EXAMINE DEER FOR T.B.
House Bill 4277
Sponsor: Rep. Dale Sheltrown
Committee: Conservation and Outdoor Recreation
Complete to 7-3-01
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4277 AS INTRODUCED 2-15-01
House Bill 4277 would amend Part 401 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, concerning wildlife conservation, to require that a tuberculosis (TB) examination be performed on a deer taken in a high-risk area, and that the deer also be examined for bovine tuberculosis, within 24 hours after the end of the deer season. (Under the bill, "high-risk area" would refer to that term as it is defined under Section 9 of the Animal Industry Act [MCL 287.709]).
TB Examination Tag. The bill would specify that, on or before five years after the bill's effective date, a person who had taken a deer in a high-risk area would have to present the deer at a registration station, or to a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) agent, and obtain and attach a TB examination tag to the deer before any of the following occurred:
· The deer was processed.
· 24 hours had expired after the close of the season in which the deer was taken.
· Any part of the carcass had been removed from the deer. However, a person could do either or both of the following: remove the skin and viscera (other than the contents of the thoracic cavity); or quarter the deer, if the quarters were kept together and the head remained attached to one quarter.
Bovine TB Tag. The bill would also specify that, before a TB examination tag could be issued under these provisions, the deer would have to be examined by a DNR agent or employee for bovine tuberculosis. The results of this examination would have to be recorded promptly by the agent or employee on a department-prescribed form, and the deer license number and the date on which the TB examination tag was issued would have to be recorded on the examination tag in indelible ink. Further, the bill would specify that the TB tag could not be removed until the date on which it was lawful to remove a kill tag.
MCL 324.40103
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.