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STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________

10041--B

IN ASSEMBLY

May 2, 2012
___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. ROSENTHAL, RYAN, MAISEL, MILLMAN, BROOK-KRASNY,
  GLICK, SCARBOROUGH, CASTRO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.  ARROYO,
  CLARK,  COLTON,  CROUCH,  FINCH, MOYA, PAULIN, THIELE -- read once and
  referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation  --  committee
  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
  to  said  committee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes
  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
  and recommitted to said committee

AN  ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to wild
  and exotic animal protection

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Subdivisions 1, 8 and 9 of section 11-0512 of the environ-
mental conservation law, as amended by chapter 10 of the laws  of  2005,
are amended to read as follows:
  1. [No person shall] IT SHALL BE PROHIBITED FOR ANY PERSON TO:
  A.  knowingly  possess,  harbor,  sell,  barter, transfer, exchange or
import any wild animal for use as a pet in New  York  state,  except  as
provided in subdivision three of this section[.]; OR
  B.  INTENTIONALLY  RELEASE OR SET AT-LARGE ANY WILD ANIMAL, AUTHORIZED
BY THIS SECTION FOR USE AS A PET, FROM THE LOCATION WHERE THE ANIMAL  IS
PERMITTED TO BE POSSESSED OR HARBORED.
  8.  The department, any police or peace officer of this state, a local
animal  control  officer,  or  a  duly  incorporated  society  for   the
prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals is hereby authorized to enforce the
provisions of this section and issue notices of violation to persons  in
violation  of  this  section,  and shall have the authority to seize any
wild animal held in violation of this section. A county society for  the
prevention  of cruelty to animals must obtain a warrant before seizing a
wild animal or arresting a person who owns or possesses  a  wild  animal
under  this  section. Wild animals seized or surrendered pursuant to the
provisions of this section shall be transferred to a  duly  incorporated
wildlife sanctuary as defined in this section, or a zoological facility,
or  shall  be  humanely  euthanized.  Any costs associated with seizing,

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD14078-09-2
A. 10041--B                         2

transferring, RECAPTURING or euthanizing a wild animal shall be borne by
the person who owned, harbored or possessed the animal.  The  department
shall  also have the authority to seek injunctive relief in any court of
appropriate   jurisdiction  to  prevent  continued  violations  of  this
section.
  9. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who knowing-
ly breeds a wild animal or knowingly possesses,  owns,  harbors,  sells,
barters, transfers, exchanges, or imports a wild animal for use as a pet
OR  INTENTIONALLY  RELEASES OR SETS AT-LARGE ANY WILD ANIMAL, AUTHORIZED
BY THIS SECTION FOR USE AS A PET, FROM THE LOCATION WHERE THE ANIMAL  IS
PERMITTED  TO BE POSSESSED OR HARBORED in violation of the provisions of
this section shall be subject to a penalty of not more than five hundred
dollars for the first offense and not more than one thousand dollars for
a second and subsequent offenses.   Each instance of  breeding,  owning,
harboring,  sale,  barter,  RELEASE,  transfer, exchange, or import of a
wild animal in violation of this section  shall  constitute  a  separate
offense.
  S  2.  Paragraphs  b  and c of subdivision 3 of section 11-0512 of the
environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 10 of the laws  of
2005, are amended and a new paragraph d is added to read as follows:
  b.  Applies  to the department within six months of the effective date
of this section, and obtains from the department, a license pursuant  to
subdivision four of this section; [and]
  c. Complies with all applicable federal, state, or local laws, includ-
ing  any  ordinance,  rule  or  regulation  adopted  by a local board of
health, or any rules and regulations established by  the  department  as
requisites for ownership of such wild animal[.]; AND
  D.    REPORTS  A  RELEASE  TO  THE  LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT AND ANIMAL
CONTROL IMMEDIATELY UPON DISCOVERY OF THE RELEASE. EACH ESCAPE DURING  A
TWELVE  MONTH  PERIOD OF TIME WILL SUBJECT THE POSSESSOR TO PENALTIES BY
THE DEPARTMENT PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISIONS EIGHT AND NINE OF THIS SECTION.
  S 3.  This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day  after  it  shall
have become a law.