(1) Notwithstanding section 33-6-203, but subject to regulation by the commission, authorized persons may use nonlethal snares, traps specifically designed not to kill, or nets to take wildlife for purposes of:
(a) Bona fide scientific research;
(b) Falconry;
(c) Relocation permitted in accordance with rules of the division; or
(d) Medical treatment of the animal being captured.
Source: L. 97: Entire part added, p. 1067, � 1, effective May 27.
33-6-207. Exemption - landowners' protection of crops and livestock - definitions - authority of division and of department of agriculture. (1) Section 33-6-203 shall not apply to the owner or lessee of a parcel of private property, nor to the employees of such owner or lessee, so long as all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The property is primarily used for commercial livestock or crop production;
(b) The use of the methods otherwise prohibited by section 33-6-203 occurs only on the property;
(c) Such use does not exceed one thirty-day period per year for each parcel of private property; and
(d) The owner or lessee can present on-site evidence to the division that ongoing damage to livestock or crops has not been alleviated by the use of methods other than those prohibited by section 33-6-203.
(2) As used in this section and in section 33-6-208:
(a) Crops includes all plants raised for profit.
(b) Employee means a person hired or retained by, or under a written or oral contract or cooperative agreement with, an owner or lessee to perform services of any kind.
(c) Lessee means a person, other than the owner, who has a present possessory interest in real property. If the possessory interest is held by a corporation, partnership, association, or other entity, lessee includes the individual shareholders, principals, partners, or members of such entity. If the possessory interest is held in trust, lessee includes a beneficiary of such trust.
(d) Livestock includes all animals raised for profit.
(e) Ongoing damage means measurable physical harm to livestock or crops that has resulted or will result in economic loss to an owner or lessee and appears likely to continue or recur in the near future.
(f) (I) On-site evidence means physical evidence or documented observations gathered from the property on which trapping, snaring, or poisoning activity is proposed under subsection (1) of this section. Such evidence includes, but is not limited to:
(A) Carcasses or parts thereof;
(B) Physical injuries to livestock;
(C) Identifying tracks, tooth marks, fur, or other evidence of the presence and harmful activity of a depredating species;
(D) Photographs;
(E) Record entries.
(II) Where direct evidence has not been preserved, current or recent losses may be considered as on-site evidence so long as such losses are documented.
(g) Owner means the holder of record title to real property. If the title to real property is held by a corporation, partnership, association, or other entity, owner includes the individual shareholders, principals, partners, or members of such entity. If the title to real property is held in trust, owner includes a beneficiary of such trust.
(h) Parcel of private property means either of the following, at the option of the owner or lessee thereof:
(I) A parcel of private property that has been individually recorded in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the parcel is located; or
(II) A single, contiguous parcel of private property under one ownership or lease.
(i) Primarily used for commercial livestock or crop production means used to produce agricultural products that originate from the land's productivity for the primary purpose of obtaining a monetary profit.
(j) Private property means real property whose record title is not held, wholly or in part, by any state, local, or federal government or agency thereof.
(3) The division and, in the case of depredating animals as defined in section 35-40-100.2 (4), C.R.S., the department of agriculture shall have the authority to adopt and enforce reasonable rules governing trapping, snaring, and poisoning activity under subsection (1) of this section. Such rules may include, without limitation, reasonable restrictions on the devices and, to the extent permissible under section 33-6-209, the poisons to be used and the manner of their use, including a requirement for serial numbering or other identification of devices if such is deemed necessary or desirable. The general assembly specifically endorses the implementation of a coordinated trade-in or pooling program to encourage the phasing out of older, less humane devices and the use, in their place, of newer, more humane ones.
Source: L. 97: Entire part added, p. 1067, � 1, effective May 27.
33-6-208. Thirty-day period - administration - conditions precedent to use of exemption. (1) For purposes of the exemption specified in section 33-6-207:
(a) Where an owner or lessee raises livestock or crops on two or more separate parcels of private property, the exemption stated in section 33-6-207 shall apply separately to each parcel.
(b) The division shall verify that the owner or lessee has made reasonable efforts to alleviate ongoing damage to livestock or crops through reasonable efforts using methods other than those prohibited by section 33-6-203. The use of at least two of the following methods is presumed to represent reasonable efforts:
(I) Routine gathering of livestock in areas where predators are known to be present;
(II) The use of guard animals;
(III) The use of flashing lights, boom guns, or other scare tactics;
(IV) The presence of human herders or guards;
(V) Any other industry-accepted method that is effective in reducing losses and whose use is approved by the agriculture commission and the parks and wildlife commission for that purpose.
(c) (I) An owner or lessee seeking to use the exemption stated in section 33-6-207 shall notify the division by telephone, telefacsimile, or first-class mail before the beginning of each period during which trapping, snaring, or poisoning activity is to take place. Within ten days after giving such notice, the owner or lessee shall provide the division with a written certification that there exists on-site evidence of ongoing damage to livestock or crops and that the owner or lessee has made reasonable efforts to alleviate such damage by the use of alternative methods.
(II) The owner or lessee need not present on-site evidence of damage or of reasonable efforts using alternative methods before commencing trapping, snaring, or poisoning activity, but the owner or lessee shall be prepared to do so upon request of the division at any time within the thirty-day period. The division may, at its option, send an employee or agent to visit the site and verify compliance with the requirements of this section and of section 33-6-207.
Source: L. 97: Entire part added, p. 1069, � 1, effective May 27. L. 2012: IP(1)(b) and (1)(b)(V) amended, (HB 12-1317), ch. 248, p. 1209, � 22, effective June 4.