A. A person intending to ship sheep or goats beyond the limits of the district or the limits of the state shall give notice of his intention to the director or to the inspector for his district by certified letter or by delivery in person or by telephone to the director or inspector so that the notice is received in a reasonable time previous to the proposed date of shipment. The notice shall state the date and place that the sheep or goats will be loaded and destination of the sheep or goats. The board may require an inspector to inspect the sheep or goats as to their sanitary conditions and make a record of all the marks and brands upon the sheep or goats or the board may provide by rule an alternate means of allowing the movement of sheep or goats. The inspector shall not allow sheep or goats bearing any of the marks declared by the law of this state to be unlawful to be shipped except under express authority of the board. The inspector shall also require each person shipping sheep or goats to exhibit a bill of sale executed as provided by Section 77-8-15 NMSA 1978 or authority in writing to ship the sheep or goats from the recorded owner of all marks and brands upon the sheep or goats unless the person is himself the recorded owner of the marks and brands.

B. The inspector shall issue to the shipper a New Mexico livestock board form-1 certificate of inspection or other document or permit approved by the board if he is fully satisfied that the sheep or goats are free from disease and that the person shipping has rightful ownership of the sheep or goats as evidenced by the brands or marks and bill of sale or has complied with the board's alternative method as provided for in this section and all other applicable rules of the board. This certificate or permit shall authorize the shipping of the sheep and goats out of the state.

C. A fee to be fixed by the board in a sum not to exceed the amount prescribed by law shall be charged for the inspection and certificates, and the inspector shall refuse to issue the certificates until he has been paid the fee. The board shall charge a fee not to exceed the amount prescribed by law for issuing the permits allowed in this section in lieu of inspection. The inspector shall make a report to the director after each inspection of any matters contained in this section that may be required of him by the director.

D. A person who knowingly ships sheep or goats from one district to another district without an inspection certificate is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978. A person who knowingly ships sheep or goats outside the state without an inspection certificate is guilty of a fourth degree felony and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.

History: 1941 Comp., § 49-877, enacted by Laws 1951, ch. 188, § 16; 1953 Comp., § 47-8-16; Laws 1957, ch. 191, § 1; 1959, ch. 246, § 1; 1963, ch. 129, § 2; 1981, ch. 357, § 4; 1993, ch. 248, § 40; 1999, ch. 282, § 39.

The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, inserted "or goats" throughout the section; in Subsection A, substituted "sheep or goats beyond the limits of the district or the limits of the state" for "sheep out of the state", deleted "telegraph" preceding "certified letter, and substituted "in a reasonable time" for "at least forty-eight hours" in the first sentence, and inserted "board may require" and "or the board may provide by rule an alternate means of allowing the movement of sheep or goats" in the second sentence; in Subsection B, inserted "or other document or permit approved by the board" and "or has complied with the board's alternative method as"; in Subsection C, inserted the next-to-last sentence; added Subsection D; and made stylistic changes throughout the section.

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, deleted "New Mexico livestock" preceding "board" in three places; deleted "in writing" following "notice" in the first sentence of Subsection A; rewrote Subsection B to the extent that a detailed analysis is impracticable; and made minor stylistic changes.

The 1981 amendment, in Subsection A, substituted "director of the New Mexico livestock board" for "secretary" and "director" for "secretary" preceding "or" in the first sentence and "the sheep" for "same" at the end of the second sentence, deleted "or by" following "letter" and "by" preceding "telephone" in the first sentence and inserted "the" preceding "destination" in the second sentence, substituted "or" for "of" in the first sentence and "certificate" for "certificates" following "which" in the second sentence and inserted "New Mexico livestock" in the second sentence in Subsection B and, in Subsection C, inserted "New Mexico livestock" in the first sentence and substituted "the amount prescribed by law" for "eight cents ($.08) a head" and "the" for "said" following "paid" in the first sentence and "director" for "secretary" twice in the second sentence.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 3A C.J.S. Animals § 74.