Bill Text: MI SB0658 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Animals; exotic; facilities holding large carnivores; modify obligations under large carnivore act. Amends sec. 22 of 2000 PA 274 (MCL 287.1122).

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 10-4)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-12-01 - Referred To Committee On Agriculture [SB0658 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2015-SB0658-Engrossed.html

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SB-0658, As Passed Senate, December 1, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUBSTITUTE FOR

 

SENATE BILL NO. 658

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 2000 PA 274, entitled

 

"Large carnivore act,"

 

by amending section 22 (MCL 287.1122), as amended by 2013 PA 8.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 22. (1) Sections 4 , and 5 , and 6 do not apply to any of

 

the following:

 

     (a) An animal control shelter or animal protection shelter.

 

     (b) A person licensed or approved by the department of natural

 

resources of this state, or by the United States fish and wildlife

 

service Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States department

 

of the interior. Department of the Interior, or has received a

 

class C license from the United States Department of Agriculture.

 

This subdivision does not apply to a person in possession of 1 or

 

more black bears under the authority of a permit to hold wildlife

 

in captivity issued by the department of natural resources.

 

     (c) A zoological park approved or accredited by the American

 

zoo and aquarium association.

 

     (d) A person approved by the association of sanctuaries or the

 

American sanctuary association.

 

     (c) (e) A law enforcement officer acting under the authority

 

of this act.

 

     (d) (f) A veterinarian temporarily in possession of a large

 

carnivore to provide veterinary care for or humanely euthanize the

 

large carnivore.

 

     (2) Sections 4, 5, 6(1)(d) to (5)(d), 8, and 14(3) do not

 

apply to a person who is not a resident of this state and who is in

 

this state only for the purpose of travel between locations outside

 

of this state.

 

     (3) Subject to subsection (2), this act does not apply to a

 

person who meets all of the following requirements:

 

     (a) Is conducting a for-profit or nonprofit business, if the

 

primary purpose of that business is the presentation of animals

 

including large carnivores to the public for education or

 

exhibition purposes.

 

     (b) Is a class C licensee that possesses and maintains a class

 

C license under 9 CFR parts 1 and 2.

 

     (c) Meets or exceeds all standards, including but not limited

 

to standards for training, housing, care, and transport of large

 

carnivores, required of a class C licensee under 9 CFR parts 1 and

 

2.

 

     (d) Except as provided in subsection (4), does not allow a

patron to do any of the following:

 

     (i) Come into direct contact with a large carnivore.

 

     (ii) Come into close enough contact with a large carnivore

 

over 20 weeks of age so as to place the patron in jeopardy of being

 

harmed by the large carnivore.

 

     (e) Does not sell large carnivores, except to another person

 

that meets the requirements of this subsection.

 

     (f) Does not breed large carnivores.

 

     (4) This act does not apply to a person who allows a patron to

 

come into contact with a large carnivore under subsection (3)(d)(i)

 

or (ii) if the large carnivore is a bear less than 36 weeks of age

 

or a bear weighing 90 pounds or less if the person otherwise meets

 

the requirements of subsection (3) and satisfies 1 of the

 

following:

 

     (a) The person was in possession of a bear on the effective

 

date of the 2013 amendatory act that amended this section.March 26,

 

2013.

 

     (b) The person acquired a business described in subsection

 

(3)(a) from a person who was in possession of a bear on the

 

effective date of the 2013 amendatory act that amended this

 

section.March 26, 2013.

 

     (5) This act does not apply to a circus.

 

     (6) Section 3(b) does not apply to a person who, in addition

 

to complying with the requirements of this act, does all of the

 

following:

 

     (a) Ensures that a facility in which a large carnivore is

 

housed is adequately lit and free of clutter. Service doors shall

be clearly marked and in good working condition, and sufficient

 

barriers shall be in place to prevent unauthorized access to areas

 

not intended for public access.

 

     (b) Provides immediate access to staff working with or around

 

large carnivores to designated emergency response personnel through

 

a walkie-talkie, cellular telephone, alarm, or other electronic

 

device.

 

     (c) Puts written emergency protocols in place for large

 

carnivore escapes and injuries to humans by large carnivores. These

 

protocols shall include communication systems to notify local law

 

enforcement and emergency services. Emergency drills shall be

 

conducted annually to practice responses for large carnivore

 

escapes and injuries to humans by large carnivores.

 

     (d) If law enforcement is not within a reasonable distance

 

from the facility, puts a trained firearms team in place. A trained

 

firearms team shall have professional training and shall practice

 

emergency responses at least 2 times each year.

 

     (e) Provides and ensures the functionality of security and

 

fire protection systems and methods that provide a reasonable level

 

of safety for the collection of animals on a 24-hour basis,

 

including, but not limited to, compliance with local building codes

 

and an appropriate combination of night security, patrols, fire and

 

smoke detection systems and alarms, monitors, and building design

 

features.

 

     (f) Houses a large carnivore that is not native to a temperate

 

environment in an environment that has climate control and is

 

comfortable for that species of large carnivore. An environment

that relies on climate control shall have an emergency backup

 

system available, and all mechanical equipment shall be included in

 

a documented preventative maintenance program.

 

     (g) Ensures that the conditions in which the large carnivore

 

is kept take into account all of the following:

 

     (i) Need for space.

 

     (ii) Need for complexity in the large carnivore's environment

 

in order to provide for the large carnivore's physical, social, and

 

psychological well-being. The space in which the large carnivore is

 

kept shall include provisions for the behavioral enrichment of the

 

large carnivore.

 

     (iii) Choice and control over the use of space and social

 

interactions with other large carnivores in the same space. The

 

person shall be capable of separating a large carnivore from other

 

animals if the large carnivore exhibits a desire for separation.

 

     (iv) Protection from injury and disease.

 

     (h) Trains staff to recognize abnormal behavior and clinical

 

signs of illness and have knowledge regarding the diets, husbandry,

 

natural history, and care required for large carnivores under their

 

care to ensure the well-being of the large carnivores.

 

     (i) Does not perform disfiguring procedures, including, but

 

not limited to, declawing and canine tooth removal, unless

 

considered medically necessary by the attending veterinarian, and

 

does not remove socially or nutritionally dependent young large

 

carnivores from their mothers for hand-rearing unless deemed

 

medically necessary by the attending veterinarian.

 

     (j) Has a written policy for the acquisition, transfer, and

disposition of large carnivores. The written policy described in

 

this subdivision shall satisfy all of the following:

 

     (i) The policy shall comply with all applicable local, state,

 

federal, and international laws and regulations.

 

     (ii) The policy shall require documentation of ownership of

 

large carnivores and any applicable chain of custody.

 

     (iii) The policy shall establish a system for the

 

documentation of acquisition, transfer, and disposition of large

 

carnivores using a comprehensive institutional record-keeping

 

system. Individual large carnivores shall be permanently identified

 

as provided in section 5.

 

     (iv) The policy shall require the acquisition of a free-

 

ranging animal to be done in accordance with applicable local,

 

state, federal, and international laws and regulations and shall

 

prohibit the acquisition if it is detrimental to the long-term

 

viability of the large carnivore species in the wild.

 

     (k) Does not do any of the following:

 

     (i) Transfer a large carnivore to a person that is not

 

qualified or capable of safely maintaining the large carnivore or

 

ensuring its well-being.

 

     (ii) Transfer a large carnivore to an animal auction or to a

 

person that may display or sell the large carnivore at an animal

 

auction.

 

     (iii) Transfer a large carnivore to a person that allows the

 

hunting of large carnivores.

 

     (iv) Raise a large carnivore for the purpose of providing

 

food, fur, pelts, body parts, organs, or bodily fluids, or transfer

a large carnivore to a person that will use the large carnivore for

 

any of these purposes.

 

     (l) Meets all applicable local, state, federal, and

 

international laws and regulations when designating a large

 

carnivore for reintroduction and release into the wild.

 

     (m) Satisfies all of the following requirements:

 

     (i) Signs and provides to the department a succession plan for

 

the large carnivores in its collection in the event of dissolution

 

of the entity. The entity shall also sign and provide to the

 

department an affidavit stating that the entity has the financial

 

ability to care for the collection of large carnivores.

 

     (ii) Has a written contingency plan in place in the event that

 

a significant decrease in operating income occurs.

 

     (iii) Provides insurance coverage for staff, volunteers,

 

visitors, and physical facilities.

 

     (n) Participates in scientific, sustainable, and cooperatively

 

managed breeding programs that identify specific and typically

 

threatened or endangered large carnivore species that are composed

 

of large carnivores of known provenance and pedigree. A breeding

 

program described in this subdivision shall be based on

 

comprehensive pedigree and demographic databases and analyses and

 

shall have long-range population management goals and

 

recommendations to ensure sustainability of the population. A

 

breeding program described in this subdivision shall not allow the

 

breeding of species hybrids or the breeding of a large carnivore

 

for the purpose of selling, bartering, or trading the large

 

carnivore's parts, and shall ensure that adequate space to house

offspring of a large carnivore is in place.

 

     (o) Satisfies all of the following with respect to veterinary

 

care of a large carnivore:

 

     (i) Has a staff or attending veterinarian with knowledge of

 

the species of large carnivore held by the person available 24

 

hours per day.

 

     (ii) Has a veterinary care program that emphasizes disease

 

prevention.

 

     (iii) Performs routine health evaluations to evaluate for

 

infectious and noninfectious diseases common to large carnivores.

 

The health evaluations described in this subparagraph shall

 

include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

 

     (A) Fecal parasite screening.

 

     (B) Complete blood count and serum chemistry.

 

     (C) Weight.

 

     (D) Health examination.

 

     (iv) Regularly vaccinates large carnivores for infectious

 

diseases, as considered necessary by the attending veterinarian,

 

and excludes from enclosures wildlife or feral animals that could

 

transmit an infectious disease to a captive large carnivore.

 

     (v) Considers procedures including, but not limited to,

 

castration and ovariohysterectomy, that would benefit the long-term

 

health and welfare of an individual large carnivore.

 

     (vi) Adopts humane euthanasia practices as set forth in the

 

"American Veterinary Medical Association Euthanasia Guidelines",

 

necropsies a deceased large carnivore to determine the cause of

 

death, and disposes of a large carnivore after a necropsy in

accordance with local, state, and federal law.

 

     (vii) Meets all applicable laws or regulations regarding food

 

preparation and storage.

 

     (viii) Provides a nutritious diet and, to the best of the

 

person's ability, minimizes disease, nutritional deficiencies,

 

infections, parasite infestations, and obesity.

 

     (ix) Makes written procedures available to staff for the use

 

of drugs for veterinary purposes, and maintains appropriate

 

security over veterinary drugs.

 

     (p) Has a written conservation action plan and strategy that

 

is part of a collaborative, scientifically managed species

 

conservation program for each species of large carnivore held that

 

includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:

 

     (i) Participation in local, regional, national, or

 

international conservation programs, including, but not limited to,

 

staff support or participation in field conservation activities and

 

financial support.

 

     (ii) Education awareness programs for guests, staff,

 

volunteers, supporters, members, vendors, and contractors.

 

     (iii) Evaluation and measurement of the impact of conservation

 

programs and activities.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.