By: Zaffirini	S.B. No. 987
	(In the Senate - Filed March 5, 2015; March 10, 2015, read
	first time and referred to Committee on Agriculture, Water, and
	Rural Affairs; March 30, 2015, reported favorably by the following
	vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; March 30, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the regulation of dangerous wild animals.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 822.102(a), Health and Safety Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  This subchapter does not apply to:
	(1)  a county, municipality, or agency of the state or
	an agency of the United States or an agent or official of a county,
	municipality, or agency acting in an official capacity;
	(2)  a research facility, as that term is defined by
	Section 2(e), Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2132), and its
	subsequent amendments, that is licensed by the secretary of
	agriculture of the United States under that Act;
	(3)  an organization that is an accredited member of
	the [American Zoo and Aquarium] Association of Zoos and Aquariums;
	(4)  an injured, infirm, orphaned, or abandoned
	dangerous wild animal while being transported for care or
	treatment;
	(5)  an injured, infirm, orphaned, or abandoned
	dangerous wild animal while being rehabilitated, treated, or cared
	for by a licensed veterinarian, an incorporated humane society or
	animal shelter, or a person who holds a rehabilitation permit
	issued under Subchapter C, Chapter 43, Parks and Wildlife Code;
	(6)  a dangerous wild animal owned by and in the custody
	and control of a transient circus company that is not based in this
	state if:
	(A)  the animal is used as an integral part of the
	circus performances; and
	(B)  the animal is kept within this state only
	during the time the circus is performing in this state or for a
	period not to exceed 30 days while the circus is performing outside
	the United States;
	(7)  a dangerous wild animal while in the temporary
	custody or control of a television or motion picture production
	company during the filming of a television or motion picture
	production in this state;
	(8)  a dangerous wild animal owned by and in the
	possession, custody, or control of a college or university solely
	as a mascot for the college or university;
	(9)  a dangerous wild animal while being transported in
	interstate commerce through the state in compliance with the Animal
	Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2131 et seq.) and its subsequent
	amendments and the regulations adopted under that Act;
	(10)  a nonhuman primate owned by and in the control and
	custody of a person whose only business is supplying nonhuman
	primates directly and exclusively to biomedical research
	facilities and who holds a Class "A" or Class "B" dealer's license
	issued by the secretary of agriculture of the United States under
	the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2131 et seq.) and its
	subsequent amendments;
	(11)  a dangerous wild animal that is:
	(A)  owned by or in the possession, control, or
	custody of a person who is a participant in a species survival plan
	of the [American Zoo and Aquarium] Association of Zoos and
	Aquariums for that species; and
	(B)  an integral part of that species survival
	plan; [and]
	(12)  in a county west of the Pecos River that has a
	population of less than 25,000, a cougar, bobcat, or coyote in the
	possession, custody, or control of a person that has trapped the
	cougar, bobcat, or coyote as part of a predator or depredation
	control activity; and
	(13)  an organization that is an accredited member of
	the Zoological Association of America.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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