SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 11

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

217th LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2016 SESSION

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  RAYMOND J. LESNIAK

District 20 (Union)

Senator  CHRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN

District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Addiego, Allen, Weinberg, Cruz-Perez and Greenstein

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Determines that Fish and Game Council's proposal to allow use of enclosed foothold traps is inconsistent with plain language and legislative intent of 1984 law banning animal traps of steel-jaw leghold type.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

  


A Concurrent Resolution concerning legislative review of certain proposed Fish and Game Council regulations pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey.

 

Whereas, Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey provides that the Legislature may review any rule or regulation adopted or proposed by an administrative agency to determine if the rule or regulation is consistent with the intent of the Legislature as expressed in the language of the statute which the rule or regulation is intended to implement and, upon a finding that the rule or regulation is not consistent with legislative intent, may transmit the finding to the Governor and the head of the agency; and

Whereas, On March 16, 2015, the Fish and Game Council proposed for public comment in the New Jersey Register the 2015-2016 Game Code; and

Whereas, The Game Code sets forth the regulations governing hunting and trapping in the State, including season dates, bag limits, and the means by which game and furbearing animals may be taken and possessed; and

Whereas, In 1984, in order to protect animal welfare and prevent cruelty in trapping, P.L.1984, c.37 (C.23:4-22.1 et seq.) was enacted in this State to prohibit the use of animal traps of the steel-jaw leghold type; and

Whereas, Among the proposed amendments for the 2015-2016 Game Code is a provision to allow the use of "enclosed foothold traps," which, despite being defined therein as a live-capture trap with a trigger which is activated by pulling, is, in fact, an animal trap of the steel-jaw leghold type prohibited pursuant to P.L.1984, c.37 (C.23:4-22.1 et seq.) because, when the trap is triggered, a steel jaw clamps the animal's limb against another steel surface or coacting jaw, thereby restraining the animal; and

Whereas, Enclosed foothold traps, like other animal traps of the steel-jaw leghold type, trap the limb of an animal with a clamping force that inflicts trauma, restricts blood flow, and results in significant injury to the animal, and therefore are cruel and inhumane; and

Whereas, Many non-target species, such as mink, river otter, and the domestic cat, are equally as dexterous as target species such as raccoon and opossum, and therefore can also be wrongly captured by enclosed foothold traps; and

Whereas, Raccoons, opossums, and other similarly sized species can be caught easily by using cage and box type traps rather than enclosed foothold traps; and

Whereas, The proposed amendments to the 2015-2016 Game Code to allow the use of enclosed foothold traps are inconsistent with the plain language and intent of the Legislature expressed in P.L.1984, c.37 (C.23:4-22.1 et seq.); now, therefore,

 

     Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):

 

     1.    The Legislature declares that the rules and regulations proposed in the New Jersey Register on March 16, 2015 by the Fish and Game Council to allow the use of enclosed foothold traps are not consistent with the plain language and intent of the Legislature as expressed in P.L.1984, c.37 (C.23:4-22.1 et seq.).

 

     2.    Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Chair of the Fish and Game Council and the Commissioner of Environmental Protection.

 

     3.    Pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, the Fish and Game Council and the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall have 30 days following transmittal of this resolution to amend or withdraw the proposed rules and regulations or the Legislature may, by passage of another concurrent resolution, exercise its authority under the Constitution to invalidate the rules and regulations in whole or in part.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This concurrent resolution embodies the finding of the Legislature that the amendments proposed by the Fish and Game Council to the 2015-2016 Game Code to allow the use of "enclosed foothold traps," published for public comment in the New Jersey Register on March 16, 2015, are not consistent with the plain language and intent of the Legislature as expressed in P.L.1984, c.37 (C.23:4-22.1 et seq.).  An enclosed foothold trap is a type of steel-jaw leghold trap, the use of which has been banned in the State since 1984 because it is cruel and inhumane.

     The Fish and Game Council will have 30 days from the date of transmittal of this resolution to amend or withdraw the proposed rules and regulations, or the Legislature may, by passage of another concurrent resolution, exercise its authority under the Constitution to invalidate the rules and regulations in whole or in part.