Sec. 26-47. Permits to take wildlife damaging crops. License to control nuisance wildlife.
Sec. 26-47. Permits to take wildlife damaging crops. License to control nuisance wildlife. (a) When it is shown to the satisfaction of the commissioner that wildlife
is causing unreasonable damage to agricultural crops during the night and it is found
by the commissioner that control of such damage by wildlife is impracticable during
the daylight hours, the commissioner may issue permits for the taking of such wildlife
as the commissioner deems necessary to control such damage by such method as the
commissioner determines, including the use of lights, during the period between sunset
and sunrise, upon written application of the owner or lessee of record of the land on which
such crops are grown. Such permits may be issued to any qualified person designated
by such landowner or lessee. The person to whom such permit is issued shall be held
responsible for complying with the conditions under which such permit is issued. The
provisions of this section shall not apply to deer.
(b) (1) No person shall engage in the business of controlling nuisance wildlife,
other than rats or mice, without obtaining a license from the commissioner. Such license
shall be valid for a period of two years and may be renewed in accordance with a schedule
established by the commissioner. The fee for such license shall be two hundred dollars.
The controlling of nuisance wildlife at the direction of the commissioner shall not constitute engaging in the business of controlling nuisance wildlife for the purposes of this
section. No person shall be licensed under this subsection unless the person: (A) Provides
evidence, satisfactory to the commissioner, that the person has completed training which
included instruction in site evaluation, methods of nonlethal and approved lethal resolution of common nuisance wildlife problems, techniques to prevent reoccurrence of such
problems and humane capture, handling and euthanasia of nuisance wildlife and instruction in methods of nonlethal resolution of common nuisance wildlife problems, including, but not limited to, training regarding frightening devices, repellants, one-way door
exclusion and other exclusion methods, habitat modification and live-trapping and releasing and other methods as the commissioner may deem appropriate; and (B) is a
resident of this state or of a state that does not prohibit residents of this state from being
licensed as nuisance wildlife control operators because of lack of residency.
(2) The licensure requirements shall apply to municipal employees who engage in
the control or handling of animals, including, but not limited to, animal control officers,
except that no license shall be required of such employees for the emergency control
of rabies. Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection, the commissioner shall
waive the licensure fee for such employees. The commissioner shall provide to such
municipal employees, without charge, the training required for licensure under this subsection. A license held by a municipal employee shall be noncommercial, nontransferable and conditional upon municipal employment.
(3) The commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of
chapter 54, which (A) define the scope and methods for controlling nuisance wildlife
provided such regulations shall incorporate the recommendations of the 1993 report of
the American Veterinary Medical Association panel on euthanasia and further provided
such regulations may provide for the use of specific alternatives to such recommendations only in specified circumstances where use of a method of killing approved by such
association would involve an imminent threat to human health or safety and only if such
alternatives are designed to kill the animal as quickly and painlessly as practicable while
protecting human health and safety, and (B) establish criteria and procedures for issuance
of a license.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in regulations adopted under this section, no person licensed under this subsection may kill any animal by any method which does not
conform to the recommendations of the 1993 report of the American Veterinary Medical
Association panel on euthanasia. No person may advertise any services relating to humane capture or relocation of wildlife unless all methods employed in such services
conform to such regulations.
(5) Any person licensed under this subsection shall provide all clients with a written
statement approved by the commissioner regarding approved lethal and nonlethal options, as provided in this subsection, which are available to the client for resolution of
common nuisance problems. If a written statement cannot be delivered to the client prior
to services being rendered, the licensee shall leave the statement at the job site or other
location arranged with the client.
(6) Each person licensed under this subsection shall submit a report to the commissioner, on such date as the commissioner may determine, that specifies the means utilized
in each case of nuisance wildlife control service provided in the preceding calendar year
including any method used in those cases where an animal was killed. Any information
included in such report which identifies a client of such person or the client's street
address may be released by the commissioner only pursuant to an investigation related
to enforcement of this section.
(c) Any person who violates any provision of this section, or any condition under
which a permit or license is issued, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars or
more than two hundred dollars or be imprisoned not more than sixty days or be both
fined and imprisoned; and any permit or license issued to such person, and all other
such permits or licenses issued to any other person for such property, shall be revoked
by the commissioner and the right to obtain such permit or license shall remain suspended
for such period of time as the commissioner determines.
(d) Any permit or license issued under this section shall not authorize the taking
of deer.
(1957, P.A. 497; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 242; P.A. 85-100, S. 3; P.A. 97-255; P.A. 98-199, S. 1, 2; P.A. 01-204, S. 1, 29;
June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9, S. 73, 131; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1, S. 90; P.A. 03-19, S. 66.)
History: 1971 act replaced references to director of board of fisheries and game with references to environmental
protection commissioner; P.A. 85-100 added provisions re license for controlling nuisance wildlife and specifying that
issuance of license or permit does not authorize taking of deer and divided section into Subsecs.; P.A. 97-255 amended
Subsec. (b) to provide for training requirements for wildlife control licensees, criteria for determining methods for the
control of nuisance wildlife, conditions governing certain methods, options to be provided to clients of such licensees and
reporting requirements re methods of control used by such licensees; P.A. 98-199 amended Subsec. (b) to add training in
nonlethal resolution of nuisance wildlife problems and to require that if statement of control options cannot be provided
to clients before services are rendered that statement be left at job site or agreed upon location, effective July 1, 1998; P.A.
01-204 amended Subsec. (a) to make technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality, amended Subsec. (b) to delete
the license expiration date from the last day of the December next succeeding its issuance, making it valid for a period of
two years, and renewable in accordance with a schedule established by the commissioner, to change the license fee from
$50 to $100, to make technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality, to add a provision prohibiting the commissioner
from issuing a license to a person unless that person is a resident of this state or of a state that does not prohibit residents
of this state from being licensed as nuisance wildlife control operators because of lack of residency, to add a new Subdiv.
(2) re application of licensure requirements to municipal employees, renumbering the remaining subdivisions accordingly,
to make technical changes, and to change the date that licensees must submit a report re the means utilized in each case
of nuisance wildlife control service from February first of each year to a date as the commissioner may determine, effective
July 11, 2001; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9 revised effective date of P.A. 01-204 but without affecting this section; May 9 Sp.
Sess. P.A. 02-1 increased license fee from $100 to $200 in Subsec. (b)(1), effective January 1, 2003; P.A. 03-19 made a
technical change in Subsec. (c), effective May 12, 2003.
See Sec. 26-82 re regulation of killing of deer.