HB481 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Artis McCampbellRepresentative

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2019

Title

Conservation and Natural Resources, wildlife, possession for public exhibition purposes, importing of cervidae, prohibited, Sec. 9-11-328 am'd.

Summary

HB 481 would ban publicly owned and traveling wildlife exhibitors from importing any deer-family animals (Cervidae) into Alabama.

What This Bill Does

The bill amends Section 9-11-328 to prohibit municipal, county, state, or other publicly owned zoos or wildlife exhibits, and privately owned traveling zoos, circuses, or pet shops, from importing any species in the Cervidae family. It preserves existing possession rules for these entities but adds an import ban specifically for Cervidae. The act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after it is passed and signed by the governor.

Who It Affects

• Publicly owned zoos or wildlife exhibits and privately owned traveling zoos, circuses, or pet shops would be unable to import Cervidae into Alabama.
• Private individuals or other entities not listed are not directly targeted by this bill; the change focuses on import prohibitions for the specified public and traveling exhibitors, with no broader change to possession rules for other wildlife.

Key Provisions

• Amends Section 9-11-328 to add a new subsection (b) prohibiting the import of any Cervidae species into Alabama by public or traveling exhibitors.
• Clarifies that while certain entities are generally exempt from the possession provisions of the article, they may not import Cervidae.
• Cervidae includes all deer-family species (e.g., deer, elk, moose, reindeer).
• Effective date: the act becomes law on the first day of the third month following passage and gubernatorial approval.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Conservation and Natural Resources Department