Protects canids by requiring animals which could be coyotes or wolves be submitted for a DNA test and, when determined to be coyotes or wolves, requiring the department take action to protect coyotes and wolves from being taken in the future.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5402
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN-SIGAL, FERNANDEZ, HARCKHAM, JACKSON,
KAVANAGH, MARTINEZ, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and
when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conser-
vation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
protecting wolves
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a
2 new section 11-0541 to read as follows:
3 § 11-0541. Protection of wolves.
4 1. All wild canids taken in the state shall be checked and tagged in a
5 manner to be determined by the department. For purposes of this section,
6 "wild canids" shall mean coyotes and wolves, including canids that when
7 taken were thought to be coyotes but which subsequent DNA analysis
8 revealed to be wolves.
9 2. Wild canids that are taken, and wild canids accidentally killed by
10 other means such as motor vehicle collision and provided to the depart-
11 ment, that have a weight greater than fifty pounds or that meet addi-
12 tional criteria established by the department shall be subjected to a
13 DNA analysis, paid for by the department, to determine the genetic
14 composition of the animal. Such analysis shall be conducted by a
15 reputable laboratory that has prior experience genotyping hybridized
16 Canis populations in the eastern United States. The results of any anal-
17 ysis performed shall promptly be provided to the public by posting on
18 the department's website.
19 3. In the event that the department determines, based on DNA analysis
20 or other scientific method, that a wild canid taken or found in the
21 state is a wolf, the department shall determine the location where the
22 wolf was taken or found. In the event the department determines that
23 there is reasonable likelihood that there may be one or more additional
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01452-02-5
S. 5402 2
1 wolves in the vicinity where the wolf was taken or found, it may take or
2 institute such measures consistent with its existing authority that it
3 deems necessary to ensure the protection of such additional wolf or
4 wolves.
5 4. No later than January first three years after the effective date of
6 this section, and every six years thereafter, the department shall
7 submit to the legislature a report on the status of wolves in the state,
8 based on data collected by or submitted to the department and such other
9 methods as determined appropriate by the department. The status report
10 shall be simultaneously posted on the department's website.
11 5. The department shall modify its hunting and trapping training
12 curriculum to include educational information concerning the presence of
13 wolves in the state, the legal protections for wolves, the checking and
14 tagging requirements for wild canids, and how to distinguish a wolf from
15 a coyote when a hunter or trapper is in the field.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
