A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to direct the department of agriculture and consumer services to regulate farmed cervids, to change certain requirements for qualifying for captivity licenses for certain deer, and to authorize the intrastate transport of certain deer.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 49H of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:
"Article 49H.
"Production and Sale of  Farmed Cervids.
§ 106‑549.97.  Regulation of farmed cervids by Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; certain authority of North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission not affected.
	It is the intent of the General Assembly that farmed cervids are treated as domesticated livestock in order to promote the development and improvement of the farmed cervid industry in the State. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall regulate the possession, production, transportation, and sale of farmed cervids for food  purposes or for other commercial or noncommercial purposes. The Board of Agriculture shall adopt rules for the possession, production, transportation, and sale of  farmed cervids in such a manner as to provide for close supervision of any person, firm, or corporation possessing, producing, transporting, or selling  farmed cervids.
(b)	
(c)			
For purposes of this Article, 'farmed cervid' means any member of the Cervidae family, other than white-tailed deer, elk, mule deer, or black-tailed deer, that is born and raised in captivity.
"§ 106‑549.98.  Inspection fees.
The Commissioner may establish a fee at an hourly rate to be paid by the owner, proprietor, or operator of each slaughtering, meat‑canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishment for the purpose of defraying the expenses incurred in the inspection of  farmed cervids as required by Article 49B of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes. "
SECTION 2.  G.S. 113‑129(1b) reads as rewritten:
"(1b)	Big Game. – Bear, wild boar, wild turkey, and deer, not to include farmed cervids, defined in G.S. 106-549.97, raised for food purposes or raised for other commercial or noncommercial purposes under G.S. 106‑549.97."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 113‑129(7c) reads as rewritten:
"(7c)	Game Animals. – Bear, fox, rabbit, squirrel, wild boar, and deer; bobcat, opossum, and raccoon except when trapped in accordance with provisions relating to fur‑bearing animals. Game animals does not include farmed cervids, defined in G.S. 106‑549.97, raised for food purposes or raised for other commercial or noncommercial purposes under G.S. 106‑549.97."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 106‑549.15(14) reads as rewritten:
"(14)	'Meat food product' means any product capable of use as human food that is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any cattle, sheep, swine, goats, bison,  or farmed cervids, excepting products that contain meat or other portions of such carcasses only in a relatively small proportion or historically have not been considered by consumers as products of the meat food industry, and that are exempted from definition as a meat food product by the Board under such conditions as it may prescribe to assure that the meat or other portions of such carcasses contained in such product are not adulterated and that such products are not represented as meat food products. This term as applied to food products of equines shall have a meaning comparable to that provided in this subdivision with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and bison."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 106‑549.17 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106‑549.17.  Inspection of animals before slaughter; humane methods of slaughtering.
(a)	For the purpose of preventing the use in intrastate commerce, as hereinafter provided, of meat and meat food products which are adulterated, the Commissioner shall cause to be made, by inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and inspection of all cattle, sheep, swine, goats,  farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, and other equines before they shall be allowed to enter into any slaughtering, packing, meat‑canning, rendering, or similar establishment in this State in which slaughtering and preparation of meat and meat food products of such animals are conducted for intrastate commerce; and all cattle, sheep, swine, goats, farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, and other equines found on such inspection to show symptoms of disease shall be set apart and slaughtered separately from all other cattle, sheep, swine, goats, farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, or other equines, and when so slaughtered, the carcasses of said cattle, sheep, swine, goats, farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, or other equines shall be subject to a careful examination and inspection, all as provided by the rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Board as herein provided for.
(b)	For the purpose of preventing the inhumane slaughtering of livestock, the Commissioner shall cause to be made, by inspectors appointed for that purpose, an examination and inspection of the method by which cattle, sheep, swine, goats,  farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, and other equines are slaughtered and handled in connection with slaughter in the slaughtering establishments inspected under this law. The Commissioner may refuse to provide inspection to a new slaughtering establishment or may cause inspection to be temporarily suspended at a slaughtering establishment if the Commissioner finds that any cattle, sheep, swine, goats,  farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, or other equines have been slaughtered or handled in connection with slaughter at such establishment by any method not in accordance with subsection (c) of this section until the establishment furnishes assurances satisfactory to the Commissioner that all slaughtering and handling in connection with slaughter of livestock shall be in accordance with such a method.
(c)	Either of the following two methods of slaughtering of livestock and handling of livestock in connection with slaughter are found to be humane:
(1)	In the case of cattle, calves, farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, sheep, swine, and other livestock, all animals are rendered insensible to pain by a single blow or gunshot or an electrical, chemical, or other means that is rapid and effective, before being shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut; or
(2)	By slaughtering in accordance with the ritual requirements of the Jewish faith or any other religious faith that prescribes a method of slaughter whereby the animal suffers loss of consciousness by anemia of the brain caused by the simultaneous and instantaneous severance of the carotid arteries with a sharp instrument and handling in connection with such slaughtering."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 106‑549.18 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106‑549.18.  Inspection; stamping carcass.
For the purposes hereinbefore set forth the Commissioner shall cause to be made by inspectors appointed for that purpose, as hereinafter provided, a post mortem examination and inspection of the carcasses and parts thereof of all cattle, sheep, swine, goats,  farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, and other equines, capable of use as human food, to be prepared at any slaughtering, meat‑canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishment in this State in which such articles are prepared for intrastate commerce; and the carcasses and parts thereof of all such animals found to be not adulterated shall be marked, stamped, tagged, or labeled, as `Inspected and Passed'; and said inspectors shall label, mark, stamp, or tag as `Inspected and Condemned,' all carcasses and parts thereof of animals found to be adulterated; and all carcasses and parts thereof thus inspected and condemned shall be destroyed for food purposes by the said establishment in the presence of an inspector, and the Commissioner or his authorized representative may remove inspectors from any such establishment which fails to so destroy any such condemned carcass or part thereof, and said inspectors, after said first inspection shall, when they deem it necessary, reinspect said carcasses or parts thereof to determine whether since the first inspection the same have become adulterated and if any carcass or any part thereof shall, upon examination and inspection subsequent to the first examination and inspection, be found to be adulterated, it shall be destroyed for food purposes by the said establishment in the presence of an inspector, and the Commissioner or his authorized representative may remove inspectors from any establishment which fails to so destroy any such condemned carcass or part thereof."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 106‑549.19 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106‑549.19.  Application of Article; place of inspection.
The foregoing provisions shall apply to all carcasses or parts of carcasses of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, and other equines or the meat or meat products thereof, capable of use as human food, which may be brought into any slaughtering, meat‑canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishment, where inspection under this Article is maintained, and such examination and inspection shall be had before the said carcasses or parts thereof shall be allowed to enter into any department wherein the same are to be treated and prepared for meat food products; and the foregoing provisions shall also apply to all such products which, after having been issued from any such slaughtering, meat‑canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishment, shall be returned to the same or to any similar establishment where such inspection is maintained. The Commissioner or his authorized representative may limit the entry of carcasses, part of carcasses, meat and meat food products, and other materials into any establishment at which inspection under this Article is maintained, under such conditions as he may prescribe to assure that allowing the entry of such articles into such inspected establishments will be consistent with the purposes of this and the subsequent Article."
 SECTION 8.  G.S. 106‑549.22 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106‑549.22.  Rules and regulations of Board.
The Commissioner or his authorized representative shall cause to be made, by experts in sanitation, or by other competent inspectors, such inspection of all slaughtering, meat‑canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishments in which cattle, sheep, swine, goats,  farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, and other equines are slaughtered and the meat and meat food products thereof are prepared for intrastate commerce as may be necessary to inform himself concerning the sanitary conditions of the same, and the Board shall prescribe the rules and regulations of sanitation under which such establishments shall be maintained; and where the sanitary conditions of any such establishment are such that the meat or meat food products are rendered adulterated, the Commissioner or his authorized representative shall refuse to allow said meat or meat food products to be labeled, marked, stamped, or tagged as 'North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Inspected and Passed.' "
SECTION 9.  G.S. 549.23 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106‑549.23.  Prohibited slaughter, sale and transportation.
No person, firm, or corporation shall, with respect to any cattle, sheep, swine, goats,  farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, or other equines, or any carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat or meat food products of any such animals:
(1)	Slaughter any of these animals or prepare any of these articles which are capable of use as human food, at any establishment preparing any such articles for intrastate commerce except in compliance with the requirements of this and the subsequent Article;
(2)	Slaughter, or handle in connection with slaughter, any such animals in any manner not in accordance with G.S. 106‑549.17(c) of this Article;
(3)	Sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, in intrastate commerce:
a.	Any of these articles which (i) are capable of use as human food and (ii) are adulterated or misbranded at the time of sale, transportation, offer for sale or transportation, or receipt for transportation; or
b.	Any articles required to be inspected under this Article unless they have been so inspected and passed; or
(4)	Do, with respect to any of these articles which are capable of use as human food, any act while they are being transported in intrastate commerce or held for sale after such transportation, which is intended to cause or has the effect of causing the articles to be adulterated or misbranded."
SECTION 10.  G.S. 106‑549.25 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106‑549.25.  Slaughter, sale and transportation of equine carcasses.
No person, firm, or corporation shall sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation, or receive for transportation, in intrastate commerce, any carcasses of horses, mules, or other equines or parts of such carcasses, or the meat or meat food products thereof, unless they are plainly and conspicuously marked or labeled or otherwise identified as required by regulations prescribed by the Board to show the kinds of animals from which they were derived. When required by the Commissioner or his authorized representative, with respect to establishments at which inspection is maintained under this Article, such animals and their carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat food products shall be prepared in establishments separate from those in which cattle, sheep, swine,  farmed cervids, bison, or goats are slaughtered or their carcasses, parts thereof, meats or meat food products are prepared."
SECTION 11.  G.S. 106‑549.26 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106‑549.26.  Inspection of establishment; bribery of or malfeasance of inspector.
The Commissioner or his authorized representative shall appoint from time to time inspectors to make examination and inspection of all cattle, sheep, swine, goats,  farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, and other equines the inspection of which is hereby provided for, and of all carcasses and parts thereof, and of all meats and meat food products thereof, and of the sanitary conditions of all establishments in which such meat and meat food products hereinbefore described are prepared; and said inspectors shall refuse to stamp, mark, tag or label any carcass or any part thereof, or meat food product therefrom, prepared in any establishment hereinbefore mentioned, until the same shall have actually been inspected and found to be not adulterated; and shall perform such other duties as are provided by this and the subsequent Article and by the rules and regulations to be prescribed by said Board and said Board shall, from time to time, make such rules and regulations as are necessary for the efficient execution of the provisions of this and the subsequent Article, and all inspections and examinations made under this Article shall be such and made in such manner as described in the rules and regulations prescribed by said Board not inconsistent with the provisions of this Article and as directed by the Commissioner or his authorized representative. Any person, firm, or corporation, or any agent or employee of any person, firm, or corporation, who shall give, pay, or offer, directly or indirectly, to any inspector, or any other officer or employee of this State authorized to perform any of the duties prescribed by this and the subsequent Article or by the rules and regulations of the Board or by the Commissioner or his authorized representative any money or other thing of value, with intent to influence said inspector, or other officer or employee of this State in the discharge of any duty herein provided for, shall be deemed guilty of a Class I felony which may include a fine not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000); and any inspector, or other officer or employee of this State authorized to perform any of the duties prescribed by this Article who shall accept any money, gift, or other thing of value from any person, firm, or corporation, or officers, agents, or employees thereof, given with intent to influence his official action, or who shall receive or accept from any person, firm, or corporation engaged in intrastate commerce any gift, money, or other thing of value given with any purpose or intent whatsoever, shall be deemed guilty of a Class I felony and shall, upon conviction thereof, be summarily discharged from office and may be punished by a fine not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000)."
SECTION 12.  G.S. 106‑549.27(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The provisions of this Article requiring inspection of the slaughter of animals and the preparation of the carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat food products at establishments conducting such operations shall not
(1)	Apply to the slaughtering by any person of animals of his own raising, and the preparation by him and transportation in intrastate commerce of the carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat food products of such animals exclusively for use by him and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees; nor
(2)	To the custom slaughter by any person, firm, or corporation of cattle, sheep, swine,  farmed cervids, bison, or goats delivered by the owner thereof for such slaughter, and the preparation by such slaughterer and transportation in intrastate commerce of the carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat food products of such animals, exclusively for use, in the household of such owner, by him, and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees: Provided, that all carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat food products derived from custom slaughter shall be identified as required by the Commissioner, during all phases of slaughtering, chilling, cooling, freezing, packing, meat canning, rendering, preparation, storage and transportation; provided further, that the custom slaughterer does not engage in the business of buying or selling any carcasses, parts thereof, meat or meat food products of any cattle, sheep, swine, goats,  farmed cervids, bison, or equines, capable of use as human food, unless the carcasses, parts thereof, meat or meat food products have been inspected and passed and are identified as having been inspected and passed by the Commissioner or the United States Department of Agriculture."
SECTION 13.  G.S. 106‑549.28 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106‑549.28.  Regulation of storage of meat.
The Board may by regulations prescribe conditions under which carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat, and meat food products of cattle, sheep, swine, goats,  farmed cervids, bison, horses, mules, or other equines, capable of use as human food, shall be stored or otherwise handled by any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of buying, selling, freezing, storing, or transporting, in or for intrastate commerce, such articles, whenever the Board deems such action necessary to assure that such articles will not be adulterated or misbranded when delivered to the consumer. Willful violation of any such regulation is a Class 2 misdemeanor."
SECTION 14.  G.S. 113‑272.5(c) reads as rewritten:
"§ 113‑272.5.  Captivity license.
(a)	In the interests of humane treatment of wild animals and wild birds that are crippled, tame, or otherwise unfit for immediate release into their natural habitat, the Wildlife Resources Commission may license qualified individuals to hold at a specified location one or more of any particular species of wild animal or wild bird alive in captivity. Before issuing this license, the Executive Director must satisfy himself that issuance of the license is appropriate under the objectives of this Subchapter, and that the wild animal or wild bird was not acquired unlawfully or merely as a pet. Upon refusing to issue the captivity license, the Executive Director may either take possession of the wild animal or wild bird for appropriate disposition or issue a captivity permit under G.S. 113‑274(c)(1b) for a limited period until the holder makes proper disposition of the wild animal or wild bird.
(b)	Unless a shorter time is set for a license upon its issuance under the provisions of subsection (c), captivity licenses are annual licenses issued beginning January 1 each year and running until the following December 31. This license is issued upon payment of five dollars ($5.00) to the Wildlife Resources Commission. An increase in pen size or an increase in the number of pens for the purpose of increasing the holding capacity of a licensed facility shall not be a basis for refusing to reissue a captivity license for deer that are game animals, as defined in G.S. 113-129.(c)	The Wildlife Resources Commission may require standards of caging and care and reports to and supervision by employees of the Wildlife Resources Commission as necessary to insure humane treatment and furtherance of the objectives of this Subchapter. The Executive Director in implementing the provisions of this section may administratively impose through responsible agents and employees restrictions upon the mode of captivity that he deems necessary, including prescribing methods of treatment and handling designed, if possible, to enable the wild animal or wild bird to become self‑ sufficient and requiring that the wild animal or wild bird be set free when self‑sufficiency is attained. To this end, the Executive Director may issue the captivity license with an expiration date earlier than December 31 and may also act to terminate any captivity license earlier than the expiration date for good cause. The standards for caging and care adopted pursuant to this section shall satisfy all of the following:
(1)	When a fence is required for deer that are game animals, as defined in G.S. 113-129, the fence shall not be required to exceed a height of eight feet.
(2)	When a building is required to shelter deer that are game animals, as defined in G.S. 113-129, the floor of the building shall not be required to be made of wood.
(3)	When application for a tag is required for a newborn deer that is a game animal, as defined in G.S. 113-129, the application shall not request the sex of the newborn.  
(d)	Any substantial deviation from reasonable requirements imposed by rule or administratively under the authority of this section renders possession of the wild animal or wild bird unlawful.
(e)	No captivity license may be issued for any cougar (Felis concolor), except to:
(1)	A bona fide publicly supported zoo.
(2)	An educational or scientific research institution.
(3)	An individual who lawfully possessed the cougar on June 29, 1977. The license may not be granted, however, for possession of a cougar within a municipality that prohibits such possession by ordinance.
(4)	An individual who holds a cougar without caging under conditions simulating a natural habitat, the development of which is in accord with plans and specifications developed by the holder and approved by the Wildlife Resources Commission.
(f)	The licensing provisions of this section apply to black bears held in captivity, but, to the extent that it differs from this section, Article 2 of Chapter 19A of the General Statutes governs the keeping of black bears in captivity." 
SECTION 15.  G.S. 113‑274(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	The Wildlife Resources Commission may issue the following permits:
…
(2)	Transportation Permit. – The Wildlife Resources Commission may require the use of transportation permits by persons required to be licensed under this Article, or by persons and individuals exempt from license requirements, while transporting wildlife resources within the State – as necessary to discourage unlawful taking or dealing in wildlife resources and to control and promote the orderly and systematic transportation of wildlife resources within, into, through, and out of the State. Transportation permits may be issued for wildlife transported either dead or alive, in accordance with restrictions that may be reasonably imposed. When convenient, rules or administrative directives may require the retention and use of an invoice or memorandum of sale, or the license or permit authorizing the taking or acquisition of the wildlife resources, as a transportation permit. When circumstances warrant, however, a separate additional transportation permit may be required. Any substantial deviation from reasonable requirements imposed by rule or administratively under the authority of this section renders the transportation of the wildlife resources unlawful. Upon proper application, the Wildlife Resources Commission shall issue permits authorizing any person or facility that has obtained a captivity license under G.S. 113-272.5 to transport within the State deer that are game animals, as defined in G.S. 113‑129, to another person or another facility that has obtained a captivity license under G.S. 113-272.5.
…."
SECTION 16.  Notwithstanding any rule or law to the contrary, any person who, as of May 17, 2002, held deer that are game animals, as defined in G.S. 113‑129, as amended by Section 3 of this act, may apply no later than July 1, 2004, for a captivity license under G.S. 113‑272.5, as amended by Section 14 of this act.
SECTION 17.  Except for any rule adopted by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, any rule regulating farmed cervids, as defined in G.S. 106‑549.97, as amended by Section 1 of this act, is repealed.
SECTION 18.  This act is effective when it becomes law.