Ariz. Admin. Code § 12-4-127

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 41, October 11, 2024

Section R12-4-127 - Civil Liability for Loss of Wildlife

A. In order to compensate the state for the value of lost or injured wildlife, the Commission may, pursuant to A.R.S. § 17-314, impose a civil penalty against any person for unlawfully taking, wounding, killing or possessing wildlife. Any civil penalties so imposed shall be equal to or greater than the applicable statutory-minimum sums found in A.R.S. § 17-314(A). The Commission may impose a civil penalty above the statutory-minimum sums where it has determined that the value of the lost or injured wildlife exceeds the statutory-minimum sums.

B. The Commission shall annually establish the value of lost or injured wildlife using objective and measurable economic criteria. When doing so, the Commission may consider objective economic criteria recommended by the Department or any other person.

C. The Department shall recommend the value of lost or injured wildlife to the Commission by aggregating the following objective and measurable economic factors:

1. The average dollar amount spent by an individual hunter in pursuit of the same species. This amount shall be calculated using information from the most recent National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and measures hunting and fishing expenditures, in combination with hunter harvest data gathered by the Department. This information shall be available on the Department's website.

2. The average dollar amount spent by an individual in an effort to view wildlife. This amount shall be calculated using information from the most recent National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and measures wildlife viewing expenditures, in combination with hunter harvest data gathered by the Department. This information shall be available on the Department's website.

3. The average body weight in pounds of meat for the unlawfully taken or possessed species multiplied by the average price per pound of ground meat for that same species or a similar species. Average body weight in pounds of meat shall be calculated using the average body weight for the wildlife taken, minus 30% of the average weight to account for the weight of the head, hide, offal, and bone.

4. When new data is not available, the Department may use Consumer Price Index (CPI) calculations to update the above factors in terms of U.S. dollars.

D. The most recent wildlife values established by the Commission shall be available on the Department's website.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R12-4-127

Adopted by final rulemaking at 27 A.A.R. 283, effective 7/1/2021.