23:3-29 Licenses for raising, selling game birds, animals.

23:3-29. A person desiring to engage in the business of raising and selling game birds or game animals, or both, in a wholly enclosed area of which he is the owner or lessee, or to have in captivity game birds or game animals, shall apply in writing to the division for a license to do so. The license fee shall be $10.00 per year for each of the above purposes.

A person desiring to propagate pheasant, partridge, or quail, or any of them, in a semiwild state on lands of which he is the owner or lessee, shall apply in writing to the division for a license to do so. The license fee shall be $75.00 per year. No two or more noncontiguous tracts of land shall be covered under the same license.

The division, when it appears that the application is made in good faith, and is in the public interest, may, upon the payment of the fee for each license, issue to the applicant such of the following license or licenses as may be applied for:

a. Propagating license permitting the licensee to propagate game birds or game animals, or both, in the wholly enclosed area, the location of which is stated in the license and the application therefor, and to sell such propagated game birds or game animals, or both, and ship them from the State alive at any time and to kill the same and sell the carcasses for food subject to the conditions prescribed by R.S.23:3-28 to 23:3-39, inclusive;

b. License to propagate pheasant, partridge, or quail, or any of them, in a semiwild state on lands of which the applicant is the owner or lessee, when the applicant shall have produced evidence satisfactory to the division that he will raise, or purchase for liberation, and liberate on the semiwild preserve at least one pheasant, quail, partridge or combination thereof for each acre of land to be licensed or at least 200 pheasant, quail or partridge or combination thereof between November 1 of the year for which the license is issued and the following February 28;

c. License to keep game birds and animals in captivity; or

d. License to operate a "commercial pheasant, mallard, quail and partridge-shooting preserve," as defined pursuant to R.S.23:3-28, on lands owned or leased by the applicant, who shall apply in writing to the division for a license to do so. The license fee shall be $320.00 per year for the first tract of land and $165 per year for each additional tract of land, each of which shall be at least 50 acres in size, and the form of the application and license shall be determined by the division. Two or more noncontiguous tracts of land owned or leased, or operated as a commercial pheasant, mallard, quail and partridge-shooting preserve by the same person shall be covered under the same license.

The division may, upon payment of the fee, issue to the applicant such a license when it appears that:

(1) The operation of such shooting preserve shall not conflict with a prior reasonable public interest; and

(2) The applicant shall have produced evidence satisfactory to the division that he will raise or purchase for liberation and liberate on the shooting preserve a total of at least 500 pheasant, mallard, quail and partridge or combination thereof between September 1 of the year for which the license was issued and the following May 1.

e. The fees for licenses set forth in this section may be adjusted by the Fish and Game Council pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1982, c.180 (C.23:3-1a).

f. The division shall coordinate the dates of issuance and renewal of the licenses to propagate game birds with the dates of issuance and renewal of licenses to operate commercial pheasant, mallard, quail and partridge-shooting preserves, and to the extent practicable, shall issue and renew these licenses under one license.

Amended 1948, c.113, s.2;1953, c.175, s.2;1955, c.104, s.2;1967, c.157, s.1;1970, c.186, s.1;1971, c.75, s.1;1979, c.220, s.1;1982, c.180, s.5;1995, c.370, s.2;1999, c.282, s.16.