New laws of interest to hunters

By Tom Cadden and Debbie Freeman, public information officers, Arizona Game and Fish Department

Several new laws of interest to hunters became effective on Sept. 21. One prohibits intentionally interfering with a legal hunt. Another establishes stiffer penalties for poaching. A third prohibits the feeding of wildlife in certain high-population counties. Below is a brief overview of each law:

Hunter Harassment — HB 2130

This law makes it illegal to intentionally interfere with a lawful hunt in Arizona. The law does not apply to incidental interference arising from lawful activity by public land users, including recreationists, ranchers or miners; nor does it apply to landowners engaged in agricultural or livestock operations.

The law protects the rights of licensed hunters by prohibiting people from intentionally disrupting hunts through such actions as vandalizing a hunter’s equipment or property, obstructing or making physical contact with a hunter, or intentionally placing themselves between wildlife and someone attempting to legally hunt that wildlife.

Violation of the law is a misdemeanor, potentially punishable by a fine of up to $750 and four months in jail.

“The key word in the new law is the word ‘intentional,’” says Pat Barber, law enforcement branch chief of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “We won’t be citing people for lawful activities that might accidentally affect a hunt. We will cite people who either have been previously warned, or who have indicated through action or word that they intend to disrupt a legal hunt.”

Certain animal rights activists have attempted to disrupt legal hunts in the past. “This new law protects the rights of hunters and allows our officers to take enforcement actions to help ensure the safety of hunters and those who would attempt to disrupt their hunts,” says Barber.

As always, hunters need to continue to exercise safe hunting practices when out in the field. Barber recommends that all hunters take a hunter education course, which emphasizes firearms safety and safe hunting practices. Arizona has one of the nation’s best hunting safety records, attributable in large part to its hunter education program.

For a list of hunter education courses, visit azgfd.gov/education and click on the “hunter education” link.

Stiffer poaching penalties — HB 2129

This law gives the Arizona Game and Fish Commission the authority to permanently revoke or suspend a person’s hunting privileges for various offenses, including unlawfully taking trophy or endangered species, taking three times the legally established limit, or committing repeat violations.

The legislation also creates a system of civil assessments and license revocations based on the number of convictions an individual has for unlawfully taking or wounding wildlife.

“Hunters statewide are supportive of this new law,” says Mike Senn, assistant director for field operations for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “The vast majority of hunters respect our wildlife resources and obey the law, but there are a small number of blatant offenders who don’t. The new law gives our wildlife officers more enforcement tools and provides stiffer penalties for serious poachers, especially repeat offenders.”

“Many people don’t realize that wildlife is considered a state asset, owned by the people of Arizona,” says Michael Golightly, an Arizona Game and Fish Commissioner. “When poachers illegally take an animal, they are stealing from all of us.”

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jerry Weiers (R-Glendale), was passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Janet Napolitano in May.

Prohibition on wildlife feeding — HB 2129

When people intentionally feed wildlife, they can encourage these animals to stay in neighborhoods, become aggressive and even dangerous to humans. This law, which applies only to Maricopa and Pima counties, is aimed at preventing those problems.

“Many people think feeding wildlife is a helpful thing to do, and they enjoy seeing rabbits or deer spending time around their homes,” says Elissa Ostergaard, urban wildlife specialist in the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Tucson office. “What also happens is that those animals attract larger, predatory animals to the neighborhoods. That’s when you have coyotes, javelina and other animals that can become a danger to people and harm their pets.”

State Sen. Toni Hellon of Tucson sponsored the bill that evolved into the wildlife-feeding law for Maricopa and Pima counties. The law does not affect people just feeding birds and tree squirrels or anyone carrying out normal livestock or agricultural operations. It is a public safety measure that will only stop those who are intentionally, knowingly or recklessly feeding wildlife.

“We do not intend to use this law unless someone is obviously creating a problem in a neighborhood that could affect other people, and he or she has already been warned,” says Mike Senn, head of the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s field operations division. “We prefer to educate people first, and this is a last resort option.”

Violation of the law is classified as a petty offense punishable by a fine of up to $300.

Problems associated with wildlife feeding include coyote attacks on eight child victims in areas of Maricopa County, two recent Phoenix-area incidents where javelina bit humans who were hand-feeding them, and several human-mountain lion encounters in 2004 in Sabino Canyon and near an elementary school in the Tucson area.