Collapse to view only § 4770.5 - Criminal penalties.

§ 4770.1 - Prohibited acts.

The following acts are prohibited:

(a) Maliciously or negligently injuring or harassing a wild horse or burro;

(b) Removing or attempting to remove a wild horse or burro from the public lands without authorization from the authorized officer;

(c) Destroying a wild horse or burro without authorization from the authorized officer except as an act of mercy;

(d) Selling or attempting to sell, directly or indirectly, a wild horse or burro or its remains;

(e) Commercially exploiting a wild horse or burro;

(f) Treating a wild horse or burro inhumanely;

(g) Violating a term or condition of the Private Maintenance and Care Agreement;

(h) Branding a wild horse or burro;

(i) Removing or altering a freeze mark on a wild horse or burro;

(j) Violating an order, term, or condition established by the authorized officer under this part.

§ 4770.2 - Civil penalties.

(a) A permittee or lessee who has been convicted of any of the prohibited acts found in § 4770.1 of this title may be subject to suspension or cancellation of the permit or lease.

(b) An adopter's failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the Private Maintenance and Care Agreement may result in the cancellation of the agreement, repossession of wild horses and burros included in the agreement and disapproval of requests by the adopted for additional excess wild horses and burros.

§ 4770.3 - Administrative remedies.

(a) Any person who is adversely affected by a decision of the authorized officer in the administration of these regulations may file an appeal. Appeals and petitions for stay of a decision of the authorized officer must be filed within 30 days of receipt of the decision in accordance with 43 CFR part 4.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of § 4.21 of this title, the authorized officer may provide that decisions to cancel a Private Maintenance and Care Agreement shall be effective upon issuance or on a date established in the decision so as to allow repossession of wild horses or burros from adopters to protect the animals' welfare.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of § 4.21 of this title, the authorized officer may provide that decisions to remove wild horses or burros from public or private lands in situations where removal is required by applicable law or is necessary to preserve or maintain a thriving ecological balance and multiple use relationship shall be effective upon issuance or on a date established in the decision.

[59 FR 7643, Feb. 16, 1994]

§ 4770.4 - Arrest.

The Director of the Bureau of Land Management may authorize an employee who witnesses a violation of the Act or these regulations to arrest without warrant any person committing the violation, and to take the person immediately for examination or trial before an officer or court of competent jurisdiction. Any employee so authorized shall have power to execute any warrant or other process issued by an officer or court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the Act or these regulations.

§ 4770.5 - Criminal penalties.

Any person who commits any act prohibited in § 4770.1 of these regulations shall be subject to a fine of not more than $2,000 or imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both, for each violation. Any person so charged with such violation by the authorized officer may be tried and sentenced by a United States Commissioner or magistrate, designated for that purpose by the court by which he/she was appointed, in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as provided in 18 U.S.C. 3401.