§ 26-40 — Game breeders license. Possession of skunks or raccoons.

Connecticut § 26-40

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 26: Fisheries and Game

Text

No person, association or corporation shall possess more than one live specimen of, breed or propagate any wild game bird or wild game quadruped of the following species without a game breeder's license as provided herein: In the family Anatidae, all ducks, geese and swans; in the family Phasianidae, all quail, partridge and the following strains of pheasant: Blackneck, Chinese, English, Formosan, melanistic mutant and Mongolian or any cross-breeding thereof and for the purpose of section 22-327 all other members of this family shall be classed as domestic fowls; in the family Tetranoidae, the ruffed grouse; in the family Melegrididae, turkeys except domestic strains; in the family Cervidae, the sika, white-tailed and fallow deer; in the family Procyonidae, the raccoon; in the family Mustelidae, the otter; in the family Castoridae, the beaver; and in the family Leporidae, all species except domestic strains. The commissioner, upon written application and the payment of a fee of twenty-seven dollars, may license any person, association or corporation to possess, breed, propagate and sell any birds or mammals specified in this section. Such license shall be annual and nontransferable and shall expire on the thirty-first day of December after its issuance. The commissioner may adopt regulations concerning the granting of such licenses and the sale, propagation and transportation of birds or mammals specified in this section propagated and possessed by any such licensee. All applications for such licenses shall be upon blanks prepared and furnished by the commissioner. Any person, association or corporation, licensed under the provisions of this section, shall keep a record of all birds or mammals specified in this section which are sold, transported or propagated by such licensee, whether the same are sold dead or alive, and shall report to the commissioner not later than the January thirty-first of the year following the expiration of the license period. Such report shall contain the number of birds and mammals procured, possessed and propagated and the name of each person to whom any such sale has been made and the date of such sale or transportation. Each package containing birds or mammals specified in this section, or any part thereof, so propagated or possessed and offered for transportation shall be plainly labeled with the name and license number of the licensee offering the same for transportation, the name of the consignee and a statement of the contents of such package. Any license granted under the provisions of this section may be revoked by the commissioner. No person, association or corporation may breed, propagate or sell any skunk or raccoon, except that such animals, with the approval of the commissioner may be kept in a zoo, nature center, museum, laboratory or research facility maintained by a scientific or educational institution. In no instance shall such animals be accessible to handling by the general public. No person may possess any skunk purchased in any Connecticut retail establishment after May 1, 1979, or any raccoon purchased after October 1, 1985. Any person, association or corporation which violates any provision of this section or any regulation issued by the commissioner pursuant thereto shall be fined not more than ninety dollars for each offense.

Legislative History

(1949 Rev., S. 4879; 1967, P.A. 343, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 237; P.A. 80-460, S. 1, 2; P.A. 82-91, S. 19, 38; P.A. 85-99; 85-100, S. 2; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3, S. 13, 21; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1, S. 87; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 447; P.A. 10-3, S. 38; P.A. 18-181, S. 2.) History: 1967 act clarified provisions by allowing possession of one live specimen, by specifically listing birds and mammals to which provisions apply and by specifying that fine applies to each offense, increased license fee from $2 to $4, deleted requirement that board provide licensees with tags or markers and extended deadline for report from the expiration of the license period to “not later than the January thirty-first of the year following the expiration of the license period”; 1971 act replaced references to board of fisheries and game with references to environmental protection commissioner and deleted provision which had required that fees be remitted to state treasurer; P.A. 80-460 added detailed provisions re skunks and deleted it from list of animals which may not be propagated by persons without licenses; P.A. 82-91 increased license fee from $4 to $10; P.A. 85-99 added detailed provision re raccoons and reduced fine from $100 to $90; P.A. 85-100 made a technical change and added the sika deer to the list of controlled species; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3 increased the fee for a game breeder's license from $10 to $15; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1 increased fee from $15 to $21, effective January 1, 2003; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 increased fee from $21 to $42; P.A. 10-3 reduced fee from $42 to $27, effective April 14, 2010; P.A. 18-181 added reference to fallow deer re animals for which game breeder's license is required, and made a technical change. Cited. 139 C. 628.