Bill Text: WV HB2644 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Allowing an owner of Japanese quail to keep them as pets without having to obtain a license
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - To House Agriculture and Natural Resources [HB2644 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2020-HB2644-Introduced.html
WEST virginia legislature
2019 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 2644
By Delegates R. Thompson, N.
Brown and Hicks
[Introduced January 24,
2019; Referred
to the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then Government
Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §20-2-47 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to allowing an owner of Japanese quail (Coturnix Quail and Button Quail) to keep them as pets without having to obtain a license for a private game farm.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-47. License for private game farm for propagating animals and birds for commercial purposes.
(a) The director may issue a license for the operation of a private game preserve for propagation of wild animals and wild birds for commercial purposes. The license shall authorize the holder to breed or raise animals and birds as specified by the license, to sell the same dead or alive, or to sell the eggs of birds in accordance with regulations prescribed by the director.
(b) Application for a license under this section shall designate the property whereon the preserve is to be established. Before the license is issued, the director shall determine that the property is properly enclosed, that the provisions for housing and sanitation are proper and adequate, and that the safety of the public is protected.
(c) The annual license fee shall
be is $10.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section or other provision of this chapter, this section does not require an owner of Japanese quail (Coturnix Quail and Button Quail) to obtain a license under this section to keep them as pets if the quail are not used for commercial purposes. Occasional sales of three or fewer quail in a calendar year do not qualify as “commercial purposes” as used in this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow an owner of Japanese quail (Coturnix Quail and Button Quail) to keep them as pets without having to obtain a license for a private game farm.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
