A. All livestock required to be branded pursuant to the provisions of Section 77-9-3 NMSA 1978 shall bear the identical and complete brand recorded in the name of the present owner with the board or, in the alternative, the livestock shall bear the identical and complete brand of a former owner as recorded with the board, in which case, the livestock shall be accompanied by a bill of sale from the former owner to the person claiming to be the present owner, which bill of sale meets the requirements of Section 77-9-22 NMSA 1978.

B. The bill of sale shall contain a written statement by the former owner granting permission to the present owner to use the recorded brand appearing on the livestock, listed in the bill of sale and filed with the board; otherwise the livestock shall be rebranded within thirty days from the date of purchase.

C. A person shall not sell, buy or receive any livestock in the state unless the livestock is branded or has other means of identification acceptable to the board except livestock directly imported from another state. Except as provided in Section 77-9-16 NMSA 1978, as recompiled [77-2-7.9 NMSA 1978], all livestock shall be branded with a New Mexico brand within thirty days of entry into the state.

D. A person who violates the provisions of either Section 77-9-3 NMSA 1978 or this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be sentenced in accordance with Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978 for each head.

History: 1953 Comp., § 47-9-3.1, enacted by Laws 1961, ch. 4, § 1; 1975, ch. 139, § 3; 1993, ch. 248, § 44; 1999, ch. 282, § 48.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

Former Section 77-9-16 NMSA 1978 was recompiled as 77-2-7.9 NMSA 1978 by Laws 1999, ch. 282, § 18.

The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, added the last sentence in Subsection C; substituted "misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be sentenced in accordance with Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978 for each head" for "petty misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than three hundred dollars ($300) upon conviction for each offense" in 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; substituted "77-9-3 NMSA 1978" and "77-9-22 NMSA 1978" for "47-9-3 NMSA 1953" and "47-9-19.1 NMSA 1953" in Subsection A; substituted "owner to use" for "owner to sue" and inserted "and filed with the board" in Subsection B; and, in Subsection D, substituted "77-9-3 NMSA 1978" for "47-9-3 NMSA 1953", inserted "is guilty of a petty misdemeanor and upon conviction", and added "for each offense" at the end of the subsection.

Penalty provided in this section is not penalty for identical act prohibited by Section 30-18-3 NMSA 1978; this section applies to branding requirements generally while Section 30-18-3 NMSA 1978 applies specifically to the use of an unrecorded brand. State v. Vickery, 1973-NMCA-091, 85 N.M. 389, 512 P.2d 962, cert. denied, 85 N.M. 380, 512 P.2d 953.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 3A C.J.S. Animals § 23.