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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the retrieval and waste of game birds, game animals, and |
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fish; providing a penalty. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 62.011, Parks and Wildlife Code, is |
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amended by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection |
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(d) to read as follows: |
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(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), it is an offense |
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if a person intentionally takes or possesses a game bird, game |
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animal, or [a] fish and intentionally, knowingly, [or] recklessly, |
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or with criminal negligence[,] fails to keep the edible portions of |
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the bird, animal, or fish in an edible condition. |
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(c) It is an offense if a person while hunting kills or |
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wounds a desert bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, or |
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white-tailed deer in violation of Section 61.022, 62.003, 62.0031, |
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62.004, or 62.005 and intentionally or knowingly fails to make a |
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reasonable effort to retrieve the animal or intentionally, |
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knowingly, [or] recklessly, or with criminal negligence fails to |
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keep the edible parts of the animal in an edible condition. |
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(d) In this section: |
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(1) "Edible condition" means fit for human |
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consumption. The term does not include any portion of a game bird, |
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game animal, or fish that is: |
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(A) bruised by bullet, shot, or arrow, or |
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otherwise destroyed as a result of harvest; |
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(B) decayed or rotting; or |
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(C) obviously infected or diseased. |
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(2) "Edible parts" means the meaty portions of a |
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carcass that are retained for consumption after quartering as |
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defined in Section 42.001(8). |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |