Bill > S421

This bill amends existing law to further regulate the capturing of furbearing mammals, specifically by prohibiting the use of certain traps like steel jaw leghold traps and snares, while allowing common mouse and rat traps, nets, and box or cage-type traps that fully contain the animal. However, these prohibitions do not apply to the Department of Public Health, boards of health, or other authorized individuals when dealing with threats to public health and safety posed by furbearing mammals, such as flooding of water supplies, sewage systems, or public ways, or damage to critical infrastructure. The bill outlines a process for obtaining emergency permits from local boards of health or the Department of Public Health, with specific timelines for review and appeal, and details various alleviation techniques, including trap types, dam breaching, and nonlethal devices, that can be authorized under these permits. It also establishes procedures for extension permits, special permits for otherwise prohibited traps under specific circumstances, and reporting requirements for permit holders, with penalties for violations including fines and potential loss of trapping licenses.