Bill Text: NJ A2420 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Bans manufacture, sale, possession, importation, transportation, or use of certain traps.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-03 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture Committee [A2420 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A2420-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Bans manufacture, sale, possession, importation, transportation, or use of certain traps.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain traps and supplementing Title 23 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Except for educational, scientific, or public health purposes pursuant to a special permit issued by the Department of Environmental Protection, no person shall manufacture, sell, offer for sale, possess, import, or transport a trap that is a spring-loaded device that restrains an animal by capturing the foot, leg, or other body part, including an enclosed foothold type trap or any other type trap that uses a jaw, arm, bar, cable, or wire to grasp or pin the animal's foot, leg, or other body part.
b. No person shall trap, or attempt to trap, an animal using a trap that is a spring-loaded device that restrains an animal by capturing the foot, leg, or other body part, including an enclosed foothold type trap or any other type trap that uses a jaw, arm, bar, cable, or wire to grasp or pin the animal's foot, leg, or other body part.
c. All equipment used in, or animals or animal pelts obtained through, a violation of subsection a. or b. of this section shall be confiscated by a law enforcement officer and forfeited.
d. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. or b. of this section to the contrary, nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit or otherwise apply to a mouse trap or rat trap designed for use in and under buildings.
e. Any person who violates subsection a. or b. of this section shall be liable to a civil penalty of not less than $100 nor more than $300 for a first offense, and not less than $500 nor more than $700 for a second offense, and not less than $1,000 nor more than $2,500 for a third or subsequent offense, to be collected in a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
2. This act shall take effect on the 60th day after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would ban the manufacture, sale, offer for sale, possession, importation, or transportation of a trap that is a spring-loaded device that restrains an animal by capturing the foot, leg, or other body part, including an enclosed foothold type trap or any other type trap that uses a jaw, arm, bar, cable, or wire to grasp or pin the animal's foot, leg, or other body part. The bill would also prohibit a person from trapping or attempting to trap an animal using such a trap. The bill specifies that a mouse trap or rat trap designed for use in and under buildings is not a trap prohibited by the bill. A person who violates the bill would be subject to a civil fine of $100 to $300 for a first offense, $500 to $700 for a second offense, and $1,000 to $2,500 for a third or subsequent offense, plus confiscation and forfeiture of all equipment used in, and animals or pelts obtained through, the violation.
