ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-fifth Legislature

Second Regular Session

House: LARA DPA/SE 7-4-0-0

HB 2181: technical correction; game; fish; facilities

S/E: game and fish; taking wolves

Sponsor: Representative Cook, LD 8

Caucus & COW

Overview

Forbids the Arizona Game and Fish Commission from prohibiting an individual from taking a wolf that is actively threatening or attacking a person, livestock or other domestic animal.

History

Endangered Species Act

The Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. This listing allows the Secretary of Interior, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), to designate critical habitats and requires the development and implementation of recovery plans so the species will no longer be listed (16 U.S.C. § 1533). It also generally prohibits taking a listed animal, which includes harassing, harming or killing it (16 U.S.C. § 1538). However, this law recognizes a self-defense exemption when an individual has "a good faith belief" that doing so would protect themselves or others from bodily harm (16 U.S.C. § 1540). Additionally, the FWS can permit taking a listed animal, under certain terms and conditions, if it is incidental to carrying out an otherwise lawful activity (16 U.S.C. § 1539).

Section 10(j) of this act allows the FWS to designate a population of an endangered species as experimental if the population is geographically separate from the nonexperimental population and releasing it beyond its current range will further conservation efforts. The FWS must adopt rules to make this designation (16 U.S.C. § 1539).

Rules designating an experimental population of Mexican wolves were adopted in 1998 but have undergone repeated litigation and revision. Most recently, in 2018, the District Court of Arizona remanded several rules to the FWS because the rules did not further conservation efforts. In particular, the expanded take provisions did not contain adequate protections for the loss of genetically valuable wolves (Center for Biological Diversity v. Jewell, No. 4:15-cv-00019-JGZ). On October 29, 2021, the FWS proposed revisions to these rules which limited the following forms of take until the experimental population's genetic objective has been achieved:

1) Take on non-federal land in conjunction with an authorized removal action, which involves issuing permits to domestic animal owners to take a wolf;

2) Take on federal land in conjunction with an authorized removal action when a wolf is wounding or killing livestock on federal land; and

3) Take in response to an unacceptable impact to a wild herd of elk or other ungulates (86 Federal Register 59962).

Arizona Game and Fish Commission

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the FWS regarding the release, translocation and cross-fostering of Mexican wolves (A.R.S. § 17-253).

Provisions

1. Forbids the Arizona Game and Fish Commission from prohibiting an individual from taking a wolf that is actively threatening or attacking a person, livestock or other domestic animal. (Sec. 1)

4. ---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------

5. HB 2181

6. Initials PAB Page 0 Caucus & COW

8. ---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------