Full Statute Name:  Proposition 4 Trapping Practices. Bans Use of Specified Traps and Animal Poisons. Initiative Statute

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Primary Citation:  Proposition 4 (1998) Country of Origin:  United States Last Checked:  August, 2014 Date Adopted:  1998
Summary: This state initiative measure was proposed in 1998 and prohibits trapping mammals classified as fur bearing (or non-game) with body gripping traps for recreation or commerce in fur. This includes, but is not limited to, steel-jawed leghold traps, padded-jaw leghold traps, conibear traps, and snares. Cage and box traps, nets, suitcase-type live beaver traps and common rat and mouse traps are not considered body-gripping traps. It passed with 57.5% of the vote.

Proposition 4 - Full Text of the Proposed Law

This initiative measure is submitted to the people in accordance with the provisions of Article II, Section 8 of the California Constitution.

This initiative measure adds sections to the Fish and Game Code; therefore, new provisions proposed to be added are printed in italic type to indicate that they are new.

PROPOSED LAW

SECTION 1. Section 3003.1 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:

3003.1. Notwithstanding Sections 1001, 1002, 4002, 4004, 4007, 4008, 4009.5, 4030, 4034, 4042, 4152, 4180, or 4181:

(a) It is unlawful for any person to trap for the purposes of recreation or commerce in fur any fur-bearing mammal or nongame mammal with any body-gripping trap. A body-gripping trap is one that grips the mammal's body or body part, including, but not limited to, steel-jawed leghold traps, padded-jaw leghold traps, conibear traps, and snares. Cage and box traps, nets, suitcase-type live beaver traps, and common rat and mouse traps shall not be considered body-gripping traps.

(b) It is unlawful for any person to buy, sell, barter, or otherwise exchange for profit, or to offer to buy, sell, barter, or otherwise exchange for profit, the raw fur, as defined by Section 4005, of any fur-bearing mammal or nongame mammal that was trapped in this state, with a body-gripping trap as described in subdivision (a).

(c) It is unlawful for any person, including an employee of the federal, state, county, or municipal government, to use or authorize the use of any steel-jawed leghold trap, padded or otherwise, to capture any game mammal, fur-bearing mammal, nongame mammal, protected mammal, or any dog or cat.

The prohibition in this subdivision does not apply to federal, state, county, or municipal government employees or their duly authorized agents in the extraordinary case where the otherwise prohibited padded-jaw leghold trap is the only method available to protect human health or safety.

(d) For purposes of this section, fur-bearing mammals, game mammals, nongame mammals, and protected mammals are those mammals so defined by statute on January 1, 1997.

SEC. 2. Section 3003.2 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:

3003.2. Notwithstanding Sections 4003, 4152, 4180, or 4180.1 of this code or Section 14063 of the Food and Agricultural Code, no person, including an employee of the federal, state, county, or municipal government, may poison or attempt to poison any animal by using sodium fluoroacetate, also known as Compound 1080, or sodium cyanide.

SEC. 3. Section 12005.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:

12005.5. Notwithstanding Sections 12000 and 12002, a violation of Section 3003.1 or 3003.2, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, is punishable by a fine of not less than three hundred dollars ($300) or more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. The Legislature may increase, but may not decrease, these penalties.

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