05 LC
25 4070
House
Bill 824
By:
Representatives Sims of the
169thand
Maddox of the
172nd
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 4 of Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to control of disease in livestock, so as to change certain provisions relating
to deer farming; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
4 of Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to control of
disease in livestock, is amended by striking Article 5, relating to deer
farming, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"ARTICLE
5
4-4-170.
The
purpose of this article is to provide for the production of farmed deer as an
agricultural operation and to provide for the importation, production, and
control and eradication of disease in farmed deer.
4-4-171.
As
used in this article, the term:
(1)
'Deer farming' means the agricultural operation of raising and production of
farmed deer for the commercial production of food and fiber.
(2)
'Farmed deer' means fallow deer (Dama dama), axis deer (Axis axis), sika deer
(Cervus nippon), red deer and elk (Cervus elaphus), reindeer and caribou
(Rangifer tarandus), and hybrids between these farmed deer species raised for
the commercial sale of meat and other parts or for the sale of live animals.
Those cervids which are indigenous to this state, including white-tailed deer,
and those members of the order Artiodactyla which are considered to be
inherently dangerous to human beings and are described in subparagraph (a)(1)(F)
of Code Section 27-5-5 shall be classified as unacceptable species and shall not
be included within the definition of farmed deer. Deer that may be under the
authority of Title 50, Part 23, Subpart c of the Code of Federal Regulations,
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora, 27 U. ST. 108, TIAS 8249, must meet the requirements set forth in the
federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, 16 U.S.C. Section 1531 et
seq.
4-4-172.
(a)
No person shall possess, buy, import, or transport farmed deer or engage in or
carry on the business of deer farming without first applying for and obtaining a
deer-farming license from the Commissioner of Agriculture. A deer-farming
license shall be valid from the date of issuance to March 31 of the following
calendar year. A deer-farming license will not be issued by the Commissioner to
any deer-farming operation which has not been inspected and approved by the
Department
of Natural Resources
department,
provided that any facility expansion must be reapproved prior to renewal of a
deer-farming license.
(b)
The license of any deer farm operator violating this article or any rule or
regulation adopted by the Commissioner pursuant to this article shall be subject
to revocation, cancellation, or suspension following notice and hearing. A
deer-farming license of any licensee whose facility does not meet the definition
of an agricultural operation shall be revoked, and such license may be revoked
if the licensee violates any provision of Title 27, relating to wild animals.
Any farmed deer must be disposed of within 45 days of revocation of any
deer-farming license.
(c)
Deer farm operators shall maintain inventory records of their deer herds,
including natural additions, purchased additions, sales, and deaths. Records
shall be kept in accordance with specifications of the Commissioner and shall be
subject to review by the Commissioner or a representative or employee of the
department.
(d)
Deer farm operators shall construct and maintain premises and facilities used in
deer farming in accordance with rules established by the Commissioner and in
accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of Code Section 27-5-6,
provided that:
(1)
The facility must be constructed of such material and of such strength as
appropriate for the animals involved;
(2)
Housing facilities shall be structurally sound and shall be maintained in good
repair to protect and contain the animals;
(3)
The facilities shall be designed in such manner, including the inclusion of
barriers of sufficient dimensions and conformation, to safeguard both the
animals and the public against injury or the transmission of diseases by direct
contact; and
(4)
Any portion of such facility within which farmed deer are maintained shall be
surrounded by a fence with a minimum height of eight feet with the bottom six
feet made of woven mesh and constructed of a design, strength, gauge, and mesh
approved by the
department,
after consultation with the Department of Natural
Resources, and which is sufficient to
prevent escape of farmed deer and to prevent white-tailed deer from entering.
Supplemental wire to attain a height of eight feet may be smooth, barbed, or
woven wire of a gauge and mesh approved by the department with strands no more
than six inches apart. All trees and other structures which pose a threat to the
integrity of the fencing shall be removed unless fencing is constructed so as to
prevent the breach of the fence from the fall of a tree or
structure.
(e)
It shall be the duty of the Department of Agriculture to inspect an
applicant́s
facilities
and to
transmit a copy of any application for a deer-farming license to the Department
of Natural Resources. The Department of Natural Resources shall inspect the
applicant́s
facilities and shall report to the Department of Agriculture within 30 days of
receipt of the application. It also shall be the duty of the Department of
Agriculture to transmit a copy of any license issued pursuant to this article to
the Department of Natural Resources. It also shall be the duty of the Department
of Agriculture to notify the Department of Natural Resources of the revocation,
nonrenewal, cancellation, or lapse of any license issued pursuant to this
article. All such notifications shall be made in writing and shall be made as
promptly as possible, but in no event shall such notification be given more than
72 hours after the event giving rise to the requirement of
notice.
(f)
For purposes other than agricultural operations, farmed deer species must be
held under a wild animal license pursuant to Chapter 5 of Title 27. Anyone
holding, possessing, importing, or transporting farmed deer without a
deer-farming license or a wild animal license is in violation of Title
27.
4-4-173.
Health
and transportation requirements for any Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates) must
meet the health requirements established by rule or regulation of the Georgia
Department of Agriculture. Those animals specifically used for deer farming must
meet the requirements of the Uniform Methods and Rules of the Code of Federal
Regulations for Tuberculosis and Brucellosis in Cervidae.
4-4-174.
Any
farmed deer or cervid which escapes from a licensed deer farm shall be
subject to
the jurisdiction of the Department of Natural Resources and may be treated as an
escaped wild animal which is subject to
the
same
provisions
of Chapter
5 of Title 27, except that, while such animal is roaming freely outside the
enclosure of any licensed deer farm, the owner of such farmed deer or cervid
shall have 48 hours from the time the escape is detected to recapture such
animal and return it to the licensed deer
farm
for other
livestock running at large or straying under Chapter 3 of this
title. As a condition for maintaining a
deer-farming license, it shall be the duty of the owner or operator of a
licensed deer farm to notify the
Department
of Natural Resources
department
immediately upon discovery of the escape of a farmed deer. When such notice has
been given, no legal hunter shall be held liable for killing or wounding an
escaped deer.
4-4-175.
Deer
farm operators shall allow the entry onto the deer farm of representatives of
the Department of
Agriculture,
the Department of Natural Resources, or
other departments or agencies having authority or duties involving farmed deer
or wild animals to ensure compliance with applicable federal and state
laws.
4-4-176.
The
provisions of this article shall not apply to any facility at which any animal
which would otherwise qualify as a farmed deer is intentionally commingled with
any species which is classified as and subject to regulation as a wild animal
under the provisions of Chapter 5 of Title 27.
4-4-177.
The
Commissioner of Agriculture is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations as
may be necessary to effectuate the purpose of this article. Such rules and
regulations
shall be
promulgated after consultation with the Department of Natural Resources
and shall be designed to ensure the health
and safety of wildlife and prevent the spread of animal diseases between
wildlife, wild animals, domestic animals, farmed deer, and people. It shall be
the duty of the
Commissioner,
the Department of Agriculture, the Board of Natural Resources, the commissioner
of natural resources, and the Department of Natural Resources to communicate and
consult on matters of mutual concern so as
and the
department to ensure the health and safety
of farmed deer, wildlife, wild animals, domestic animals, and people and to
prevent, control, and eradicate animal diseases within this state.
4-4-178.
In
addition to the remedies provided in this article and notwithstanding the
existence of any adequate remedy at law, the Commissioner is authorized to apply
to the superior court for an injunction. Such court shall have jurisdiction,
upon hearing and for cause shown, to grant a temporary or permanent injunction,
or both, restraining any person from violating or continuing to violate any of
the provisions of this article or for failing or refusing to comply with the
requirements of this article or any rule or regulation adopted by the
Commissioner pursuant to this article. An injunction issued under this Code
section shall not require a bond.
4-4-179.
(a)
The Commissioner, in order to enforce this article or any orders, rules, or
regulations promulgated pursuant to this article, may issue an administrative
order imposing a penalty not to exceed $1,000.00 for each violation whenever the
Commissioner, after a hearing, determines that any person has violated any
provision of this article or any quarantines, orders, rules, or regulations
promulgated pursuant to this article.
(b)
The initial hearing and any administrative review thereof shall be conducted in
accordance with the procedure for contested cases in Chapter 13 of Title 50, the
'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.' Any person who has exhausted all
administrative remedies available and who is aggrieved or adversely affected by
any final order or action of the Commissioner shall have the right of judicial
review thereof in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 50. All penalties
recovered by the Commissioner as provided for in this article shall be paid into
the state treasury. The Commissioner may file in the superior court wherein the
person under order resides or, if said person is a corporation, in the county
wherein the corporation maintains its principal place of business or in the
county wherein the violation occurred a certified copy of a final order of the
Commissioner unappealed from or of a final order of the department affirmed upon
appeal, whereupon said court shall render judgment in accordance therewith and
notify the parties. Such judgment shall have the same effect, and all
proceedings in relation thereto shall thereafter be the same, as though said
judgment had been rendered in an action duly heard and determined by said court.
The penalty prescribed in this Code section shall be concurrent, alternative, or
cumulative with any and all other civil, criminal, or alternative rights,
remedies, forfeitures, or penalties provided, allowed, or available to the
Commissioner with respect to any violation of this article and any quarantines,
orders, rules, or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
4-4-180.
It
shall be unlawful for any person intentionally to release a farmed deer from
captivity or to import, transport, sell, transfer, or possess a farmed deer in
such a manner as to cause its release or escape from captivity. If a person
imports, transports, sells, transfers, or possesses a farmed deer in such a
manner as to pose a reasonable possibility that such farmed deer may be released
accidentally or escape from captivity, the department may revoke the license of
such person.
4-4-181.
Any
person violating the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.