Bill Text: MS SB2655 | 2026 | Regular Session | Introduced

Mississippi Senate Bill 2655

Introduced

Bill Title: Supplemental feeding of deer; allow on private lands using certain products regardless of CWD Management Zone.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Failed) 2026-02-03 - Died In Committee [SB2655 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2026-SB2655-Introduced.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2026 Regular Session

To: Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

By: Senator(s) Whaley

Senate Bill 2655

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-7-33.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE TAKING OF DEER WITH THE USE OF SUPPLEMENTAL FEED WHEN EXCLUSIVELY USING AS SUPPLEMENTAL FEED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS NATURALLY GROWN IN THE STATE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE PRIVATE LAND ON WHICH SUCH SUPPLEMENTAL FEED IS USED LIES WITHIN A CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE MANAGEMENT ZONE; TO AMEND SECTION 49-7-58.2, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 49-7-33.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-33.1. (1) (a) The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall allow the taking of deer with the use of supplemental feed and may place any reasonable conditions or restrictions on such taking.

(b) The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall establish a zone or zones of contiguous counties for the management and implementation of a program to allow the taking of deer with the use of supplemental feed.

(ii) The taking of deer with the use of supplemental feed when exclusively using as supplemental feed agricultural products naturally grown in the state, including, but not limited to, alfalfa, corn or soybeans, shall be allowed regardless of whether the private land on which such supplemental feed is used lies within a chronic wasting disease (CWD) Management Zone.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (1)(c)(ii) of this section, the commission shall take any action it deems necessary and use its emergency powers to prevent the introduction of disease, to control disease, to eradicate disease, and to manage the taking of deer with the use of supplemental feed.

(3) (a) The Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall study and analyze all relevant data and issues with regard to the taking of deer with the supplemental feed program, including, but not limited to, the impact that the program has upon the health and density of deer populations and other wildlife, its effect on surrounding habitat, the effectiveness of wildlife law enforcement, the extent to which hunters who participate in the program are successful in harvesting deer and are supportive of the program, the perception of the program by the general public, and the extent to which the program has a favorable impact on economic development and tourism.

(b) The department shall file annual progress reports with the Legislature. The department shall file a final report with recommendations on the feasibility of continuing the taking of deer with the use of supplemental feed.

(4) A violation of this section or any regulation of the commission promulgated under this section shall be punishable as a Class II violation as defined in Section 49-7-143, and if the violator is a nonresident, then upon conviction, he or she shall lose the opportunity to obtain a nonresident license as defined in Section 49-7-8.

SECTION 2. Section 49-7-58.2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-58.2. (1) The Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall develop and implement a program for inspecting, monitoring, testing and preventing chronic wasting disease, provided, however, that no program for preventing chronic wasting disease shall prohibit supplemental feeding on private lands with agricultural products naturally grown in this state as provided in Section 49-7-33.1(c)(ii). The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall promulgate rules and regulations to effect the sampling of deer harvested, or dying from, nonhunting related causes, within an enclosure. If chronic wasting disease is diagnosed in white-tailed deer within an enclosure, the department is authorized to use methods authorized by the commission and enter the enclosure to determine a solution for containing the disease within the enclosure. If chronic wasting disease is diagnosed within five (5) miles of the enclosure, the department is authorized to enter the enclosure and utilize the best collection methods available to obtain tissue samples. If chronic wasting disease is detected within an enclosure, 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.

(2) If a live test for chronic wasting disease is developed, the department is authorized to conduct such tests on white-tailed deer within any enclosure.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.