Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
A. Game Bird Shooting Resort Permits may be
issued to applicants complying with the following requirements:
1. The applicant must be at least 18 years
old and shall not have been convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo
contendere for, violating any federal, state or municipal law governing captive
wildlife, illegal appropriation or commercialization of wildlife, or cruelty to
animals within 5 years of application date.
2. The applicant shall provide to the
Commission, in writing, proof from the county judge or sheriff and any
municipal planning commission or board with jurisdiction, stating the
applicant's resort shall be in compliance with all local ordinances.
3. The applicant shall submit a written
application (available from the Commission) for each facility to be
permitted.
B. The
requested permit shall be denied if:
1. The
applicant fails to meet any of the issuance criteria set forth in this addendum
chapter;
2. The applicant fails to
disclose material information required, makes false statements as to any
material fact in connection with the application, or supplies false information
or makes a false statement on the application;
3. The Commission finds, through further
inquiry or investigation, the issuance of the permit may be potentially harmful
to the wildlife resources of the State.
C. Permit Requirements:
1. Holders of a Game Bird Shooting Resort
Permit shall comply with the following requirements:
i. The resort operator shall release only the
number of game birds intended to be harvested each day, less the number of
birds released but not harvested the previous hunt;
ii. RESERVED.
iii. All acreage in the shooting resort will
be contiguous and not exceed 1,500 acres;
iv. The perimeter of each game bird shooting
resort must be posted at least every 300 feet with yellow signs marked with
"Game Bird Shooting Resort" in black letters at least 4 inches tall.
v. Other conditions set forth in the Game
Bird Shooting Resort Permit.
D. Reporting and Record-Keeping Requirements:
1. Owners or operators of game bird shooting
resorts must keep legible and complete records (on forms provided by the
Commission) showing the name and current address of each hunter, the date,
number and type of birds released each day and the number taken by each
hunter.
2. Records shall include
evidence of legal possession of all wildlife kept under this permit, including
licenses, bills of sale, bills of lading, receipts, invoices or other
satisfactory evidence of ownership. Records shall include the date of
acquisition, place of origin, and the name, address and telephone number of the
person from whom the wildlife was acquired.
3. Records must be retained throughout the
time the wildlife is possessed by the permittee or for five years, whichever is
longer.
4. Permit holders shall
submit a completed Game Bird Shooting Resort Daily Release and Harvest Report
(form available from the Commission) by May 1.
5. Stock shall only be acquired from a
Commission-permitted Wildlife Breeder/Dealer, from a flock that is part of the
National Poultry Improvement Program, or have been brought into the state in
accordance with a Commission Wildlife Importation Permit. Permits will not be
issued to and existing permits may be revoked for facilities that have acquired
stock by any other method.
E. Disease Testing and Control:
1. The director of the Commission, in
consultation with the director of the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry
Commission, or their designees, shall determine mechanisms and procedures for
control of diseases and parasites in captive wildlife within Arkansas. Such
mechanisms and procedures shall include, but not be limited to, examination,
testing, quarantine and slaughter or destruction of individual animals and/or
herds or flocks that are, or in the opinion of the Commission may be, infected
with a disease or parasite that may have significant detrimental effect on
native wildlife, other captive wildlife, livestock or the public health of the
citizens of Arkansas.
2.
Examinations, testing, quarantine and slaughter of captive wildlife shall be
conducted at the expense of the owner. As a condition of any permit issued
under this addendum chapter, the Commission may require the captive wildlife be
quarantined for a period specified by the Commission.
F. Facility and Caging Requirements:
1. Birds possessed in captivity shall be
maintained in buildings or covered pens that prevent escape, protect the birds
from injury and prevent entry of wild birds.
2. Enclosures shall be kept in good repair at
all times and gates shall be securely fastened with latches or locks.
3. Permit holders whose facilities, including
enclosures, are not in compliance with this addendum chapter shall correct the
violation within 10 days of notification, or sooner if so ordered by the
Commission.
4. If the violation has
not been corrected within the required time, the Commission may revoke or
suspend any existing permit and may refuse to issue any future permit. Such
revocation, suspension or refusal to issue a future permit shall be in addition
to any criminal charges that may be filed.
5. All wildlife shall be maintained in humane
and healthy conditions.
G. Harvest Identification Requirements: Any
person in possession of game birds harvested from a game bird shooting resort
shall have on his person written information stating the name and address of
the hunter who harvested the game birds, the number, species and harvest date
of the game birds, and the name and address of the resort.
H. Inspection:
1. Permit holders shall allow agents of the
Commission to enter and inspect the premises, including books, records or
permits required to be kept and any wildlife and/or facilities kept under
authority of permit.
2. Each
permittee shall pen the captive wildlife in suitable pens and restrain them for
inspection, at a reasonable time, when requested to do so by an agent of the
Commission.
I. Permit
Renewal, Expiration, Transfer, Suspension and Revocation:
1. Persons in violation of the terms of this
permit, this addendum chapter, Commission Codes, or convicted of violating
associated regulations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, shall be notified
in writing and shall have 20 days to respond with just cause as to why their
permit should not be suspended or revoked.
2. If after 20 days just cause has not been
given, the Commission may suspend or revoke any existing permit held by the
violator and may refuse to issue future permits. Permit suspension, revocation
or refusal shall be in addition to any criminal charges that may be
filed.
3. Upon revocation, permit
holder must remove by legal means all captive wildlife within the time
designated in the revocation, not to exceed 60 days, and failure to do so shall
result in the Commission taking action, per Commission policy, at the permit
holder's expense.
4. Should the
permit holder choose not to renew the permit the permit holder must either
euthanize or sell to a legal buyer any remaining stock other than what may be
kept in accordance with Codes 09.02 or 09.14(B) before the permit
expires.