BILL REQ. #:  H-4583.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/06/04.   

     AN ACT Relating to the keeping of dangerous wild animals; adding a new chapter to Title 16 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   It is the intent of the state of Washington to protect the public against the serious health and safety risks that dangerous wild animals pose to the community.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) "Animal control authority" means an entity acting alone or in concert with other local governmental units for enforcement of the animal control laws of the city, county, and state and the shelter and welfare of animals.
     (2) "Potentially dangerous wild animal" means one of the following types of animals, whether bred in the wild or in captivity, and any or all hybrids thereof, which is capable of inflicting serious or fatal injuries:
     (a) Class mammalia
     (i) Order carnivora
     (A) Family felidae, only lions, tigers, captive-bred cougars, jaguars, cheetahs, and leopards;
     (B) Family canidae, only wolves;
     (C) Family ursidae, all bears;
     (D) Family hyaenidae, such as hyenas;
     (ii) Order perissodactyla, only rhinoceroses;
     (iii) Order primates, such as lemurs, monkeys, chimpanzees, and gorillas;
     (iv) Order proboscidae, such as elephants;
     (b) Class reptilia
     (i) Order squamata
     (A) Family varanidae, only water monitors and crocodile monitors;
     (B) All venomous species, such as boomslangs, African twig snakes, coral snakes, cobras, mambas, keelback snakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, and rattlesnakes; and
     (ii) Order crocodilia, such as crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gavials.
     (3) "Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, organization, trade or professional association, firm, limited liability company, joint venture, association, trust, estate, or any other legal entity, and any officer, member, shareholder, director, employee, agent, or representative thereof.
     (4) "Possessor" means any person who owns, possesses, keeps, harbors, brings into the state, or has custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal.
     (5) "Wildlife sanctuary" means a nonprofit organization as described in RCW 84.36.800, that operates a place of refuge where abused, neglected, unwanted, impounded, abandoned, orphaned, or displaced animals are provided care for their lifetime or released back to their natural habitat and, with respect to any animal owned by the organization, does not:
     (a) Conduct any activity that is not inherent to the animal's nature, natural conduct, or the animal in its natural habitat;
     (b) Use the animal for any type of entertainment;
     (c) Sell, trade, or barter the animal or the animal's body parts; or
     (d) Breed the animal for any purpose.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) The provisions of this chapter do not apply to:
     (a) Institutions authorized by the Washington department of fish and wildlife to hold, possess, and propagate deleterious exotic wildlife pursuant to RCW 77.12.047, such as zoos and aquariums accredited by the American zoo and aquarium association;
     (b) Duly incorporated nonprofit animal protection organizations, such as humane societies and shelters, housing an animal at the written request of the animal control authority or acting under the authority of this chapter;
     (c) Animal control officers, law enforcement agents, or county sheriffs acting under the authority of this chapter;
     (d) Licensed veterinary hospitals or clinics;
     (e) A holder of a valid wildlife rehabilitation permit issued by the Washington department of fish and wildlife;
     (f) Any wildlife sanctuary;
     (g) Any licensed or accredited research or medical institution;
     (h) Any licensed or accredited educational institution;
     (i) Any lawfully operated circus or rodeo;
     (j) An individual who is in possession of a monkey that has been obtained through and trained by a licensed and accredited nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of lives for quadriplegic individuals;
     (k) A person temporarily transporting and displaying a potentially dangerous wild animal through the state if the transit time is not more than twenty-one days and the animal is at all times maintained within a confinement sufficient to prevent the animal from escaping;
     (l) Domesticated animals subject to this title or native wildlife subject to Title 77 RCW; and
     (m) A person displaying animals at a fair approved by the Washington department of agriculture pursuant to chapter 15.76 or 36.37 RCW.
     (2) This chapter does not require a city or county that does not have an animal control authority to create that office.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) A person shall not own, possess, keep, harbor, bring into the state, or have custody or control of a potentially dangerous wild animal, except as provided in subsection (3) of this section.
     (2) A person shall not breed a potentially dangerous wild animal.
     (3) A person in legal possession of a potentially dangerous wild animal prior to the effective date of this act and who is the legal possessor of the animal may keep possession of the animal until July 1, 2009. The person must maintain veterinary records, acquisition papers for the animal, if available, or other documents or records that establish that the person possessed the animal prior to the effective date of this act. The person shall have the burden of proving that he or she possessed the animal prior to the effective date of this act.
     (4) A person who possesses a potentially dangerous wild animal as allowed under subsection (3) of this section may, prior to July 1, 2009, apply to the animal control authority for permission to maintain possession of the animal after July 1, 2009. The animal control authority may allow the possessor to maintain possession of the animal for a time period determined by the animal control authority and under conditions specified by the animal control authority.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) The animal control authority may immediately confiscate a potentially dangerous wild animal if:
     (a) The animal is possessed after July 1, 2009, and the possessor has not been granted permission to maintain possession after July 1, 2009, as allowed under section 4 of this act; or
     (b) The animal control authority has probable cause to believe that the animal was acquired after the effective date of this act in violation of section 4 of this act.
     (2) A potentially dangerous wild animal that is confiscated under this section may be returned to the possessor only if the animal control authority establishes that the possessor had possession of the animal prior to the effective date of this act and if the return of the animal does not violate section 4 of this act.
     (3) The animal control authority shall serve notice upon the possessor in person or by regular and certified mail, return receipt requested, notifying the possessor of the confiscation, that the possessor is responsible for payment of reasonable costs for caring and providing for the animal during the confiscation, and that the possessor must meet the requirements of subsection (2) of this section in order for the animal to be returned to the possessor.
     (4) If a potentially dangerous wild animal confiscated under this section is not returned to the possessor, the animal control authority may release the animal to a facility such as a wildlife sanctuary, zoo, or aquarium. If the animal control authority is unable to relocate the animal within a reasonable period of time, it may euthanize the animal.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A city or county may adopt an ordinance governing potentially dangerous wild animals that is more restrictive than this chapter. However, nothing in this chapter requires a city or county to adopt an ordinance to be in compliance with this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A person who acquires possession of a potentially dangerous wild animal after the effective date of this act, or who possesses a potentially dangerous wild animal after July 1, 2009, in violation of section 4 of this act, is liable for a civil penalty of not less than two hundred dollars and not more than two thousand dollars for each animal with respect to which there is a violation and for each day the violation continues.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   The animal control authority and its staff and agents, local law enforcement agents, and county sheriffs are authorized and empowered to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   Sections 1 through 9 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 16 RCW.