Section 1.0 Authority
1.1 This rule is adopted pursuant to
10 V.S.A. §
4081(a) and
(b) which authorizes the Board to carry out
the purposes of protecting the state's wildlife, and
10
V.S.A. §
4709 which regulates the
importation and possession of wild birds and animals in the state and
establishes a permit application fee, and
10
V.S.A. §
4152 establishes scientific and
education collection permits.
Section
2.0 Purpose
2.1 It is the purpose
of this regulation to carry out the mandate of the Vermont General Assembly to
control through a permit program the importation and possession of wild animals
in Vermont as provided in Title
10
V.S.A. §
4709. It is the purpose of this
statute and its regulations to protect the health, safety and welfare of
animals, both wild and domestic, to prevent damage to agriculture and
livestock, and to protect the health, safety and welfare of human inhabitants
of the State of Vermont.
Section
3.0 Definitions
3.1 Wild Animals
or Wildlife - All animals, including mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles,
excluding fish and those animals defined by the secretary of agriculture food
and markets by rule as pets and those defined as domestic under paragraph 3.2
of this rule. Included in this definition is any part, product, egg, offspring,
dead body, or part of the dead body of any such wildlife. Wildlife includes all
subspecies of wildlife and any other group of wildlife of the same species, the
members of which may interbreed when mature, including any hybrid species
except wolf-hybrids. Wild animals taken or possessed, or reared in captivity
remain wild animals and are not domestic or tame animals.
3.2 Domestic Birds and Animals- The
department shall provide a list of domestic animals and shall update the list
as needed, adding or deleting animals as necessary. The list shall be available
on the department's web site, from the department's headquarters and from the
department's district offices. The list shall also be made available to the
media as much as practicably possible to provide maximum notice to the
public.
3.3 Board - Vermont Fish
and Wildlife Board
3.4 Department -
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
3.5 Commercial - To sell, have sold, or offer
for sale as defined in Title
10 V.S.A. §
4001(22); barter, exchange
and offering or exposing for sale; and possession with the intent to sell,
import, or export
3.6 Commissioner
- Fish and Wildlife Department Commissioner as defined in Title
10 V.S.A. §
4001(27)
3.7 Dealer - Any person, who commercially
buys or sells any wild animal, as defined in 3.5.
3.8 Unrestricted Wild Animals - those species
determined not to conflict with the purposes of this regulation.
3.9 Native Wildlife - Native to the state of
Vermont, either historically or at present.
Section 4.0 Importation or Possession of Wild
Animals
4.1 Except as otherwise provided by
law, it is unlawful for any person to bring into or possess in the State of
Vermont any live wild animal, or live ovum or semen thereof, of any kind,
unless upon application in writing, the person obtains from the commissioner a
permit to do so; or the species of animal, ovum, or semen is listed as a
Domestic Bird or Animal, Domestic Pet, or Unrestricted Wild Animal.
4.2 The importation and possession of dead
wild animals, in accordance with all laws and regulations applicable in Vermont
or the place of origin, for personal use are exempt from this
regulation.
4.3 The importation,
possession and regulation of pests and beneficial organisms regulated by the
Secretary of Agriculture is exempt from this regulation.
Section 5.0 Permits
5.1 Dealer's Permit
All commercial dealers in Vermont, including, but not limited
to pet shop owners, persons raising frogs for sale as institutional
experimental animals, and all persons who import, export, and/or sell wild
birds and animals must first obtain a valid Dealer's Permit from the
department.
5.2 Importation
and Possession
Except as provided herein, the Commissioner shall not issue a
permit for the keeping or possession of any wild animal in captivity, except
for bona fide scientific or educational purposes as permitted by (Title
10
V.S.A. §
4152) .
For purposes other than importation and possession for bona
fide research and educational purposes, the Commissioner shall not issue a
permit unless it has been determined that the wild animal or wildlife proposed
to be brought into or possessed in the state does not conflict with the purpose
of this regulation. The Commissioner shall establish a list of Unrestricted
Wild Animals that do not conflict with the purpose of this regulation, are
commonly sold in the pet trade, and do not require an Importation and
Possession Permit from the Department.
The Unrestricted Wild Animals List will consist of those
species that are determined to be no threat to the state's native wildlife,
minimal threat to human health and safety, and suitable as pets for the
residents of the state. This list is expected to be revised periodically by the
Commissioner depending on recent pet trade trends, disease, and health issues.
The list shall be posted on the department web site and made available at the
department's central and district offices.
5.3 Scientific and Educational Collection
In accordance with Title
10
V.S.A. §
4152, the Commissioner may
issue permits to collect birds, their nests and eggs and wild animals, or their
parts thereof, for public scientific research, educational purposes, art, or
photography.
5.4 Commercial
Collection
Any person who collects any wild animal within the boundaries
of the state of Vermont and sells said wild animal must obtain a Commercial
Collection Permit from the department.
5.5 Temporary Exhibition
Any person importing or possessing any wild animal for the
purposes of temporary exhibition must obtain from the Commissioner a permit to
do so; unless the species is listed as a Domestic Bird or Animal, Domestic Pet,
or Unrestricted Wild Animal.
5.6 Propagation Licenses
Any person breeding and propagating wild birds and animals in
accordance with
10 V.S.A. §
5207 must obtain from the Commissioner a
license to do so; unless the species is listed as a Domestic Bird or Animal,
Domestic Pet, or Unrestricted Wild Animal.
Section 6.0 Permit Applications
6.1 Applications for a permit for importation
and possession, scientific and educational collection, commercial collection,
temporary exhibition, or propagation must be complete and submitted to the
department on an application form to be provided by the department. For an
application to be complete, it must be legible, must contain all of the
information requested by the department, shall contain no false statements,
must bear the applicant's official signature, and must be accompanied by the
required application fee.
Section
7.0 Facilities
7.1 Any person
permitted to import, possess, or collect wild animals shall provide adequate
facilities as required by the Commissioner. Conditions may be imposed that
require specific conditions for captivity or exposure to humans (e.g., prohibit
the touching of wild animals by any person other than the permit holder).
Section 8.0 Inspections
8.1 Persons holding a permit for dealer,
importation and possession, scientific and educational collection, commercial
collection, or temporary exhibition shall allow inspection at reasonable times
of their premises, facilities, records and wild animals by a State Game Warden,
or other department representative.
8.2 If upon inspection, a wild animal is not
being kept as required by the conditions of the permit, or the presence of
disease has been determined, destruction of the wild animal may be required by
the Commissioner.
Section
9.0 Violations
9.1 Any wild
animal that is taken, imported or possessed in violation of this regulation, or
is kept in violation of any permit issued may be confiscated and disposed of in
accordance with Title
10
V.S.A. §
4513. Permit violations and
violations of Part 4 of Title 10 may result in the revocation of the
permit.
