SENATE, No. 1511

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 19, 1996

 

 

By Senator BASSANO

 

 

An Act concerning the monitoring and control of rabies in wildlife, supplementing Title 23 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1. The Department of Environmental Protection, in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of Agriculture and Health, shall establish a program for the monitoring and control of rabies in wildlife that shall include, but shall not be limited to, the distribution of oral vaccine baits throughout the State. In designing and implementing the program, the Department of Environmental Protection shall also consult with the Oral Vaccine Rabies Committee, the governing bodies of municipalities and counties in the State, and persons and organizations involved with the protection and proper care of animals, including, but not limited to, the certified animal control officers in the State, the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Humane Society of the United States. The program established by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to this act shall comply with all State and federal laws and regulations governing the testing and use of oral vaccines on animals in the wild.

 

    2. The Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Health, may adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act, P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), any rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of this act.

 

    3. There is hereby appropriated from the General Fund the sum of $98,000 to the Department of Environmental Protection to implement the provisions of this act.

 

    4. This act shall take effect immediately.


STATEMENT

 

    This bill directs the Department of Environmental Protection, in consultation and in cooperation with the Departments of Agriculture and Health, to establish a program for the monitoring and control of rabies in wildlife. This program would include the distribution of oral vaccine baits throughout the State.

    The Oral Vaccine Rabies Committee, a group of representatives from the Departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection, and Health, and local officials active in the areas of animal population control and public health, has been working on the problem of controlling rabies in wildlife, such as raccoons and skunks, for several years, and has been active in getting the needed vaccine tested.

 

 

                             

 

Establishes program for the monitoring and control of rabies in wildlife.