§ 106-763.1. Propagation and production of American alligators. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 106‑763.1. Propagation and production of American alligators.

(a)        License Required. – A person who intends to raise Americanalligators commercially must first obtain an Aquaculture Propagation andProduction Facility License from the Department. The Board of Agriculture mayregulate a facility that raises American alligators to the same extent that itcan regulate any other facility licensed under this Article.

(b)        Requirements. – A facility that raises American alligatorscommercially must comply with all of the following requirements:

(1)        Before a facility begins operation, it must prepare andimplement a confinement plan. After a facility begins operation, it must adhereto the confinement plan. A confinement plan must comply with guidelinesdeveloped and adopted by the Wildlife Resources Commission. The Department mayinspect a facility to determine if the facility is complying with theconfinement plan. As used in this subdivision, "confinement" includesproduction within a building or similar structure and a perimeter fence.

(2)        A facility can possess only hatchlings that have beenpermanently tagged and have an export permit from their state of origin. Thefacility must keep records of all hatchlings it receives and must make theserecords available for inspection by the Wildlife Resources Commission and theDepartment upon request.

(3)        If the facility uses swine, poultry, or other livestock forfeed, it must have a disease management plan that has been approved by theState Veterinarian, and it must comply with the plan.

(4)        The activities of the facility must comply with theEndangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in EndangeredSpecies. The Department is the State agency responsible for the administrationof this program for farm‑raised alligators.

(c)        Sanctions. – The operator of a facility that possesses anuntagged or undocumented alligator commits a Class H felony if the operatorknows the alligator is untagged or undocumented. Conviction of an operator of afacility under this section revokes the license of the facility for five yearsbeginning on the date of the conviction. An operator convicted under thissection may not be the operator of any other facility required to be licensedunder this Article for five years beginning on the date of the conviction. (1997‑198, s. 2.)