AN ACT to allow controlled rabbit hunting preserve operators to purchase live box‑trapped rabbits and sell rabbits to other licensed operators.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 113‑273(g) reads as rewritten:

(g)      Controlled Hunting Preserve Operator License. – The Wildlife Resources Commission is authorized by rule to set standards for and to license the operation of controlled hunting preserves operated by private persons. Controlled hunting preserves are of three types: one is an area marked with appropriate signs along the outside boundaries on which only domestically raised chukars, Hungarian partridges, and game birds other than wild turkeys are taken; one is an area enclosed with a dog‑proof fence on which rabbits may be hunted with dogs only; and one is an area enclosed with a dog‑proof fence on which foxes and coyotes may be hunted with dogs only. A controlled fox and coyote hunting preserve operated for private use may be of any size; a controlled hunting preserve operated for commercial purposes shall be an area of not less than 500 acres or of such size as set by regulation of the Wildlife Resources Commission, which shall take into account differences in terrain and topography, as well as the welfare of the wildlife.

Operators of controlled fox hunting preserves may purchase live foxes and coyotes from licensed trappers who live‑trap foxes and coyotes during any open season for trapping them and may, at any time, take live foxes from their preserves for sale to other licensed operators. Operators of controlled rabbit hunting preserves may purchase live box‑trapped rabbits from licensed hunters who box‑trap live rabbits during any open season for trapping them and may, at any time, take live rabbits from their preserves for sale to other licensed operators. The controlled hunting preserve operator license for domestically raised birds, foxes, and coyotes may be purchased for a fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00). The controlled hunting preserve operator license for rabbits may be purchased for a fee of twenty‑five dollars ($25.00). The controlled hunting preserve operator license is an annual license issued beginning 1 July each year running until the following 30 June.

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.