Prohibits fur farming.

S4227

SENATE, No. 4227

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 14, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANDREW ZWICKER

District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Gopal

SYNOPSIS

���� Prohibits fur farming.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning fur farming and amending various sections of
the statutory law.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� Section 1 of P.L.1962,
c.146 (C.4:2-15) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.�
[
The Department of Agriculture
shall supervise and control
]

a.� No person shall engage in
fur farming, including the breeding,
raising, producing
[
and
]

, or

marketing of fox, rabbit, mink, chinchilla, marten, fisher, muskrat, karakul
[
and all
]

or any

other fur-bearing animals raised in captivity
[
,
in like manner as is provided for other animals under Title 4 of the Revised
Statutes.� Such farming is hereby declared to be an agricultural pursuit, in
like manner as provided for other animals under said title, and the employees
of those engaged therein are hereby declared to be agricultural laborers
]
.�

����
b.� A person who violates
the provisions of subsection a. of this section shall be guilty of a disorderly
persons offense.

����
c.
� Nothing in this
[
act
]

section

shall be construed to exempt any person from the provisions of the Fish and
Game Act regulating the release or escape from captivity of certain animals or
the provisions of other acts forbidding the importation or the raising in
captivity of certain animals.

����
d.� Nothing in this section
shall be construed to prohibit a person from breeding, raising, selling, or
offering for sale an animal as a pet, domestic companion animal, or service
animal.

(cf:� P.L.1962, c.146, s.1)

���� 2.� R.S.4:13-1 is amended to
read as follows:

���� 4:13-1.�
As used in this
chapter:

���� �Agricultural products��
includes horticultural, viticultural, floricultural, forestry, dairy,
livestock,
[
fur-bearing
animals,
]

poultry, bee and any farm products, including fresh and salt water food
products.

���� �Association� means an
association incorporated or a foreign corporation authorized to do business
under this chapter.

���� �Member� means an actual
member of an association without capital stock and a holder of common stock in
an association with capital stock.

(cf:� P.L.1966, c.286, s.1)

���� 3.� Section 2 of P.L.1987,
c.204 (C.13:1F-18) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.� For the purposes of
[
this act
]

P.L.1987,
c.204 (C.13:1F-17 et seq.),
�land actively devoted to agricultural or
horticultural use� means land, not less than three acres in area, which is
devoted to:

���� a.� In the case of
agricultural use, the production for sale of plants and animals useful to man,
including but not limited to forages and sod crops; grains and feed crops;
dairy animals and dairy products; poultry and poultry products; livestock,
including beef cattle, sheep, swine, horses, ponies, mules or goats, including
the breeding or grazing of any or all of such animals; bees and apiary
products;
[
fur
animals;
]

trees and forest products;� or when devoted to and meeting the requirements and
qualifications for payments or other compensation pursuant to a soil
conservation program under an agreement with an agency of the federal
government; and

���� b.� In the case of
horticultural use, the production for sale of fruits of all kinds, including
grapes, nuts and berries; vegetables; nursery, floral, ornamental and
greenhouse products; or when devoted to and meeting the requirements and
qualifications for payments or other compensation pursuant to a soil
conservation program under an agreement with an agency of the federal
government.�

(cf:� P.L.1987, c.204, s.2)

���� 4.� Section 3 of P.L.1979,
c.111 (C.13:18A-3) is amended to read as follows:

���� 3.� As used in
[
this act
]

P.L.1979,
c.111 (C.13:8A-1 et seq.)
:

���� a.� �Agricultural or
horticultural purposes�� or� �agricultural or horticultural use� means any
production of plants or animals useful to man, including but not limited to:�
forages or sod crops;� grains and feed crops; dairy animals and dairy
products;� poultry and poultry products; livestock, including beef cattle,
sheep, swine, horses, ponies, mules or goats, and including the breeding and
grazing of any or all of such animals; bees and apiary products;
[
fur animals;
]
aquatic
organisms as part of aquaculture; trees and forest products;� fruits of all
kinds, including grapes, nuts and berries; vegetables;� nursery, floral,
ornamental and greenhouse products; or any land devoted to and meeting the
requirements and qualifications for payments or other compensation pursuant to
a soil conservation program under an agency of the Federal Government;

���� b.� �Application for
development� means the application form and all accompanying documents required
by municipal ordinance for approval of a subdivision plat, site plan, planned
development, conditional use, zoning variance or other permit as provided in
the� �Municipal Land Use Law,� P.L.1975, c.291 (C. 40:55D-1 et seq.), for any
use, development or construction other than the improvement, expansion or
reconstruction of any single-family dwelling unit or appurtenance thereto, or
the improvement, expansion, construction or reconstruction of any structure
used exclusively for� agricultural or horticultural purposes;

���� c.� �Commission�� means the
Pinelands Commission created by section 4 of
[
this
act
]

P.L.1979,
c.111 (C.13:8A-4)
;

���� d.� �Comprehensive management
plan�� means the plan prepared and adopted by� the commission pursuant to
section 7 of
[
this
act
]

P.L.1979,
c.111 (C.13:8A-8)
;

���� e.� �Council�� means the
Pinelands Municipal Council created by section 6.1 of
[
this act
]

P.L.1979,
c.111 (C.13:8A-7)
;

���� f.� �Federal Act� means
section 502 of the �National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978� (Pub.L. 95-625);

���� g.� �Major development� means
any division or subdivision of land into five or more parcels; any construction
or expansion of any housing development of five or more dwelling units; any
construction or expansion of any commercial or industrial use or structure on a
site of more than three acres; or any grading, clearing or disturbance of any
area in excess of 5,000 square feet for other than agricultural or
horticultural purposes;

���� h.� �Pinelands area� means
that area so designated by subsection a. of section 10 of
[
this act
]

P.L.1979,
c.111 (C.13:8A-11)
;

���� i.� �Pinelands National
Reserve� means the approximately 1,000,000 acre area so designated by the
Federal Act and generally depicted on the map entitled �Pinelands National
Reserve Boundary Map� numbered NPS/80,011A and dated September, 1978;

���� j.� �Preservation area� means
that portion of the pinelands area so designated by subsection b. of section 10
of
[
this
act
]

P.L.1979,
c.111 (C.13:8A-11)
;

���� k.� �Protection area�� means
that portion of the pinelands area not included within the preservation area;

���� l.� �Aquaculture� means the
propagation, rearing, and subsequent harvesting of aquatic organisms in
controlled or selected environments, and the subsequent processing, packaging
and marketing and shall include but need not be limited to,� activities to
intervene in the rearing process to increase production such as stocking,
feeding, transplanting and providing for protection from predators. �Aquaculture�
shall not include the construction of facilities and appurtenant structures
that might otherwise be regulated pursuant to any other State or federal law or
regulation;

���� m.� �Aquatic organism � means
and includes, but need not be limited to, finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and
aquatic plants which are the property of a person engaged in aquaculture.

(cf:� P.L.1997, c.236, s.35)

���� 5.� Section 9 of P.L.1986,
c.198 (C.23:3-1c) is amended to read as follows:

���� 9.� The division is authorized
to charge a $2.00 nonrefundable application fee, in addition to any other
permit or license fees authorized by law, for each permit or license, as
follows:� duplicate hunting and fishing; falconry; beaver; otter; turkey;
coyote; special season Canada goose; special season deer; rifle; semi-wild
hunting preserve; commercial fishing preserve; commercial shooting preserve;
senior citizen fishing; senior citizen clamming; field trial; horseback riding
on wildlife management area; daily use permit for wildlife management area;
clubhouse rental; fire on wildlife management area; fish stocking by clubs;
lake lowering; alewife (for bait); carp and suckers; fish basket for eels,
catfish, carp, and suckers; game animals and game birds - individual hobby,
scientific holding, zoological, propagation and sale, animal exhibitor,
and

animal theatrical agency
[
,
and fur farming
]

; salvage - recover carcass; special purpose; scientific collecting - fish;
crab pot (recreational); crab pot (commercial); menhaden netting; food fish
netting; and commercial fish netting.

���� The amounts remitted to the
State Treasury for these application fees shall be deposited to the credit of
the �hunters� and anglers� license fund.�

(cf:� P.L.1999, c.282, s.4)

���� 6.� Section 1 of P.L.2011,
c.201 (C.34:1B-241.1) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.��� As used in P.L.2011,
c.201 (C.34:1B-241.1 et seq.):

���� �Authority� means the New
Jersey Economic Development Authority established by section 4 of P.L.1974,
c.80 (C.34:1B-4).

���� �Department� means the
Department of Agriculture established pursuant to R.S.4:1-1.

���� �Eligible farming operation�
means two or more business entities that are engaged in farming operations in
the State, that are applying together for participation in the small business
loan program established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2019, c.240
(C.34:1B-241.2), and that, at the time of the application, are independently
owned and operated, participate in an agricultural commodity or product
marketing and development program operated by the Department of Agriculture,
and satisfy other criteria that may be established by the authority pursuant to
P.L.2019, c.240.

���� �Eligible small business�
means a business entity that, at the time of application for participation in
the small business loan program established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2011,
c.201 (C.34:1B-241.2), is independently owned and operated, operates primarily
within this State, and which satisfies other criteria that may be established
by the authority.� �Eligible small business� shall include qualified dairy
farmers and eligible farming operations.

���� �Farm equipment� means
equipment used directly for farming operations.

���� �Farming operations� mean any
activities connected to the commercial growing, harvesting, processing,
producing, or raising of agricultural products in the State, including crops,
dairy animals, livestock,
[
fur-bearing
animals,
]

poultry, bees, crops used in fermented alcoholic beverages and wine, and any
products therefrom, including organic agricultural products; aquacultural
products; horticultural products; and silviculture products.

���� �Qualified dairy farmer� means
a person or business entity that produces valued-added dairy products and that,
at the time of application for participation in the small business loan program
and receipt of a loan under the program, is independently owned and operated,
operates primarily within this State, and satisfies other criteria that may be
established by the authority.

���� �Value-added dairy product�
means a dairy product created by a qualified dairy farmer by means of a change
in the physical state of a dairy commodity, and shall include, but not be
limited to, cheese, cultured sour cream, yogurt, kefir, butter, ice cream,
evaporated milk, condensed milk, and concentrated milk.

(cf:� P.L.2019, c.240, s.1)

���� 7.� Section 1 of P.L.1940,
c.153 (C.34:2-21.1) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1. (a) (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2022, c.63.)

���� (b) (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2022, c.63.)

���� (c) (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2022, c.63.)

���� (d) �School district� means
any geographical area having authority over the public schools within that
area.

���� (e) �Agriculture� includes
farming in all its branches and among other things includes the cultivation and
tillage of the soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing, and
harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodities (including
commodities defined as agricultural commodities in subsection (g) of section 15
of the Agricultural Marketing Act, 46 Stat. 11 (12 U.S.C. s. 141 et seq.), as
amended), the planting, transplanting and care of trees and shrubs and plants,
the raising of livestock, bees,
[
fur-bearing
animals
]

or poultry, and any practices (including any forestry or lumbering operations)
performed by a farmer or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with
such farming operations, including preparation for market, delivery to storage
or to market or to carriers for transportation to market, provided that such
practices shall be performed in connection with the handling of agricultural or
horticultural commodities the major portion of which have been produced upon
the premises of an owning or leasing employer.

���� (f) �Newspaper carrier� means
any minor between 12 and 18 years of age who engages in the occupation of
delivering, soliciting, selling and collecting for, newspapers outside of
school hours on residential routes.

���� (g) �Restaurant� means any
establishment or business primarily engaged in the preparation and serving of
meals or refreshments, both food and drink, and shall include but not be
limited to the following: dining establishments, catering establishments,
industrial caterers, and drive-in restaurants.

���� (h) �Theatrical production�
means and includes stage, motion picture and television performances and
rehearsals therefor.

���� (i) �Seasonal amusement� means
any exclusively recreational or amusement establishment or business which does
not operate more than seven months in any calendar year or which has received
during any consecutive six months of the preceding calendar year average
receipts equal to or less than 33 1/3
[
%
]
percent of
its average receipts for the other six months of that year.� �Seasonal
amusement� includes but is not limited to amusement rides and amusement device
ticket sales, and operations of games.� However, �seasonal amusement� does not
include retail, eating or drinking concessions, camps, beach and swimming
facilities, movie theatres, theatrical productions, athletic events,
professional entertainment, pool and billiard parlors, circuses and outdoor
shows, sport activities or centers, country club athletic facilities, bowling
alleys, race tracks and like facilities which are not part of a diversified
amusement enterprise.

���� �Commissioner� means the
Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.

���� �Department� means the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

���� �Caregiver� means a person
over 18 years of age who is the biological parent, adoptive parent, foster
parent, resource family parent, step-parent, parent-in-law or legal guardian,
having a �parent-child relationship� with a child as defined by law, or having
sole or joint legal or physical custody, care, guardianship, or visitation with
a child, or who became the parent of the child pursuant to a valid written
agreement between the parent and a gestational carrier.

���� �Family member� means a person
related by blood or marriage, including civil unions and domestic partnerships,
or whose close relationship with each other is considered equivalent to a
family relationship by the individuals.� �Online platform� means any public-facing
website, web application, or digital application, including a mobile
application.� �Online platform� includes a social network, advertising network,
mobile operating system, search engine, email service, or Internet access
service.

���� �Name� means the actual or
assumed name, or nickname, of a living individual that is intended to identify
that individual.

���� �Recreational purposes� means
an activity performed not for profit and for enjoyment or leisure, outside of
work or business.

���� �Vlog� means video content
shared on an online platform in exchange for compensation.

���� �Vlogger� means a person who
creates video content for a business or other non-recreational purpose with the
intent to generate income that employs a minor in exchange for compensation,
that is performed in the State, and includes any proprietorship, partnership,
company, or other corporate entity assuming the name or identity of a
particular caregiver or family member for the purposes of that content
creation.� �Vlogger� does not include any person under the age of 18 who
produces that person�s own vlogs for solely recreational purposes.

(cf:� P.L.2025, c.355, s.1)

���� 8.� R.S.39:3-25 is amended to
read as follows:

���� 39:3-25.� In addition to the
motor vehicle licenses authorized to be issued pursuant to the provisions of
this chapter, the chief administrator shall issue, upon application therefor, a
license plate for trucks, vans, sport utility vehicles, or similar vehicles
marked �farmer,� which shall be issued upon evidence satisfactory to the chief
administrator that the applicant is a farmer and is actually engaged in the
growing, raising, and producing of farm products as an occupation. License
plates issued under authority of this section shall be placed upon motor
trucks, vans, sport utility vehicles, or similar vehicles engaged in the
carrying or transportation of farm products, and farm supplies, and not engaged
in hauling for hire, except for a truck, van, sport utility vehicle, or similar
vehicle being operated under contract with a municipality to remove snow.

���� Applicants for license plates
herein authorized shall pay a registration fee of $25 plus $4.25 for each 1,000
pounds or portion thereof in excess of 5,000 pounds.� If the registration cycle
established by the chief administrator is for more or less than 11 months,
applicants shall pay amounts proportionately less or greater than the fees
established by law.

���� Except as otherwise provided
in this section, every registration for a farm truck, van, sport utility
vehicle, or similar vehicle shall expire and the certificate thereof shall
become void on the last day of the 11th calendar month following the month in
which the certificate was issued; except that the chief administrator may
require registrations which shall expire, and issue certificates thereof which
shall become void, on a date fixed by the chief administrator, which shall not
be sooner than three months or later than 26 months after the date of issuance
of such certificates, and the fees for registrations, including any other fees
or charges collected in connection with the registration fee, shall be fixed by
the chief administrator in amounts proportionately less or greater than the
fees established by law.� The chief administrator may fix the expiration date
for registration certificates at a date other than 11 months if the chief
administrator determines that a change is necessary, appropriate or convenient
in order to aid in implementing the vehicle inspection requirements of chapter
8 of Title 39 or for other good cause.

���� The term �farmer� as used in
this section means any person engaged in the commercial raising, growing, and
producing of farm products on a farm not less than five acres in area; the term
�farm products� means any crop
[
,
]

or
livestock

[
, or
fur products
]

; and the term �farm supplies� means any farm-related supply or repair item.

���� As used in this section, the
term �sport utility vehicle� means any vehicle that is designed to be used both
on and off roadways and is equipped with available all wheel drive and raised
ground clearance.

(cf:� P.L.2015, c.292, s.2)

���� 9.� Section 29 of P.L.1985,
c.375 (C.39:3C-30.1) is amended to read as follows:

���� 29.� a.� The provisions of
this 1985 amendatory and supplementary act and this 1991 amendatory act insofar
as they pertain to all-terrain vehicles shall not be applicable to their
operation and use on golf courses in this State, except that, subsection b. of
section 16 of P.L.1973, c.307 (C.39:3C-16) and subsection b. of section 26 of
P.L.1973, c.307 (C.39:3C-26) shall be applicable to the operation and use of
all-terrain vehicles on the golf courses of this State.�

���� b.� The requirements of
subsection b. of section 9 of P.L.1973, c.307 (C.39:3C-9) and subsection c. of
section 16 of P.L.1973, c.307 (C.39:3C-16) shall not apply to a person less
than 18 years of age when the person operates an all-terrain vehicle on public
lands or waters or across a public highway as an incident to or in the actual
performance of the operations of a farm adjacent to the public land or water or
the public highway upon which the vehicle is being operated.� As used in this
section, �farm� means land used for commercial raising, growing and producing
of any crop
[
,
]

or
livestock

[
, or
fur products
]

on land not less than five acres in area and which is not used in the business
of buying farm products for resale.�

(cf:� P.L.1991, c.322, s.9)

���� 10.� Section 28 of P.L.1980,
c.105 (C.54:32B-8.16) is amended to read as follows:

���� 28. a. Receipts from sales of
tangible personal property and production and conservation services to a farmer
for use and consumption directly and primarily in the production, handling and
preservation for sale of agricultural or horticultural commodities at the
farming enterprise of that farmer are exempt from the tax imposed under the �Sales
and Use Tax Act.�

���� b.��� The exemptions provided
by subsection a. of this section shall not apply to sales of:

���� (1)�� automobiles;

���� (2)�� energy; or

���� (3)�� materials used to
construct a building or structure, other than a silo, greenhouse, grain bin, or
manure handling equipment.

���� c.���� For the purposes of
this section:

���� �Agricultural or horticultural
commodities� means tangible personal property produced through the raising of
plants or animals useful to people, including but not limited to: forages and
sod crops; livestock; grains and feed crops; dairy animals and products;
poultry and poultry products; game animals
[
and
fur-bearing animals
]

; honey and other apiary products; the products of aquaculture; trees and
forest products; fruits, nuts and berries; vegetables; and nursery, floral,
ornamental and greenhouse products; and

���� �Farming enterprise� means a
facility used primarily for the raising of agricultural or horticultural
commodities for sale, including but not limited to truck farms, ranches,
orchards, nurseries, greenhouses or other similar facilities.

(cf:� P.L.1999, c.314, s.2)

���� 11.� The Department of
Agriculture, State Agriculture Development Committee, Department of
Environmental Protection, Department of the Treasury, New Jersey Economic
Development Authority, Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and New
Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall, in accordance with the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and
regulations as necessary to implement this act.

���� 12. �This act shall take
effect one year after the date of enactment, except that any State agency may
take any anticipatory administrative actions in advance as may be necessary for
the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would prohibit fur
farming, i.e. the breeding, raising, producing, and marketing of fox, rabbit,
mink, chinchilla, marten, fisher, muskrat, karakul, and other fur-bearing
animals raised in captivity, in the State.� Under current law, fur farming is
allowable as an agricultural pursuit, under the supervision of the Department
of Agriculture.� Under this bill, fur farming would be considered a disorderly
persons offense.

���� The bill would also amend
various other statutes that include fur farming within the definition of
�farming,� �agricultural product,� etc.� The bill would take effect one year
after enactment.