(A) No wild animal hunting preserve shall be less than eighty acres in area. Each such preserve shall be in one continuous block of land, except that the block of land may be intersected by highways or roads. No wild animal hunting preserve shall be located within one thousand five hundred feet of another such preserve.

The boundaries of each wild animal hunting preserve shall be clearly defined by posting, at intervals of not more than four hundred feet, with signs prescribed by the division of wildlife. Each wild animal hunting preserve shall be surrounded by a fence at least eight feet in height, with a minimal deviation not to exceed four per cent, that is constructed of a woven wire mesh, or such other enclosure approved by the chief of the division of wildlife.

(B)

(1) Except as provided in divisions (B)(2) and (3) of this section, game and nonnative wildlife that have been approved by the chief for such use and that have been legally acquired or propagated under the authority of a propagating license issued under section 1533.71 of the Revised Code or propagated within the confines of a licensed wild animal hunting preserve may be released and hunted within the confines of the licensed wild animal hunting preserve between one-half hour before sunrise and one-half hour after sunset, without regard to sex, bag limit, or open season, by hunters authorized by the holder of the wild animal hunting preserve license to hunt on those lands. The chief shall establish, by rule, the allowable methods of taking game and nonnative wildlife in a wild animal hunting preserve.

(2) No game or nonnative wildlife on the federal endangered species list established in accordance with the "Endangered Species Act of 1973," 87 Stat. 884, 16 U.S.C.A. 1531, as amended, or the state endangered species list established in rules adopted under section 1531.25 of the Revised Code, no bears native to North America, and no large carnivores of the family Felidae shall be released for hunting or hunted in any wild animal hunting preserve in this state.

(3) No person shall release for hunting or hunt within a wild animal hunting preserve any game or nonnative wildlife not listed in the application for a license for that preserve.

(C) Unless otherwise specified by division rule, all game and nonnative wildlife released on a wild animal hunting preserve shall be identified with a tag that shall bear upon it a symbol identifying the preserve.

(D) No person shall remove living game or nonnative wildlife from a wild animal hunting preserve unless the game or nonnative wildlife are being transferred to another wild animal hunting preserve in accordance with rules adopted by the director of agriculture under section 943.24 of the Revised Code.

(E) The holder of a wild animal hunting preserve license shall keep a record of all animals that have been released into the preserve. The record shall include all of the following:

(1) The date on which each animal was released into the preserve;

(2) The number of each species of animals;

(3) The number of males and females of each species of animals;

(4) The name and address of each person from whom each animal was obtained.

The licensee shall record in a manner specified by the division the name and address of each person that takes any game or nonnative wildlife from the preserve. The licensee shall maintain those records for a period of two years and make them available for inspection by the division at all reasonable times in conjunction with an active criminal investigation.

(F) In addition to complying with the requirements established by division (E) of this section, the holder of a wild animal hunting preserve license who has captive white-tailed deer in the preserve shall keep a record of all known escapes of those deer, deaths of those deer that were not a result of hunting, and laboratory results for testing for chronic wasting disease of those deer that is required by section 943.21 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under section 943.24 of the Revised Code.

(G) For the purposes of division (B) of section 1533.02 of the Revised Code, the owner or operator of a wild animal hunting preserve shall furnish each person who takes any game or nonnative wildlife from the preserve a certificate bearing a description of the animal, the date the animal was taken, and the name of the preserve.

(H) The holder of a wild animal hunting preserve license prominently shall display the license at the place of business that is specified in the license.

(I) The chief shall adopt rules under section 1531.10 of the Revised Code that provide for the safety of the public and for the protection of the game and nonnative wildlife to be hunted in a wild animal hunting preserve prior to their release in the preserve.

(J) No holder of a wild animal hunting preserve license shall violate this chapter or Chapter 1531. of the Revised Code or any division rule.

(K) This section does not authorize the hunting of game birds in a licensed wild animal hunting preserve unless the licensee also possesses a valid commercial bird shooting preserve license issued under section 1533.72 of the Revised Code for the same land for which the wild animal hunting preserve license was issued.

(L) A person may hunt game and nonnative wildlife in a licensed wild animal hunting preserve without obtaining a hunting license otherwise required by section 1533.10 of the Revised Code or a deer permit otherwise required by section 1533.11 of the Revised Code.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.191, HB 420, §1, eff. 3/27/2013.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.89, HB 389, §1, eff. 6/29/2012.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2011.

Effective Date: 08-14-2002 .