An owner of livestock desiring to use in branding a brand not already recorded in the office of the board shall file with the director a facsimile of the desired brand. The owner may record the desired brands as holding brands upon livestock so owned upon furnishing to the director a full description as to the number, class and locality of all livestock branded with the holding brand. A recorded holding brand may be used also on a show animal. A fee shall be charged for the recording of a holding brand, which recording shall be valid for a period of one year or until the described livestock depart the state, whichever comes first. The recording may be renewed for additional years by the payment of a fee at each yearly renewal; provided that it is unlawful for the owner to brand the increase of such livestock in any other brand than the recorded brand of the owner except in the case of mortgaged livestock as provided in Section 77-9-14 NMSA 1978, as recompiled [77-2-7.7 NMSA 1978]. A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978 for each offense.

History: Laws 1912, ch. 55, § 2; Code 1915, § 138; Laws 1919, ch. 55, § 1; C.S. 1929, § 4-1424; 1941 Comp., § 49-915; 1953 Comp., § 47-9-14; Laws 1977, ch. 148, § 1; 1981, ch. 357, § 7; 1993, ch. 248, § 51; 1978 Comp., § 77-9-16, amended and recompiled as 1978 Comp., § 77-2-7.9 by Laws 1999, ch. 282, § 18.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

Laws 1999, ch. 282, § 16, recompiled former 77-9-14 NMSA 1978 as 77-2-7.7 NMSA 1978, effective July 1, 1999.

The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, recompiled this section which was formerly 77-9-16 NMSA 1978 and deleted "in an amount prescribed by law" following "A fee" in the fourth and fifth sentences; inserted "desired" preceding "brand" at the end of the first sentence; substituted "may record the desired brands" for "shall designate his kept-up or running brand and may record other brands" in the second sentence; inserted the third sentence; substituted "or until the described livestock depart the state, whichever comes first" for "after which time" at the end of the fourth sentence; in the next-to-last sentence, deleted "kept-up or running" preceding "brand", and inserted "as recompiled"; and substituted "sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978" for "confined in the county jail for a period not to exceed twelve months or fined an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500), or both" in the last sentence; and made stylistic changes throughout the section.

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, substituted "any cattle" for "neat cattle" in the first sentence; substituted "is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction" for "upon conviction thereof" in the final sentence; added "for each offense" at the end of the final sentence; and made minor stylistic changes.

The 1981 amendment substituted "the" for "such" preceding "brand" in the first sentence and, in the next-to-last sentence, substituted "in an amount prescribed by law" for "of fifty dollars ($50.00)" near the beginning and middle and "the" for "such" following "of" in the proviso clause and deleted "such" following "for any" in the proviso clause.

The 1977 amendment rewrote this section, substituting the New Mexico livestock board and its director for the cattle sanitary board and its secretary, adding the fee for recording holding brands, adding the provisions for renewal of recordings and making other minor changes.