Existing law prohibits any person from causing any edible portion of any game mammal, game fish, game amphibian and certain game birds from going to waste. (NRS 503.050) A person who violates this prohibition is: (1) guilty of a misdemeanor, which is punished by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $500, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 6 months, or by both fine and imprisonment; and (2) liable for certain civil penalties. (NRS 501.385, 501.3855) In addition, the Board of Wildlife Commissioners is authorized under existing law to revoke any license issued by the Department of Wildlife to any person convicted of violating this prohibition and may refuse to issue any new license to the convicted person for up to 5 years after the date of the conviction. (NRS 501.388) Existing regulations interpret the term “edible portion” in existing law to mean certain identified edible parts of a game mammal, game fish, certain game birds and a big game mammal, except for a mountain lion and black bear. (NAC 503.0047) Section 1 of this bill specifies that this prohibition applies to any big game mammal and provides a definition of that term, which includes a mountain lion and black bear. Thus, section 1 clarifies that the prohibition applies to causing any edible portion of a mountain lion or black bear from going to waste. Subject to the same penalties, existing law also prohibits any person from capturing or destroying any game mammal, except a carnivore, and detaching or removing from the carcass the head, hide, antlers, horns or tusks only and leaving the carcass to waste. (NRS 501.385, 501.3855, 501.388, 503.050) Section 1 eliminates the exception from this prohibition for a carnivore, thus making the prohibition apply with respect to any game mammal, and specifies that a game mammal includes a big game mammal, as defined in that section. Section 2 of this bill requires the Board of Wildlife Commissioners, on or before July 1, 2026, to adopt such regulations as are necessary to carry out the provisions of section 1.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 503.050
Reprint 1: 503.050
BDR: 503.050