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97B.671 PREDATOR CONTROL PROGRAM.

Subdivision 1.Authorization to take predators.

If the commissioner determines that predators are damaging domestic or wild animals and further damage can be prevented, the commissioner shall authorize the taking of the predators by predator controllers. The commissioner shall define the area where the predators may be taken, the objectives to be achieved, procedures for notifying predator controllers, payments to be made, the methods to be used, and when the predator control shall cease.

Subd. 2.Certification of predator controllers.

(a) The commissioner shall certify a person as a predator controller if the person has not violated a provision of this section and meets qualifications of experience, ability, and reliability. The commissioner shall establish application procedures, prescribe forms, and maintain a list of predator controllers. The application procedures must include reports from conservation officers and other department field personnel as to the ability and reliability of the applicants.

(b) The commissioner may revoke a certification if the predator controller violates a provision of sections 97B.601 to 97B.671 or 97B.901 to 97B.945 or a rule of the commissioner relating to fur-bearing animals.

Subd. 3.Predator control payments.

The commissioner shall pay a predator controller the amount the commissioner prescribes for each predator taken. The commissioner shall pay at least $25 but not more than $60 for each coyote taken. The commissioner may require the predator controller to submit proof of the taking and a signed statement concerning the predators taken.

Subd. 4.Gray wolf control.

(a) The commissioner shall provide a gray wolf control training program for certified predator controllers participating in gray wolf control.

(b) After the gray wolf is delisted under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, in zone B, as defined under section 97B.645, subdivision 12, if the commissioner, after considering recommendations from an extension agent or conservation officer, has verified that livestock, domestic animals, or pets were destroyed by a gray wolf within the previous five years, and if the livestock, domestic animal, or pet owner requests gray wolf control, the commissioner shall open a predator control area for gray wolves.

(c) After the gray wolf is delisted under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, in zone A, as defined under paragraph (g), if the commissioner, after considering recommendations from an extension agent or conservation officer, verifies that livestock, domestic animals, or pets were destroyed by a gray wolf, and if the livestock, domestic animal, or pet owner requests gray wolf control, the commissioner shall open a predator control area for gray wolves for up to 60 days.

(d) A predator control area opened for gray wolves may not exceed a one-mile radius surrounding the damage site.

(e) The commissioner shall pay a certified gray wolf predator controller $150 for each wolf taken. The certified gray wolf predator controller must dispose of unsalvageable remains as directed by the commissioner. All salvageable gray wolf remains must be surrendered to the commissioner.

(f) The commissioner may, in consultation with the commissioner of agriculture, develop a cooperative agreement for gray wolf control activities with the United States Department of Agriculture. The cooperative agreement activities may include, but not be limited to, gray wolf control, training for state predator controllers, and control monitoring and record keeping.

(g) For the purposes of this subdivision, "zone A" means that portion of the state lying outside of zone B, as defined under section 97B.645, subdivision 12.

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes