HB1258 • 2026

WILDLIFE & FISHERIES: Provides with respect to seizure of sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Brett Geymann
Last action: 2026-06-01
Official status: Signed by the Governor - Act 730
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms, cost implications, or what happens if no rehabilitators are willing to take the animal.

Rules for Taking Care of Sick or Injured Wild Animals

This act sets rules for what to do with wild animals that are sick, injured, or orphaned and taken by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

What This Bill Does

Establishes a new rule about how to handle wildlife seized due to unlawful possession.
Requires the department to first try to release healthy animals back into nature if allowed by law.
Directs that sick or injured animals should be sent to licensed rehabilitators for care.
States that if an animal cannot be released or rehabilitated, it should go to a zoo, aquarium, sanctuary, or educational institution.
Limits euthanasia (putting the animal down) to only when there is no other option available.

Who It Names or Affects

The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Wildlife rehabilitators
Zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries, and educational institutions

Terms To Know

Contraband wildlife: Wild animals that were seized because they were illegally kept.
Rehabilitator: A person who is trained and licensed to care for sick or injured wild animals until they can be released back into nature.

Limits and Unknowns

The act does not specify what happens if there are no rehabilitators willing to take the animal.
It's unclear how the department will enforce these rules.
There is no information on how much it costs to implement this act or who pays for it.

Bill History

2026-06-01 H
Effective date: 08/01/2026.
2026-06-01 H
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 730.
2026-05-29 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-05-28 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-28 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-28 H
Received from the Senate without amendments.
2026-05-27 S
Read by title, passed by a vote of 37 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-05-26 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-05-25 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-05-21 S
Rules suspended. Reported favorably.
2026-05-13 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.
2026-05-12 S
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-05-12 H
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 95, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-05-12 H
Called from the calendar.
2026-05-12 H
Read by title, returned to the calendar.
2026-05-11 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 05/12/2026.
2026-05-11 H
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-05-07 H
Read by title, substitute title adopted, lies over in the same order of business, substitute for HB No. 662 reported by the Committee on Natural Resources and Environment (12-0).

Official Summary Text

WILDLIFE & FISHERIES: Provides with respect to seizure of sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 7302026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 1258 (Substitute for House Bill No. 662 by Representative Geymann)
BY REPRESENTATIVES GEYMANN AND VENTRELLA
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 56:126.1, relative to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; to provide for
3 the disposition of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife species seized as a result of
4 unlawful possession; to establish a preference for release, rehabilitation, and
5 placement with licensed facilities; to provide for euthanasia only when no feasible
6 alternatives exist and under specified circumstances; and to provide for related
7 matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. R.S. 56:126.1 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
10 §126.1. Disposition of wildlife seized for unlawful possession; euthanasia
11 A. This Section shall be applicable to any wildlife held in violation of R.S.
12 56:126 that is seized by the department for unlawful possession. For purposes of this
13 Section, wildlife seized by the department shall be referred to as "contraband
14 wildlife".
15 B. Contraband wildlife shall be evaluated by department field staff or by a
16 veterinarian to determine the appropriate disposition.
17 C. The department shall dispose of contraband wildlife in accordance with
18 the following order of preference:
19 (1) If the contraband wildlife is clinically healthy, past the age of
20 independence, and release of the species into the wild is not prohibited by law or
21 regulation, the department shall release the wildlife into a suitable habitat.
Page 1 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 1258 ENROLLED
1 (2) If the contraband wildlife is sick, injured, or otherwise not immediately
2 releasable, but is capable of being rehabilitated, the department shall place the
3 wildlife with a wildlife rehabilitator permitted by the department who is authorized
4 to possess the species and who is willing to accept the wildlife. Wildlife placed with
5 a rehabilitator shall remain in the rehabilitator's possession until it can be released
6 to the wild or until the rehabilitator, in consultation with the department, determines
7 that further rehabilitation is not feasible. A rehabilitator shall notify the department
8 prior to euthanizing any wildlife placed in his care pursuant to this Paragraph.
9 (3) If the contraband wildlife is medically nonreleasable or is determined to
10 be nonreleasable due to habituation to life in captivity or rehabilitation would pose
11 a risk to public health or be deemed inappropriate due to an animal's temperament
12 and risk of injury to the animal or humans, the department shall make every
13 reasonable effort to place the wildlife with a zoo, aquarium, sanctuary, educational
14 institution as appropriate, or other facility that is licensed or otherwise authorized to
15 possess the species under state or federal law.
16 (4) Euthanization of contraband wildlife shall only be performed as a last
17 resort. The department may euthanize contraband wildlife only if one or more of the
18 following applies:
19 (a) None of the preferred options provided in this Subsection is viable or
20 available for the wildlife.
21 (b) The wildlife exhibits clinical signs of disease.
22 (c) The wildlife has sustained a life-threatening injury.
23 (d) Release or rehabilitation of the species is prohibited by law or regulation
24 and no licensed facility described in Paragraph (C)(3) of this Section is willing,
25 authorized, or appropriate to accept the wildlife.
26 (e) The state wildlife veterinarian, or Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
27 departmental veterinarian has determined that euthanasia is in the best interest of the
28 animal.
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are additions.
HB NO. 1258 ENROLLED
1 D. Any euthanasia performed pursuant to this Section shall be conducted in
2 accordance with the most current edition of the American Veterinary Medical
3 Association: Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.