BILL REQ. #:  H-3768.1 

Read first time 01/11/2006.   Referred to Committee on Natural Resources, Ecology & Parks.

     AN ACT Relating to the trapping of wildlife; amending RCW 77.08.010 and 77.36.030; adding a new chapter to Title 77 RCW; prescribing penalties; and repealing RCW 77.15.190, 77.15.191, 77.15.192, 77.15.194, 77.15.196, 77.15.198, 77.32.545, 77.65.450, and 77.65.460.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 77.08.010 and 2005 c 104 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     As used in this title or rules adopted under this title, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
     (1) "Director" means the director of ((fish and wildlife)) the department.
     (2) "Department" means the department of fish and wildlife.
     (3) "Commission" means the state fish and wildlife commission.
     (4) "Person" means and includes an individual; a corporation; a public or private entity or organization; a local, state, or federal agency; all business organizations, including corporations and partnerships; or a group of two or more individuals acting with a common purpose whether acting in an individual, representative, or official capacity.
     (5) "Fish and wildlife officer" means a person appointed and commissioned by the director, with authority to enforce this title and rules adopted pursuant to this title, and other statutes as prescribed by the legislature. Fish and wildlife officer includes a person commissioned before June 11, 1998, as a wildlife agent or a fisheries patrol officer.
     (6) "Ex officio fish and wildlife officer" means a commissioned officer of a municipal, county, state, or federal agency having as its primary function the enforcement of criminal laws in general, while the officer is in the appropriate jurisdiction. The term "ex officio fish and wildlife officer" includes special agents of the national marine fisheries service, state parks commissioned officers, United States fish and wildlife special agents, department of natural resources enforcement officers, and United States forest service officers, while the agents and officers are within their respective jurisdictions.
     (7) "To hunt" and its derivatives means an effort to kill, injure, capture, or harass a wild animal or wild bird.
     (8) "To trap" and its derivatives means a method of hunting using devices to capture wild animals or wild birds.
     (9) "To fish," "to harvest," and "to take," and their derivatives means an effort to kill, injure, harass, or catch a fish or shellfish.
     (10) "Open season" means those times, manners of taking, and places or waters established by rule of the commission for the lawful hunting, fishing, taking, or possession of game animals, game birds, game fish, food fish, or shellfish that conform to the special restrictions or physical descriptions established by rule of the commission or that have otherwise been deemed legal to hunt, fish, take, harvest, or possess by rule of the commission. "Open season" includes the first and last days of the established time.
     (11) "Closed season" means all times, manners of taking, and places or waters other than those established by rule of the commission as an open season. "Closed season" also means all hunting, fishing, taking, or possession of game animals, game birds, game fish, food fish, or shellfish that do not conform to the special restrictions or physical descriptions established by rule of the commission as an open season or that have not otherwise been deemed legal to hunt, fish, take, harvest, or possess by rule of the commission as an open season.
     (12) "Closed area" means a place where the hunting of some or all species of wild animals or wild birds is prohibited.
     (13) "Closed waters" means all or part of a lake, river, stream, or other body of water, where fishing or harvesting is prohibited.
     (14) "Game reserve" means a closed area where hunting for all wild animals and wild birds is prohibited.
     (15) "Bag limit" means the maximum number of game animals, game birds, or game fish which may be taken, caught, killed, or possessed by a person, as specified by rule of the commission for a particular period of time, or as to size, sex, or species.
     (16) "Wildlife" means all species of the animal kingdom whose members exist in Washington in a wild state. This includes but is not limited to mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. The term "wildlife" does not include feral domestic mammals, old world rats and mice of the family Muridae of the order Rodentia, or those fish, shellfish, and marine invertebrates classified as food fish or shellfish by the director. The term "wildlife" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of wildlife members.
     (17) "Wild animals" means those species of the class Mammalia whose members exist in Washington in a wild state ((and the species Rana catesbeiana (bullfrog))). The term "wild animal" does not include feral domestic mammals ((or)), moles, gophers, opossum, Eastern grey squirrels, Columbian ground squirrels, old world rats ((and)), or mice of the family Muridae of the order Rodentia.
     (18) "Wild birds" means those species of the class Aves whose members exist in Washington in a wild state.
     (19) "Protected wildlife" means wildlife designated by the commission that shall not be hunted or fished.
     (20) "Endangered species" means wildlife designated by the commission as seriously threatened with extinction.
     (21) "Game animals" means wild animals that shall not be hunted except as authorized by the commission.
     (22) "Fur-bearing animals" means game animals that shall not be trapped except as authorized by the commission.
     (23) "Game birds" means wild birds that shall not be hunted except as authorized by the commission.
     (24) "Predatory birds" means wild birds that may be hunted throughout the year as authorized by the commission.
     (25) "Deleterious exotic wildlife" means species of the animal kingdom not native to Washington and designated as dangerous to the environment or wildlife of the state.
     (26) "Game farm" means property on which wildlife is held or raised for commercial purposes, trade, or gift. The term "game farm" does not include publicly owned facilities.
     (27) "Person of disability" means a permanently disabled person who is not ambulatory without the assistance of a wheelchair, crutches, or similar devices.
     (28) "Fish" includes all species classified as game fish or food fish by statute or rule, as well as all fin fish not currently classified as food fish or game fish if such species exist in state waters. The term "fish" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of fish species.
     (29) "Raffle" means an activity in which tickets bearing an individual number are sold for not more than twenty-five dollars each and in which a permit or permits are awarded to hunt or for access to hunt big game animals or wild turkeys on the basis of a drawing from the tickets by the person or persons conducting the raffle.
     (30) "Youth" means a person fifteen years old for fishing and under sixteen years old for hunting.
     (31) "Senior" means a person seventy years old or older.
     (32) "License year" means the period of time for which a recreational license is valid. The license year begins April 1st, and ends March 31st.
     (33) "Saltwater" means those marine waters seaward of river mouths.
     (34) "Freshwater" means all waters not defined as saltwater including, but not limited to, rivers upstream of the river mouth, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs.
     (35) "State waters" means all marine waters and fresh waters within ordinary high water lines and within the territorial boundaries of the state.
     (36) "Offshore waters" means marine waters of the Pacific Ocean outside the territorial boundaries of the state, including the marine waters of other states and countries.
     (37) "Concurrent waters of the Columbia river" means those waters of the Columbia river that coincide with the Washington-Oregon state boundary.
     (38) "Resident" means:
     (a) A person who has maintained a permanent place of abode within the state for at least ninety days immediately preceding an application for a license, has established by formal evidence an intent to continue residing within the state, and who is not licensed to hunt or fish as a resident in another state; and
     (b) A person age eighteen or younger who does not qualify as a resident under (a) of this subsection, but who has a parent that qualifies as a resident under (a) of this subsection.
     (39) "Nonresident" means a person who has not fulfilled the qualifications of a resident.
     (40) "Shellfish" means those species of marine and freshwater invertebrates that have been classified and that shall not be taken except as authorized by rule of the commission. The term "shellfish" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of shellfish species.
     (41) "Commercial" means related to or connected with buying, selling, or bartering.
     (42) "To process" and its derivatives mean preparing or preserving fish, wildlife, or shellfish.
     (43) "Personal use" means for the private use of the individual taking the fish or shellfish and not for sale or barter.
     (44) "Angling gear" means a line attached to a rod and reel capable of being held in hand while landing the fish or a hand-held line operated without rod or reel.
     (45) "Fishery" means the taking of one or more particular species of fish or shellfish with particular gear in a particular geographical area.
     (46) "Limited-entry license" means a license subject to a license limitation program established in chapter 77.70 RCW.
     (47) "Seaweed" means marine aquatic plant species that are dependent upon the marine aquatic or tidal environment, and exist in either an attached or free floating form, and includes but is not limited to marine aquatic plants in the classes Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, and Rhodophyta.
     (48) "Trafficking" means offering, attempting to engage, or engaging in sale, barter, or purchase of fish, shellfish, wildlife, or deleterious exotic wildlife.
     (49) "Invasive species" means a plant species or a nonnative animal species that either:
     (a) Causes or may cause displacement of, or otherwise threatens, native species in their natural communities;
     (b) Threatens or may threaten natural resources or their use in the state;
     (c) Causes or may cause economic damage to commercial or recreational activities that are dependent upon state waters; or
     (d) Threatens or harms human health.
     (50) "Prohibited aquatic animal species" means an invasive species of the animal kingdom that has been classified as a prohibited aquatic animal species by the commission.
     (51) "Regulated aquatic animal species" means a potentially invasive species of the animal kingdom that has been classified as a regulated aquatic animal species by the commission.
     (52) "Unregulated aquatic animal species" means a nonnative animal species that has been classified as an unregulated aquatic animal species by the commission.
     (53) "Unlisted aquatic animal species" means a nonnative animal species that has not been classified as a prohibited aquatic animal species, a regulated aquatic animal species, or an unregulated aquatic animal species by the commission.
     (54) "Aquatic plant species" means an emergent, submersed, partially submersed, free-floating, or floating-leaving plant species that grows in or near a body of water or wetland.
     (55) "Retail-eligible species" means commercially harvested salmon, crab, and sturgeon.
     (56) "Body-gripping trap" means any trap, other than a net, that grips an animal's body or body part, and leghold and foothold traps, neck snares, and nonstrangling foot snares.
     (57) "Prohibited trap" means:
     (a) All body-gripping traps;
     (b) Traps or other devices that use sodium fluoroacetate or sodium cyanide as a killing agent; and
     (c) Any other trap types prohibited from use in Washington by the commission.
     (58) "Raw fur" means a pelt that has not been processed for purposes of retail sale.
     (59) "Animal problem" means a situation where a wild animal threatens or damages either public or private property or resources, threatens or injures livestock or any other domestic animal, or creates a threat to public health and safety.
     (60) "Mountain beaver" means the species Aplodontia rufa.
     (61) "Nuisance wildlife control officer" means a person licensed by the department under section 3 of this act to trap wild animals on the property of another for a fee or other consideration.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The commission has the authority to manage the trapping of wild animals in Washington. This authority includes the ability to establish trapping seasons, prohibit the use of any trap type, establish prerequisites for the receipt of a trapping license, establish requirements for commerce in raw fur, establish required timelines for checking set traps, establish requirements for the handling, holding, transport, dispatch, and release of captured wildlife, and adopt any other rules deemed necessary by the commission for the management of wild animal trapping consistent with this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) A person must possess a department-issued Washington trapping license in order to lawfully trap wild animals throughout the state. Prior to being issued a trapping license, the person must satisfy the requirements of section 4 of this act.
     (2)(a) A Washington trapping license allows the holder to trap wild animals and wild birds on his or her property, or on the property of another, without charging a fee or other consideration.
     (b) A Washington trapping license is valid from the date of issuance until the April 1st following the date of issuance.
     (c) The fee for a Washington trapping license is thirty-six dollars for residents sixteen years of age or older, fifteen dollars for residents under sixteen years of age, and one hundred eighty dollars for nonresidents.
     (3)(a) A nuisance wildlife control operator license extension allows the holder to trap wild animals and wild birds on the property of another for a fee or other consideration and is available only to persons holding a trapping license under this section.
     (b) The annual fee for the nuisance wildlife control operator license extension is two hundred fifty dollars.
     (4)(a) The holder of a trapping license under this section must complete and submit to the department an accurate annual report of catch postmarked on or before January 31st of the year following the reporting year. The report must be submitted to the department regardless of trapping success, and indicate the number, general location, and species of all wild animals captured that were not part of an animal problem controlled pursuant to section 6 of this act.
     (b) The holders of trapping licenses that fail to submit a report of catch shall, in addition to the penalties provided for in RCW 77.15.280, have their trapping privileges suspended for one year.
     (c) It is the responsibility of each trapping licensee to obtain and submit a report of trapping results on forms provided by the department.
     (d) The department shall maintain and summarize all catch reports received under this section, and shall present the summarized information to the commission.
     (5) All persons trapping with a license issued under this section must comply with the provisions of this title and all rules adopted by the commission under this title.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) Prior to being issued an initial Washington trapping license under section 3 of this act, a person must present the department with a certification of completion of a course of instruction in safe, humane, and proper trapping techniques or pass an examination to establish that the applicant has the requisite knowledge.
     (2) The department shall establish a program for training persons in trapping techniques and responsibilities, including the use of trapping devices designed to painlessly capture or instantly kill. The department shall cooperate with Washington-based animal shelters, humane organizations, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and similar entities providing animal care and rehabilitation services, hunter education groups, and Washington-based trapping organizations in the development and instruction of a curriculum for the training program. Upon successful completion of the course, trainees receive a training certificate signed by an authorized instructor, which must be accepted by the department as evidence of compliance with this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) All individuals setting a trap for a wild animal must attach to the chain of their traps or devices a legible metal tag with either the department identification number of the trapper or the name and address of the trapper in English letters not less than one-eighth inch in height.
     (2) No person may place a trap on private property without permission of the owner, lessee, or tenant if:
     (a) The land is improved and apparently used;
     (b) The land is fenced or enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders or to indicate a property boundary line; or
     (c) Notice that the land is used is given by posting in a conspicuous manner.
     (3) When a property owner, lessee, or tenant presents a trap identification number to the department for a trap found upon the property of the owner, lessee, or tenant and requests identification of the trapper, the department shall provide the requestor with the name and address of the trapper. Prior to disclosure of the trapper's name and address, the department shall obtain the name and address of the requesting individual in writing and after disclosing the trapper's name and address to the requesting individual, the requesting individual's name and address shall be disclosed in writing to the trapper whose name and address was disclosed.
     (4) A property owner, lessee, or tenant may remove any trap placed on the owner's, lessee's, or tenant's posted or fenced property.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, it is unlawful to use, attempt to use, or authorize the use of any prohibited trap to capture any wild animal.
     (2)(a) The department may authorize a landowner or the landowner's designee to use specific types of body-gripping traps identified by the commission under section 7 of this act on his or her own property in order to address an animal problem if:
     (i) The individual operating the traps holds a valid trapping license under section 3 of this act or has contracted with a nuisance wildlife control officer licensed under section 3 of this act; and
     (ii) The landowner has documented to the department that a specific animal problem either exists or could potentially exist, and that nonlethal methods for addressing the animal problem cannot be reasonably and effectively applied.
     (b) The owner or operator of commercial timber, as those terms are defined in RCW 76.09.020, may use specific types of body-gripping traps identified by the commission under section 7 of this act to capture mountain beavers. All individual mountain beavers trapped under this section, and the approximate location of the trapping, must be reported to the department on an annual basis.
     (c) Department employees, or individuals working with the permission of or under the supervision of department employees, may use otherwise prohibited traps if the use of the traps is the only practical means of protecting threatened or endangered species as designated under RCW 77.08.010.
     (d) The department may authorize the use of otherwise prohibited traps to conduct legitimate wildlife research.
     (e) Federal wildlife agencies and their employees and agents, while acting lawfully within the scope of their authority, are not subject to the provisions of this section.
     (f) The operators of public airports or the operators of private airports open to the public may use specific types of body-gripping traps identified by the commission under section 7 of this act, either on property controlled by the airport operator or on property in the immediate vicinity of the airport, to capture any wildlife not listed as threatened or endangered if the wildlife is posing a threat to human health and safety. Animals trapped under this section must be reported to the department on an annual basis.
     (3) If the commission has not identified at least one specific type of body-gripping trap for a particular animal problem in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, the director may issue a special permit to a landowner for that animal problem consistent with WAC 232-12-142, as it existed on January 1, 2006.
     (4) A violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   (1) The commission shall adopt and maintain a list of more humane body-gripping traps that may be lawfully used under section 6 of this act. The commission shall identify specific trap types for specific animal problems that are the most humane effective trap type for the targeted animal problem. The adoption of permissible trap types under this section must be substantially consistent with unanimous recommendations and advice forwarded by the trap type advisory panel created in this section.
     (2)(a) The commission shall convene and maintain a trap type advisory panel to provide recommendations and guidance for identifying more humane traps to be used for managing animal problems. The panel must consist of a balanced representation of interests and expertise, including representatives of state humane organizations, trapping organizations, wildlife rehabilitation centers or similar entities providing animal care and rehabilitation services, private landowners, local governments, and airports.
     (b) The advisory panel shall meet when requested by the commission and forward unanimous recommendations and advice to the commission for specific animal problems presented by the commission.
     (c) Members of the advisory panel shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel expenses as authorized in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (d) The members of the advisory panel, or individuals acting on their behalf, are immune from civil liability for official acts performed in the course of their duties.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   (1) It is unlawful to knowingly buy, sell, barter, or otherwise exchange, or offer to buy, sell, barter, or otherwise exchange a wild animal, or the raw fur of a wild animal, that has been trapped in this state with a prohibited trap, unless the wild animal was trapped lawfully under section 6 of this act. Raw fur from other sources may be bought, sold, or bartered consistent with any rules adopted by the commission.
     (2) The carcass of any animal captured in a prohibited trap may be donated to a public health or research institution.
     (3) A violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   (1) A person is guilty of unlawful trapping if the person:
     (a) Sets out traps that are capable of taking wild animals, game animals, or furbearing mammals and does not possess all licenses, tags, or permits required under this title;
     (b) Violates any rule of the commission or director regarding seasons, bag or possession limits, closed areas including game reserves, closed times, or any other rule governing the trapping of wild animals that does not constitute a violation of section 6 of this act; or
     (c) Fails to identify the owner of the traps or devices consistent with section 5 of this act.
     (2) Unlawful trapping is a misdemeanor.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   (1) The director may revoke the trapping license of a person placing unauthorized traps on private property. Any unauthorized traps found on private property may be removed by the department.
     (2) The director shall revoke the trapping license of any person convicted of a violation of section 6 of this act, and suspend the violator's trapping privileges for five years following the revocation. If a person is convicted of subsequent violations of section 6 of this act, the director shall permanently suspend his or her trapping privileges.
     (3) A person who has his or her trapping privileges revoked under this section must satisfy the trapping education requirements of section 4 of this act no more than one year before a new trapping license is granted.
     (4) The suspensions and revocations outlined in this section are to be applied in addition to any appropriate criminal penalties.

Sec. 11   RCW 77.36.030 and 1996 c 54 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((Subject to the following limitations and conditions)) Except as provided in this section, the owner, the owner's immediate family member, the owner's documented employee, or a tenant of real property may trap or kill on that property, without the licenses required under RCW 77.32.010 or authorization from the director under RCW 77.12.240, wild animals or wild birds that are damaging crops, domestic animals, or fowl((:)).
     (((a))) (2) This section does not authorize the hunting, trapping, or killing of threatened or endangered species ((shall not be hunted, trapped, or killed;)).
     (((b))) (3)(a) Except ((in an emergency situation)) as otherwise provided in this subsection, deer, elk, and protected wildlife shall not be killed without a permit issued and conditioned by the director or the director's designee.
     (b) In an emergency, the department may give verbal permission followed by written permission to trap or kill any deer, elk, or protected wildlife that is damaging crops, domestic animals, or fowl((; and)).
     (c) On privately owned cattle ranching lands, the land owner or lessee may declare an emergency ((only when)) if the department has not responded within forty-eight hours after having been contacted by the land owner or lessee regarding damage caused by wild animals or wild birds. In such an emergency, the owner or lessee may trap or kill any deer, elk, or other protected wildlife that is causing the damage but deer and elk may only be killed if such lands were open to public hunting during the previous hunting season, or the closure to public hunting was coordinated with the department to protect property and livestock.
     (((2))) (4) Except for coyotes and Columbian ground squirrels, wildlife trapped or killed under this section remain the property of the state, and the person trapping or killing the wildlife shall notify the department immediately. The department shall dispose of any wildlife ((so)) taken under this section within three days of receiving ((such a)) notification ((and)) in a manner determined by the director to be in the best interest of the state.
     (5) Nothing in this section excuses an individual from compliance with section 6 of this act when operating traps.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   Sections 2 through 10 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 77 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 13   The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:
     (1) RCW 77.15.190 (Unlawful trapping -- Penalty) and 1999 c 258 s 9 & 1998 c 190 s 34;
     (2) RCW 77.15.191 (Revocation of trapper's license -- Placement of unauthorized traps) and 2000 c 107 s 268 & 1987 c 372 s 4;
     (3) RCW 77.15.192 (Definitions) and 2001 c 1 s 2;
     (4) RCW 77.15.194 (Unlawful traps -- Penalty) and 2003 c 53 s 374 & 2001 c 1 s 3;
     (5) RCW 77.15.196 (Unlawful poison -- Penalty) and 2003 c 53 s 375 & 2001 c 1 s 4;
     (6) RCW 77.15.198 (Violation of RCW 77.15.194 or 77.15.196--Penalty) and 2003 c 53 s 376 & 2001 c 1 s 5;
     (7) RCW 77.32.545 (Removal of trap -- Identification of traps--Disclosure of identities) and 1998 c 190 s 121, 1993 sp.s. c 2 s 75, 1988 c 36 s 51, 1987 c 372 s 1, 1980 c 78 s 85, & 1955 c 36 s 77.16.170;
     (8) RCW 77.65.450 (Trapper's license) and 1991 sp.s. c 7 s 3, 1987 c 372 s 3, 1985 c 464 s 4, & 1981 c 310 s 23; and
     (9) RCW 77.65.460 (Trapper's license -- Training program or examination requisite for issuance to initial licensee) and 1987 c 506 s 82, 1981 c 310 s 24, 1980 c 78 s 114, & 1977 c 43 s 1.