PROPOSED RULEMAKING
[58 PA. CODE CH. 137]
Wildlife
[35 Pa.B. 4829] To effectively manage the wildlife resources of this Commonwealth, the Game Commission (Commission), at its June 28, 2005, meeting, proposed to add § 137.34 (relating to Chronic Wasting Disease and emergency authority of Director).
The proposed rulemaking will have no adverse impact on the wildlife resources of this Commonwealth.
The authority for the proposed rulemaking is 34 Pa.C.S. (relating to Game and Wildlife Code) (code).
The proposed rulemaking was made public at the June 28, 2005, meeting of the Commission. Comments can be sent until September 30, 2005, to the Director, Information and Education, Game Commission, 2001 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110-9797.
1. Purpose and Authority
In light of the recent outbreak of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) a short distance across this Commonwealth's northern border in the state of New York, the Commission has been aggressively developing a current CWD response plan to help prevent CWD from entering this Commonwealth or at least slow and restrict the spread of CWD should an outbreak occur within this Commonwealth. As an important step to preventing or slowing the spread of CWD in this Commonwealth, the Commission is proposing to add § 137.34 to give the Director emergency authority to remove protection on certain wildlife, order the disposal of certain wildlife or their parts in designated areas, prohibit the removal of the carcasses or certain parts from designated areas, prohibit the possession or transportation of certain live wildlife from designated areas, prohibit the importation of certain wildlife parts from endemic states or nations and also prohibit the feeding of certain wildlife if the spread of CWD poses a threat to human safety, farm animals, pets or other wildlife within or adjacent to this Commonwealth. The Commission believes that this expanded authority is necessary to more effectively respond to potential outbreaks of CWD, a transmissible disease.
Section 103(a) of the code (relating to ownership, jurisdiction and control of game and wildlife) states that ''The ownership, jurisdiction over and control of game or wildlife is vested in the commission as an independent agency of the Commonwealth in its sovereign capacity to be controlled regulated and disposed of in accordance with this chapter.'' Section 322(c)(2) of the code (relating to powers and duties of commission) specifically empowers the Commission to ''Remove protection, declare an open season or increase, reduce or close a season.'' Section 322(c)(9) of the code specifically empowers the Commission to ''Prohibit the possession, importation, exportation or release of any species of birds or animals which may be considered dangerous or injurious to the general public or to the wildlife of this Commonwealth.'' Section 2102(a) of the code (relating to regulations) provides that ''The commission shall promulgate such regulations as it deems necessary and appropriate concerning game or wildlife and hunting or furtaking in this Commonwealth, including regulations relating to the protection, preservation and management of game or wildlife . . . in this Commonwealth.'' The addition of § 137.34 was proposed under this authority.
2. Regulatory Requirements
The proposed rulemaking will add § 137.34 to give the Director emergency authority to remove protection on certain wildlife, order the disposal of certain wildlife or their parts in designated areas, prohibit the removal of the carcasses or parts of certain wildlife from designated areas, prohibit the possession or transportation of certain live wildlife from designated areas, prohibit the importation of certain wildlife parts from endemic states or nations and also prohibit the feeding of certain wildlife if the spread of CWD poses a threat to human safety, farm animals, pets or other wildlife within or adjacent to this Commonwealth.
3. Persons Affected
Persons wishing to hunt or trap, possess or transport certain live wildlife, remove the carcasses or parts of certain wildlife, import certain wildlife parts or feed certain wildlife in designated areas within this Commonwealth when the spread of CWD poses a threat to human safety, farm animals, pets or other wildlife within or adjacent to this Commonwealth may be affected by the proposed rulemaking.
4. Cost and Paperwork Requirements
The proposed rulemaking should not result in additional cost or paperwork.
5. Effective Date
The proposed rulemaking will be effective upon final-form publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and will remain in effect until changed by the Commission.
6. Contact Person
For further information regarding the proposed rulemaking, contact Michael A. Dubaich, Director, Bureau of Law Enforcement, 2001 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110-9797, (717) 783-6526.
VERNON R. ROSS,
Executive DirectorFiscal Note: 48-212. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 58. RECREATION
PART III. GAME COMMISSION
CHAPTER 137. WILDLIFE § 137.34. Chronic Wasting Disease and emergency authority of Director.
(a) The Director has emergency authority to remove protection on cervids, prohibit any new permits to possess live cervids in containment areas, and order the disposal of certain cervids or their parts in containments areas, if the Director determines the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) poses a threat to human safety, farm animals, pets or other cervids within or adjacent to this Commonwealth in accordance with the CWD response plan.
(1) If the Director removes the protection on cervids in containment areas, except for animals or their parts submitted for laboratory analysis, it is unlawful to:
(i) Remove any cervid carcasses or certain parts from the containment areas.
(ii) Possess or transport any live cervids contrary to 3 Pa.C.S. Chapter 23, Subchapter C (relating to detection, containment or eradication of certain diseases) within the containment areas.
(2) Nothing in this subsection prevents removal of dried or cured skins of cervids from the areas where the protection has been removed, only if removal poses no threat to other areas of this Commonwealth.
(b) The Director has emergency authority to control the spread of CWD by banning the importation of certain cervid parts from other states or nations.
(c) The Director has emergency authority to ban the feeding of cervids within the containment area to prevent the congregation or habituation to an area by cervids that could spread CWD.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 05-1592. Filed for public inspection August 26, 2005, 9:00 a.m.]
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.
