SB 404 Summary

• Establishes licensing and operational requirements for hunting preserves where farm-raised and released white-tailed deer and elk are hunted, with initial license fee of $5,000 and annual renewal fee of $1,500.

• Hunters on licensed hunting preserves are not required to have a hunting license and are not subject to bag limits, but must purchase transportation tags ($150 per buck, $50 per doe) that must be affixed to each cervidae taken.

• Hunting preserves must contain at least 160 contiguous acres, be enclosed by 8-10 foot fences, maintain 40% escape cover, and comply with specific safety and operational standards including prohibition of computer-assisted remote hunting.

• Exempts licensed hunting preserves from game breeder and shooting preserve licensing requirements, and exempts farm-raised cervidae on hunting preserves from county dog-liability claims and state indemnification for animals condemned due to disease exposure.

• Effective July 1, 2014; removes previous requirement that shooting preserve boundaries be defined by fences of at least one strand of wire.