1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to wild animals; authorizing poultry farmers 
  1.3             to trap great horned owls; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.4             1994, section 97B.705. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 97B.705, is 
  1.7   amended to read: 
  1.8      97B.705 [RESTRICTIONS ON TRAPPING BIRDS.] 
  1.9      (a) Except as provided in this section, A person may not 
  1.10  take a bird with a steel jaw leg-hold trap mounted on a pole, 
  1.11  post, tree stump, or other perch more than three feet above the 
  1.12  ground.  
  1.13     (b) A person that has a game farm license and a permit to 
  1.14  take great horned owls issued under United States Code, title 
  1.15  16, section 704, may trap great horned owls from April 1 to 
  1.16  October 15 if the person has a game farm license or is the owner 
  1.17  or operator of a poultry farm.  The trap must be a padded jaw 
  1.18  Swedish goshawk, bal-chartin, or verbail leg-hold trap as 
  1.19  prescribed described by the commissioner and mounted at a height 
  1.20  so that the trapped owl may rest on the ground.  Persons 
  1.21  trapping under this paragraph may receive appropriate 
  1.22  information on the permitted traps from the commissioner.  The 
  1.23  trap must be tended at least twice daily.  Uninjured birds shall 
  1.24  be released alive and injured birds must receive appropriate 
  1.25  veterinary treatment.  Persons releasing uninjured birds must 
  2.1   notify the commissioner or a conservation officer of the time 
  2.2   and place of release.