HB 379 -- WILD ELK

CO-SPONSORS:  Reid, Wiggins, Myers, Shoemyer

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on
Conservation, State Parks, and Mining by a vote of 15 to 1.

This bill prohibits any release of elk into the wild before
January 1, 2012.  Releases that are intentional or the result of
gross negligence are a class A misdemeanor.

The bill has an emergency clause.

FISCAL NOTE:  Cost to Conservation Commission Fund of Unknown in
FY 2002, FY 2003, and FY 2004.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that wild elk can cause property
damage and may transmit diseases to deer and domestic animals.
The threat of vehicle collisions with elk is also a serious
public safety issue.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Reid; Missouri
Federation of Animal Owners; and Missouri Elk Farmers
Association.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that the constitution
gives the authority to regulate wildlife to the Conservation
Commission, which has already voted not to consider elk
reintroduction for at least 2 years.  Further, disease problems
are much more likely to be associated with domestic elk herds
than with wild elk.

Testifying against the bill was Department of Conservation.

Terry Finger, Senior Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated November 26, 2001 at 11:43 am