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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 1847
94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES LOW (39) (Sponsor), LAMPE AND CHAPPELLE-NADAL (Co-sponsors).
Read 1st time January 24, 2008 and copies ordered printed.
D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
3045L.01I
AN ACT
To amend chapter 578, RSMo, by adding thereto six new sections relating to wild animals, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 578, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto six new sections, to be known as sections 578.550, 578.553, 578.556, 578.559, 578.562, and 578.565, to read as follows:
578.550. As used in sections 578.550 to 578.565, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Companion animal", any animal that is commonly kept as a pet, including but not limited to domesticated dogs, domesticated cats and feral cats, horses, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, rabbits, turtles except for turtles determined by the department of agriculture to be a danger to public health and safety, ferrets, fish, coral and all aquatic invertebrates;
(2) "Farm animal", any ungulate, poultry, species of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, llama, horses, or fur-bearing animals which are raised for commercial or subsistence purposes. Fur-bearing animals shall not include dogs or cats;
(3) "Person", any individual, partnership, firm, joint stock company, corporation, association, trust, estate, or other legal entity;
(4) "Pet", an animal kept for the primary purpose of companionship that is normally maintained in or near the household of the owner or person who cares for such domesticated animal;
(5) "Wild animal", any live animal that is wild by nature, whether bred in the wild or in captivity and whether or not native to Missouri. Wild animals shall not include companion animals. Wild animals shall include, but are not limited to, the following orders and families:
(a) Nonhuman primates and prosimians;
(b) Felidae and hybrids thereof, except for domesticated and feral cats;
(c) Canidae, except for domesticated dogs;
(d) Ursidae;
(e) Reptilia, including all reptiles that are venomous by nature as determined by department rule, including but not limited to Burmese python, reticulated python, African rock python, green anaconda, yellow anaconda, Indian python, Asiatic monitor, Nile monitor, white throat monitor, black throat monitor, and crocodile monitor, and any hybrids thereof;
(f) Crocodilia;
(g) Birds, including parrots, parakeets, finches, doves and pigeons, and canaries; and
(h) Any other animal deemed to be a wild animal by department rule;
(6) "Wildlife sanctuary", a nonprofit organization described in Section 170(b)(1)(a)(VI) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and approved by the Association of Sanctuaries or the American Sanctuary Association, and that operates a place of refuge for abused, neglected, unwanted, impounded, abandoned, orphaned, or displaced wild animals which are provided care for their lifetime or rehabilitated and released back into their natural habitat, and with respect to any animal owned by such organization, does not:
(a) Use the animal for any type of entertainment, recreational, or commercial purpose;
(b) Sell, trade, lend, or barter the animal or the animal's body parts; or
(c) Breed the animal.
578.553. No person shall knowingly possess, harbor, sell, barter, transfer, exchange, or import any wild animal for use as a pet in the state of Missouri except as provided in section 578.559.
578.556. Sections 578.550 to 578.565 shall not apply to any of the following persons or entities with respect to wild animals owned or harbored solely for a purpose other than for use as a pet:
(1) Zoological facilities licensed under 7 U.S.C. Section 2132 et seq. and accredited by the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA);
(2) Exhibitors licensed under the Animal Welfare Act, 7 U.S.C. Sections 2132 to 2134 who have demonstrated to the department of agriculture in accordance with rules promulgated by the director that the sole purpose for which the wild animal or animals are used is for exhibition to the public for profit or compensation;
(3) Research facilities, as defined in the Animal Welfare Act, 7 U.S.C. Section 2132(e), which are licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture and approved under state law;
(4) Licensed veterinarians and incorporated humane societies, animal shelters, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or animal welfare organizations in temporary possession of wild animals; provided that such persons or facilities notify the department of agriculture within forty-eight hours of obtaining custody of such animal;
(5) State universities or other state agencies working with wild animals;
(6) Licensed wildlife rehabilitators who are tending to sick or injured wild animals that are native to Missouri;
(7) A person having custody of a wild animal solely for the purpose of transporting it to a licensed veterinarian, wildlife rehabilitator, humane society, or other entity authorized by sections 578.550 to 578.565 to handle or treat wild animals;
(8) A wildlife sanctuary;
(9) A person with a falconry or hawk license; or
(10) A person who is not a resident of this state and who is in this state only for the purpose of traveling between locations outside the state. In no event shall such travel time period exceed thirty days.
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