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House Agriculture Committee passes bill letting counties add goats to predator-control petitions
Summary
The House Agriculture Committee voted to pass House Bill 7 67, which would allow county petition processes that fund predator control to include goats so goat owners can opt into local assessments. Proponents cited predator losses and said the measure is voluntary and requires local approval.
The House Agriculture Committee passed House Bill 7 67 on a voice vote after a brief hearing in which proponents said the measure would allow goat producers to opt into existing county predator-control assessments.
Representative Julie Darling of House District 84 introduced the bill, telling the committee it would revise county predator-control statutes to add goats and "seek additional sources for predator control funding" at the request of livestock producers. She asked the committee to pass the bill as written.
Proponents told the committee the change addresses a gap for goat owners. "In Montana, about 50 percent of all lamb losses are due to predation," said Michaels of the Montana Wool Growers Association, who testified the bulk of livestock predation in the state is caused by coyotes and that more than 10,000 sheep and lambs are killed annually, representing roughly $2,000,000 in losses in an average year. Michaels said producer-funded county petitions and per-capita fees, rather than broad state subsidies, pay for most predator-control work in many counties.
Karli Johnson of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation said the bill "simply allows goat producers to have the same ... privileges as cattle and sheep producers" and noted that adding goats to a county petition would require a local vote, with 51% of goat owners needing to approve the assessment.
Mike Hunnicutt, executive officer for the Department of Livestock, appeared as an informational witness and said the Department oversees the relevant predatory-animal-control statutes and would assist counties or producers with implementation or questions.
The committee moved to executive action. Vice Chair Minor moved that the bill "do pass." After Mr. Shirley read a summary of the measure, the committee took a voice vote. Representative Quacken and Representative Romano were recorded as voting aye by proxy; the chair announced that House Bill 7 67 had passed out of the House Agriculture Committee.
The hearing record indicates proponents emphasized that the bill does not impose a mandatory new tax on goat owners but instead grants goat producers the option to participate in county-level funding mechanisms that already exist for other livestock. No opponents appeared in person or online, and no committee questions were asked before the sponsor closed the hearing.
The committee adjourned after passage of the bill in executive action.
