The bill amends Section 20-16-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-16 entitled "Furbearing Animals" to update the legal protections for furbearing mammals in the state. The amendment includes an insertion that mandates the department of environmental management to promulgate, by rule, a list of "furbearers" for the purpose of this chapter. This change indicates that the department will have the authority to define which animals are considered furbearers and therefore protected under the law.

Additionally, the bill includes deletions of the specific list of animals previously considered furbearers, including various families and genera of carnivores, rodents, marsupials, rabbits, and hares. This suggests that the previous list will be replaced by the new list to be defined by the department of environmental management. The act will take effect immediately upon passage, with the exception of Section 2, which will take effect on January 15, 2025. The purpose of the act is to allow the department to update and manage the list of protected furbearing animals through its own regulations.

Statutes affected:
7562  SUB A: 20-16-1
7562: 20-16-1