Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 39, September 26, 2024
(a)
Each application for a wildlife rehabilitation permit shall be submitted on a
form provided by the department. Each applicant shall provide the following
information:
(1) The name of
applicant;
(2) the applicant's
address;
(3) the location or
address of the applicant's facilities if different from the applicant's
address;
(4) the name of each
assisting subpermittee;
(5) the
type of wildlife rehabilitation service to be provided;
(6) a description of the applicant's
available facilities;
(7) the
applicant's qualifications to provide the services specified;
(8) the name of each assisting veterinarian;
and
(9) other relevant information
as required by the secretary.
(b)
(1) A
wildlife rehabilitation permit shall be issued only to each individual who
meets the following qualifications:
(A) Is 18
years of age or older;
(B) has 100
hours of experience in the handling and care of wildlife acquired over the
course of one calendar year. Up to 20 hours of this 100-hour requirement may be
fulfilled by successful completion of a training course provided by either the
international wildlife rehabilitation council (IWRC) or the national wildlife
rehabilitators' association (NWRA);
(C) submits letters of recommendation
regarding the applicant's knowledge of wildlife rehabilitation from three
persons who have known the applicant for at least two years. The letters of
recommendation shall be from any of the following:
(i) A wildlife professional, which may
include a biologist employed by a state or federal wildlife agency, the curator
or manager of a zoo or wildlife sanctuary, or other person professionally
engaged in wildlife management or care;
(ii) a department conservation
officer;
(iii) a Kansas-licensed
veterinarian; or
(iv) a permitted
wildlife rehabilitator; and
(D) has obtained one of the following:
(i) A certificate of completion of a training
course offered by the international wildlife rehabilitation council (IWRC)
within the preceding three years;
(ii) a certificate of completion of a
training course offered by the national wildlife rehabilitators' association
(NWRA) within the preceding three years; or
(iii) a test score of at least 80 percent on
a department-administered wildlife rehabilitation examination at a department
office location. Each applicant who fails the examination shall wait a minimum
of 30 days before retaking the examination. The test may be taken only twice
during each calendar year. The test shall not be returned to applicants at any
time.
(2) A
total of eight hours of continuing education or training every three years from
a department-approved program shall be required for the renewal of a
permit.
(c) Each
applicant or permittee shall allow an inspection of the rehabilitation
facilities to be made by a department official. A permit shall not be issued
until the rehabilitation facilities have been approved by the inspecting
official. All facilities shall be subject, during reasonable hours of
operation, to inspection by the department to determine compliance with the
provisions of the permit and the provisions contained in this regulation. Each
facility shall be inspected by a department official once during the permit
period and upon each change in facility location. Each subpermittee authorized
to care for wildlife at a site other than the primary permittee's facility
shall have those facilities annually inspected and approved by a department
official.
(d) Permits issued shall
be valid through December 31.
(e) A
permittee may provide for subpermittees to operate under the authority of the
permit during the effective period of the permit upon approval of the secretary
or designee, based on the following requirements:
(1) Each permittee shall submit the name of
each individual for whom the designation of subpermittee is requested. The
permittee shall be notified by the department in writing of the approval or
denial of each request. The permittee shall notify the department in writing of
any approved subpermittee whose services with the permit holder are
terminated.
(2) Each subpermittee
shall be 18 years of age or older and have experience in handling and caring
for animals during the previous two years.
(3) Each wildlife rehabilitation permittee
shall be responsible for ensuring that each subpermittee meets all requirements
of the rehabilitation permit.
(4)
Each subpermittee needing to care for wildlife in need of rehabilitation at a
site other than the primary permittee's facility shall have that site inspected
and approved according to the standards specified in subsection (g) before
holding any wildlife at that site.
(5) Each subpermittee holding wildlife at a
site different from the primary permittee's facility shall comply with the
conditions specified in the primary permittee's permit.
(f) The rehabilitation activities authorized
by each permit issued under this regulation shall be performed only by the
permittee or subpermittee specified on the permit. Volunteers may assist in
rehabilitation activities only in the presence and under the direction of a
permittee or subpermittee. Each permittee utilizing volunteers shall keep on
file at the permitted facility a current record of all volunteers working at
the facility. At no time shall volunteers be allowed to remove wildlife from
the permitted facility, except as provided in subsection (l).
(g) Wildlife rehabilitation care and
treatment shall be provided in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) All rehabilitation of wildlife shall be
performed in consultation, as necessary, with a licensed veterinarian named on
the rehabilitator's permit or with veterinarians on staff at the Kansas State
University veterinary hospital.
(2)
Individual caging requirements may be specified by the secretary or designee
based on the size, species, condition, age, or health of the wildlife under
care.
(3) Clean water shall be
available at all times except when medical treatment requires the temporary
denial of water.
(4) Cages shall be
cleaned on a daily basis and disinfected using nonirritating methods.
(5) A person authorized by permit shall
observe and provide care for wildlife at least once daily unless otherwise
specified by the permit.
(6)
Wildlife shall be kept in an environment that minimizes human contact and
prevents imprinting and bonding to humans.
(7) Wildlife possessed under a rehabilitation
permit shall not be allowed to come into contact with any person other than a
permit holder, subpermittee, volunteer, licensed veterinarian, animal control
specialist, law enforcement officer, or wildlife professional from the
department.
(8) Wildlife shall be
housed separately from domestic animals, unless domestic animals are being used
for bonding or surrogate parenting.
(9) Public viewing, exhibition, or display of
any kind to the public, including electronic viewing, shall be prohibited,
unless specifically authorized in writing by the secretary or
designee.
(h) Wildlife
held under the authority of a rehabilitation permit shall not be sold,
bartered, or exchanged for any consideration. A permit issued under this
regulation shall not authorize a person, firm, or corporation to engage in the
propagation or commercial sale of wildlife.
(i) Wildlife held under the authority of a
rehabilitation permit may be transferred from one permittee to another
permittee if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The permittee receiving the wildlife
holds all the proper permits and authorizations necessary for that species of
wildlife.
(2) The transfer is
necessary for the proper treatment or care of the wildlife.
(3) The transfer is properly recorded in both
permittees' operational records.
(4) The transfer is approved in writing by
the secretary or designee.
(j) The secretary or designee shall be
notified within 48 hours if the permittee receives for transport or care an
endangered species, threatened species, or species in need of conservation, as
identified in K.A.R. 115-15-1 and K.A.R. 115-15-2. Permission for treatment and
care by the requesting permittee may be granted by the secretary or designee,
or an alternate course of action may be specified by the secretary or
designee.
(k) No permittee shall
perform any of the following acts, unless the permittee possesses, in advance,
an amended permit authorizing this activity from the secretary or designee:
(1) Change the facility location, consulting
veterinarian, or subpermittees;
(2)
receive previously unauthorized species; or
(3) conduct previously unauthorized
activities.
(l) Sick,
orphaned, displaced, or injured wildlife may be possessed, transported, or
treated in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) Any person may temporarily possess and
transport sick, orphaned, displaced, or injured wildlife within the state to a
person authorized to perform wildlife rehabilitation services or initial
treatment. Possession of an individual animal for transportation to initial
treatment shall not exceed one day.
(2) Wildlife in need of rehabilitation
treatment or care may be provided emergency medical care and stabilization by
any of the following individuals or institutions not holding a rehabilitation
permit for 48 hours, after which time the wildlife shall be transferred to a
permitted rehabilitator:
(A) Accredited
zoological parks;
(B) nature
centers;
(C) department wildlife
professionals; or
(D) licensed
veterinarians.
Any wildlife requiring extensive medical care and recovery may
remain under the care of a licensed veterinarian beyond the 48-hour
restriction, subject to subsection (g).
(3) Any person authorized by permit to
perform wildlife rehabilitation services or exempt by law from the requirement
to possess a wildlife rehabilitation permit may possess individual animals for
treatment purposes on a temporary basis. Possession of an individual animal for
treatment purposes shall not exceed 180 days, unless an extension has been
approved by the secretary or designee.
(4) Rehabilitation treatment or care shall
not be provided to the following species of wildlife:
(A) European starlings;
(B) English or house sparrows;
(C) feral pigeons; and
(D) any wildlife species listed in K.A.R.
115-18-10, except as authorized in writing by the secretary.
(m) Each permittee
shall maintain current records of wildlife rehabilitation services provided
under the permit on report forms provided by the department. The records shall
be maintained at the designated facility, be made available to department
officials for inspection purposes, and include the following information:
(1) The name of the permittee;
(2) the permittee contact
information;
(3) the name and
address of the facility;
(4) the
wildlife rehabilitation permit number;
(5) the date on which any wildlife is
received for treatment;
(6) the
species of wildlife received for treatment;
(7) the suspected or known cause for
treatment;
(8) the date and
disposition of the wildlife at the conclusion of treatment; and
(9) other relevant information as required by
the secretary.
(n) Each
permittee shall submit the true and accurate, original report required in
subsection (m) to the department on or before January 31 of the year following
the permitted activity. The permittee may retain a copy of the report for the
permittee's records.
(o) Any person
authorized by permit to perform wildlife rehabilitation services or exempt by
law from the requirement to possess a wildlife rehabilitation permit may
temporarily possess and transport wildlife to another location within the state
for the purposes of providing treatment, releasing wildlife in its natural
habitat, or transporting wildlife to an approved temporary or permanent holding
facility. Possession of wildlife for transportation to another location shall
not exceed 48 hours.
(p) Wildlife
no longer in need of rehabilitation treatment or care shall be handled in
accordance with the following requirements:
(1) All wildlife determined to be capable of
survival in the wild shall be released to the wild. Each individual releasing
wildlife in accordance with this subsection shall ensure that the following
conditions are met:
(A) The animal is
released in an area consistent with the animal's normal habitat.
(B) The animal is released only on land,
including both public and private properties, if written permission has been
granted by the person in legal possession of the land where the release is to
be made.
(C) The animal is not
released in a location so close to human dwellings that the release is likely
to result in nuisance, health, or safety problems.
(D) The animal is not released within the
limits of any municipality without prior written approval from the appropriate
municipal authority.
(2)
Wildlife that cannot be rehabilitated and released to the wild shall be
euthanized unless a written request, specifying an alternate course of action,
is approved by the secretary or designee. Each course of action requiring the
wildlife to remain in captivity shall be approved only if the wildlife is
transferred from the permittee providing the rehabilitation services to an
accredited zoological facility, or a scientific or educational permit holder in
accordance with subsection (i). Each transfer shall be allowed only for
educational programs or fostering or socialization purposes, and no transfer
shall take place unless the secretary or designee has approved the request in
writing.
(3) All euthanized
wildlife and wildlife that have died shall be buried, incinerated, or
transferred to a person or facility possessing a valid department scientific,
educational, or exhibition permit. All federally permitted wildlife shall be
disposed of in accordance with the terms of any federal permit. Any deceased
wildlife may be disposed of on private property with the prior written
permission of the person in legal possession of the private property. Deceased
wildlife shall not be disposed of within the limits of any municipality without
the prior written permission of the municipality.
(q) Any permitee may continue to possess a
permit if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The permit application is
complete.
(2) The permit
application contains no false information.
(3) The permittee meets the permit
requirements and does not violate the permit conditions.
(4) The permittee has not been convicted of
violating local, state, or federal laws relating to the care, treatment,
possession, take, or disposal of wildlife or domestic animals within the
previous five years.
(5) The permit
has not expired.
The permittee shall be notified, in writing, of the
cancellation of the permit by the secretary or designee. The permittee shall be
provided by the secretary or designee with the opportunity to respond, in
writing, within 10 days of receipt of the cancellation.
(r) Any provision of this
regulation may be temporarily waived by the secretary or designee during a
wildlife health crisis for the protection of public or wildlife health.
This regulation shall be effective on and after December 31,
2012.
