, as required by 7-12 Section 822.053(a)(6). 7-13 Sec. 822.054. REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFINEMENT FACILITIES. 7-14 (a) For purposes of Section 822.053(a)(8), a cage or other 7-15 confinement facility which confines or encloses a dangerous wild 7-16 animal shall meet the following specifications: 7-17 (1) Cages or other confinement facilities confining or 7-18 enclosing lions, tigers, hybrids of a lion and tiger, jaguars, 7-19 bears, or lesser pandas shall be constructed with not less than 7-20 nine-gauge chain link; 7-21 (2) Cages or other confinement facilities confining or 7-22 enclosing leopards, cougars, ocelots, cheetahs, hyenas, bobcats, 7-23 wolves, coyotes, or binturongs shall be constructed with not less 7-24 than 11 1/2 gauge chain link; 7-25 (3) Cages or other confinement facilities confining or 8-1 enclosing apes, chimpanzees, orangutans, or gorillas shall be 8-2 constructed of steel bars, two-inch galvanized pipe, masonry block 8-3 or their strength equivalent; 8-4 (4) Cages or other confinement facilities confining or 8-5 enclosing other non-human primates shall be constructed of not less 8-6 than nine-gauge chain link or electric fencing; 8-7 (5) Cages or other confinement facilities confining or 8-8 enclosing rhinoceros or elephants shall be constructed of steel 8-9 bars, masonry block or their strength equivalent; 8-10 (6) All cages or other confinement facilities for an 8-11 animal constructed of chain link shall be well braced and securely 8-12 anchored at ground level and shall utilize metal corners, clamps, 8-13 ties and braces of equivalent strength to other materials 8-14 prescribed for cage construction for that species; 8-15 (7) All cages or other confinement facilities shall be 8-16 equipped with safety barriers which adequately prevent any physical 8-17 contact with the animal by unauthorized persons; 8-18 (8) All cages or other confinement facilities shall be 8-19 equipped with a lock and a locking mechanism to prevent opening by 8-20 unauthorized persons; and 8-21 (9) All cages or other confinement facilities shall be 8-22 designed and constructed to prevent the escape of the animal. 8-23 (b) Any condition which results in the escape of an animal 8-24 from the cage or confinement facility in which the animal is 8-25 confined or enclosed or which results in injury to any person shall 9-1 be considered a violation of this section. 9-2 Sec. 822.055. PENALTY. (a) A person who violates Section 9-3 822.052 commits an offense. There shall be a separate offense for 9-4 each animal involved. 9-5 (b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. 9-6 (c) In addition to criminal prosecution, a person who 9-7 commits an offense under this section is liable for a civil penalty 9-8 not to exceed $1,000 for each day of the violation. An attorney 9-9 having civil jurisdiction in the county or an attorney for a 9-10 municipality where the offense occurred may file suit in a court of 9-11 competent jurisdiction to collect the penalty and any amounts due 9-12 pursuant to Section 822.055(d). Penalties collected under this 9-13 subsection shall be retained by the county or municipality. 9-14 (d) If requested by the animal control authority, the owner 9-15 shall surrender possession of the animal to the animal control 9-16 authority, or its designated agent, pending the resolution of any 9-17 alleged violation of this subchapter by the owner with respect to 9-18 the animal and the owner shall pay all costs of care and feeding of 9-19 the animal incurred by the animal control agency, or its designated 9-20 agent, pending the resolution if the owner is found to have 9-21 violated Section 822.052. 9-22 (e) If a person is found guilty of an offense under this 9-23 section, the court shall order the forfeiture of the animal 9-24 involved in the offense to the animal control authority or its 9-25 designated agent. 10-1 Sec. 822.056. OTHER REQUIREMENTS. Nothing in this 10-2 subchapter relieves a person of the obligations of complying with 10-3 the requirements of: 10-4 (a) Subchapter C, Chapter 43, Chapter 67 and Chapter 68, 10-5 Parks and Wildlife Code, or the regulations promulgated under those 10-6 laws; 10-7 (b) Subchapter A, Chapter 240, Local Government Code or any 10-8 orders adopted pursuant to that subchapter; and 10-9 (c) any other law, regulation, rule, order, ordinance or 10-10 other legal requirement of the State of Texas or any political 10-11 subdivision of the State of Texas. 10-12 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. 10-13 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 10-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 10-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 10-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 10-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.