HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3175        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 911

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

William M. Straus

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act authorizing permitting by the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3175        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 911

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1016 OF 2021-2022.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act authorizing permitting by the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Chapter 131 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking section 80A in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 80A.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a person shall not use, set, place, maintain, manufacture or possess any trap for the purpose of capturing furbearing mammals, except nets, box or cage type traps, or quick kill traps as otherwise permitted by law. A box or cage type trap is one that confines the whole animal without grasping any part of the animal, including Hancock or Bailey’s type live trap for beavers. Traps designed to capture and hold a furbearing mammal by gripping the mammal’s body, or body part are prohibited, including steel jaw leghold traps, padded leghold traps, and snares.

No person shall, after September 1, 2024, use, set, or place a trap unless such person has received training in their proper use, as prescribed by the director in regulation, unless such person has completed a trapper training course and been issued a certificate of completion of such training, or unless such person has been issued a resident or non-resident Massachusetts trapping license or trap registration certificate and shall prove the same to the satisfaction of the Director.

The Director shall establish regulations on the size, placement, and use of traps as described in the Best Management Practices established by the Association of Fish and Wildlife.

The division shall provide a report annually to the joint committee on natural resources and agriculture on the creation, implementation and efficiency of such animal problem plans.

Whoever violates any provisions of this section, or any rule or regulation made under the authority thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $1,000, or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment for each trap possessed, used, set, placed, maintained, or manufactured. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense. A person found guilty of, or convicted of, or assessed in any manner after a plea of nolo contendere, or penalized for, a second violation of this section shall surrender to an officer authorized to enforce this chapter any trapping license and problem animal control permit issued to such person and shall be barred forever from obtaining a trapping license and a problem animal control permit.