(A) Except as otherwise provided by division rule, no person shall offer for hunting or hunt any nonnative wildlife except in a licensed wild animal hunting preserve. No person shall operate a wild animal hunting preserve without first obtaining a wild animal hunting preserve license issued by the chief of the division of wildlife under this section.

(B) Application for a wild animal hunting preserve license shall be made on a form prescribed by the chief and shall be accompanied by a license application fee of one thousand dollars. The application shall contain a list of which species of game and nonnative wildlife are to be released for hunting in the preserve and any other information required by the chief.

(C) The chief, upon payment of the application fee, shall issue to the applicant a wild animal hunting preserve license if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The operation of the wild animal hunting preserve does not conflict with a prior reasonable public interest.

(2) The proposed wild animal hunting preserve meets the requirements established in division (A) of section 1533.731 of the Revised Code.

(3) The applicant is the owner or lessee of the land described in the application and maintains that status as the owner or lessee of the land until the license expires.

(4) The proposed wild animal hunting preserve has been inspected by a representative of the division of wildlife to ensure that all wild deer have been removed from the proposed wild animal hunting preserve before any game or nonnative wildlife are released into the preserve.

(D) Prior to an inspection of a proposed wild animal hunting preserve for purposes of division (C)(4) of this section, an applicant for a wild animal hunting preserve license shall remove all wild deer from the proposed preserve using a method that is approved by the chief. All wild deer that cannot be removed from the proposed wild animal hunting preserve shall be killed, and the applicant shall submit a restitution fee in accordance with section 1531.201 of the Revised Code.

(E) Inspection of a proposed wild animal hunting preserve shall be conducted and approval or disapproval of an initial license for such a preserve shall be made between the first day of January through the last day of March of the year in which the applicant first intends to operate the preserve.

(F) Upon receipt of the initial license for a wild animal hunting preserve, receipt of a license under section 943.03 or 943.031 of the Revised Code, and a demonstration to the chief or the chief's designee that each captive white-tailed deer held by the licensee was legally acquired, the licensee may place all of the licensee's deer in the wild animal hunting preserve. A wild animal hunting preserve licensee holding captive white-tailed deer in the preserve shall comply with this chapter and Chapter 1531. of the Revised Code, division rules, sections 943.20 to 943.26 of the Revised Code, and rules adopted under section 943.24 of the Revised Code.

(G)

(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (G)(2) of this section, all licenses issued under this section shall expire on the thirtieth day of April of each year. Any license holder wishing to own or operate a wild animal hunting preserve in the year following the expiration of the license shall submit a license renewal form prescribed by the chief and include an annual renewal fee of two hundred dollars.

(2) A license issued under this section for a wild animal hunting preserve in which only captive white-tailed deer are kept does not expire unless the license is revoked by the chief under division (H)(2) of this section.

(H)

(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(2) of this section, and in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the chief may suspend or revoke a wild animal hunting preserve license if the chief finds that the license holder has violated or is violating this chapter or Chapter 1531. of the Revised Code or any division rule.

(2) The chief, with the approval of the director of agriculture, may suspend or revoke a wild animal hunting preserve license issued to a person who also has been issued a valid license for that preserve under section 943.03 or 943.031 of the Revised Code if the person fails to comply with this chapter and Chapter 1531. of the Revised Code, division rules, sections 943.20 to 943.26 of the Revised Code, and rules adopted under section 943.24 of the Revised Code.

(I) This section does not authorize the hunting of game birds in a licensed wild animal hunting preserve unless the licensee also possesses a valid commercial bird shooting preserve license issued under section 1533.72 of the Revised Code for the same land for which the wild animal hunting preserve license was issued.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.89, HB 389, §1, eff. 6/29/2012.

Effective Date: 10-20-1994 .