Senate Bill 2283

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-7-58.6, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE A THIRD VIOLATION OF FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH RULES AND REGULATIONS PROMULGATED BY THE COMMISSION ON WILDLIFE, FISHERIES AND PARKS REQUIRING THE SUBMISSION OF SAMPLES FROM CERTAIN HARVESTED WHITE-TAILED DEER FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE (CWD) TESTING A FELONY WITH AN INCREASED FINE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 49-7-58.6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-58.6. (1) (a) White-tailed deer harvested within any enclosure shall be tested for chronic wasting disease (CWD).

(b) The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall promulgate rules and regulations requiring the annual submission of viable samples from harvested deer for chronic wasting disease testing. Rules promulgated under this paragraph shall require a minimum submission from inside a high-fenced enclosure representing at least one (1) deer per each two hundred (200) acres of land under fence.

(c) In addition to samples submitted from deer harvested within an enclosure, to the extent possible, enclosure owner/operators shall submit viable samples collected from any deer that dies inside an enclosure from causes other than being harvested by hunting, for chronic wasting disease testing. Samples collected from deer whose death occurred for reasons other than hunting shall count toward the total number of required samples.

(2) If chronic wasting disease is detected within an enclosure, as defined in Section 49-7-58.1, the commission shall not declare surrounding or adjoining properties within a five (5) mile radius of the enclosure a CWD Management Zone, until chronic wasting disease is positively detected within such radius on these surrounding or adjoining properties.

(3) Failure to submit samples pursuant to the rules and regulations promulgated by the commission shall be a violation of those regulations. A first violation of such regulations shall be punishable by a fine of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). * * * ~~Each~~ A second * * * ~~or subsequent~~ violation shall be punishable by a fine of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). Each third or subsequent violation shall be a felony punishable by a fine of not less than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) and not exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00).

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.