§ 113-300.2. Declaring wild animal or bird a pest; concurrence of Wildlife Resources Commission required before poison or pesticide may be used.

§ 113‑300.2. Declaring wild animal or bird a pest; concurrence of Wildlife ResourcesCommission required before poison or pesticide may be used.

(a)        When there is a factual basis for the declaration, any wildanimal or bird may be declared a pest by:

(1)        The Commissioner of Agriculture under the Structural PestControl Act of North Carolina of 1955, as amended, in Article 4C of Chapter 106of the General Statutes, in accordance with any regulations or restrictionsimposed by the Structural Pest Control Committee; or

(2)        The Pesticide Board under the North Carolina Pesticide Lawof 1971, as amended, in Article 52 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.

(b)        When a wild animal or bird is declared a pest, theCommissioner of Agriculture or the Pesticide Board, as the case may be, mustnotify the Wildlife Resources Commission in writing of the action taken; theareas in which the declaration is effective; the type, amount, and mode ofapplication of any poison or pesticide proposed for use against the pest; and otherinformation pertinent to the declaration.

(c)        Upon receiving notification under subsection (b), theWildlife  Resources Commission may:

(1)        Hold a timely public hearing on the question whether itshould concur in the declaration that the wild animal or bird is a pest andshould be open to taking with the type or types of poison or pesticidespecified or authorized in the notice, in the areas and under the circumstancesspecified. After holding the public hearing the Wildlife Resources Commissionmust decide, within 60 days after receiving the notice under subsection (b),whether it concurs or refuses to concur in the declaration that the wild animalor bird is a pest.

(2)        Take no action. In this event, 60 days after the WildlifeResources Commission receives notice of the declaration under subsection (b),the concurrence of the Wildlife Resources Commission will occur automatically.

(d)        Upon the concurrence of the Wildlife Resources Commissionin  the declaration under subsection (b), the wild animal or bird may be takenwith the use of any poison or pesticide specified in the notice  in accordancewith applicable restrictions in statutes and regulations and in accordance withany special restrictions imposed by the Commissioner of Agriculture, the StructuralPest Control Committee, or the Pesticide Board. If the Wildlife ResourcesCommission refuses to concur, no poison or pesticide may be used to take thewild animal or bird.

(e)        After holding a public hearing on the subject, the WildlifeResources Commission may rescind its concurrence to a declaration undersubsection (b) or grant its concurrence previously withheld.

(f)         With the approval of the Structural Pest Control Committeeor the Pesticide Board, as the case may be, the Wildlife Resources Commissionmay grant a qualified concurrence to a declaration, imposing furtherrestrictions as to the use of poison or pesticide in  taking the wild animal orbird in question. (1979, c. 830, s.1.)