HB 347: RELATING TO GOATS.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to goats.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the population of goats is growing in west Hawaii island, leading to increasing concerns among residents as these animals pose a nuisance in neighborhoods and cause safety concerns on roadways.  Hunters are essential partners in conservation efforts, helping to mitigate the damage that goats cause when they proliferate in environments to which they are not native and in which they have no predators.  The legislature therefore finds that bag limits on goats in public hunting areas should be lifted or no longer established.

     The purpose of this Act is to prohibit the department of land and natural resources from establishing or implementing bag limits on goats in public hunting areas.

     SECTION 2.  Section 183D-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a)  For the purposes of preserving, protecting, conserving, and propagating wildlife, the department shall establish, maintain, manage, and operate game management areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and public hunting areas on land under its control and, as it deems desirable, enter into agreements for taking control of privately owned lands for those purposes[.]; provided that the department shall not establish or implement a bag limit for goats in public hunting areas."

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Report Title:

Hunting; Goats; Bag Limits; Public Hunting Areas; Prohibition; Department of Land and Natural Resources

Description:

Prohibits the Department of Land and Natural Resources from establishing or implementing bag limits for goats in public hunting areas.

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