Remove prohibition on new white-tailed deer farms

A bill for an act

relating to agriculture; removing prohibition on new white-tailed deer farms;

amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 35.155, subdivision 10.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 35.155, subdivision 10, is amended to read:

Subd. 10.

Mandatory registration.

(a) A person may not possess live Cervidae in

Minnesota unless the person is registered with the Board of Animal Health and meets all

the requirements for farmed Cervidae under this section. Cervidae possessed in violation

of this subdivision may be seized and destroyed by the commissioner of natural resources.

(b) A person whose registration is revoked by the board is ineligible for future registration

under this section unless the board determines that the person has undertaken measures that

make future escapes extremely unlikely.

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(c) The board must not allow new registrations under this section for possessing

white-tailed deer. This paragraph does not prohibit a person holding a valid registration

under this subdivision from selling or transferring the person's registration to an immediate

family member. A valid registration may be sold or transferred only once under this

paragraph. Before the board approves a sale or transfer under this paragraph, the board must

verify that the registration is in good standing and the eligible family member must pay a

onetime transfer fee of $500 to the board.

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