BILL NUMBER: S6913A

SPONSOR: METZGER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act authorizing the feeding of white-tailed deer in Sullivan county

 
PURPOSE:

To allow for the feeding of white-tailed deer in Sullivan County during
winter months.

 
SUMMARY: OF PROVISION:

This bill amends unconsolidated law to allow for the feeding of white-
tailed deer from December 15th through January 15th of each year. Such
feeding shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision eight of
section 11-0505 of the environmental conservation law. This authori-
zation shall continue in existence until January 1, 2026 or until the
legislature determines, through legislative action, that the white-
tailed deer population in Sullivan County has increased in such an
              

amount as to warrant the removal of such authorization prior to January
1, 2026.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Section 11-0325 of the environmental conservation law allows the Depart-
ment of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Health, and the
Department of Agriculture and Markets to adopt measures or regulations
it may deem necessary to prevent the spread of disease.

Section 11-0505 of the environmental conservation law further prohibits
any person from placing or scattering any substance with the intent to
attract or entice deer to feed within three hundred feet of a public
highway. Current DEC regulations prohibit the intentional feeding of
white-tail deer anywhere in the state, with limited exceptions.

 
JUSTIFICATION:  Sullivan County is located in the Western Catskills
and is a highly rural county with a white-tailed deer population that
does not pose the kind of conflicts or problems associated with more
densely-populated suburban areas in other parts of the state. The
winters in the Catskills are harsh and food is scarce, potentially lead-
ing to a significant reduction in the deer population. In 2012, a Sulli-
van County court ruled that the then-existing prohibitions on feeding
deer were unenforceable, allowing for the feeding of deer within the
county. The current statewide feeding ban was imposed in New York by the
DEC without clear evidence of an imminent threat to the state's deer
population. Furthermore, such a ban applies to the entire state, and
allows for an approach tailored to the needs of each county.  Citizens
are being ticketed and pulled into court for feeding other animals or
birds which can attract deer to feed as well. Given the lack of a clear
and imminent threat to the deer population in Sullivan County, the
impossibility of controlling deer feeding or nesting patterns, and the
broad nature of the ban, the prohibition on feeding white-tailed deer is
overly restrictive in Sullivan County and should be modified to enable
residents to feed deer during the harsh winter months, when food is
scarce, if they so choose.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-2018:A.802 Passed Senate
2015-2016:A.802 referred to Environmental Conservation
2013-2014:A.1717 referred to Environmental Conservation
2011-2012:A.645 referred to Environmental Conservation
2009-2010:A.7103 referred to Environmental Conservation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.