TITLE 21 AGRICULTURE
AND RANCHING
CHAPTER 30 ANIMALS
AND ANIMAL INDUSTRY GENERAL PROVISIONS
PART 5 HORSE
RESCUE OR RETIREMENT FACILITIES
21.30.5.1 ISSUING
AGENCY: New Mexico Livestock Board.
[21.30.5.1
NMAC - N, 7-15-05; A, 07/15/14]
21.30.5.2 SCOPE:
All premises that promote themselves as a horse rescue or retirement
facility, including a private preserve or private reserve, and that advertises
or solicits for horses and provides lifelong care or finds new owners for
horses that are unwanted or have been neglected or abused or captured wild
horses that cannot be returned to their range.
[21.30.5.2
NMAC - N, 7-15-05]
21.30.5.3 STATUTORY
AUTHORITY: Section 77-2-7, A. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12, NMSA
1978.
[21.30.5.3
NMAC - N, 7-15-05]
21.30.5.4 DURATION:
Permanent.
[21.30.5.4
NMAC - N, 7-15-05]
21.30.5.5 EFFECTIVE
DATE: July 15, 2005, unless a later date is cited
at the end of a section.
[21.30.5.5
NMAC - N, 7-15-05]
21.30.5.6 OBJECTIVE:
To establish rules governing the registration, operation, licensing and
collection of fees of facilities operating as horse rescue or retirement
facilities.
[21.30.5.6
NMAC - N, 7-15-05]
21.30.5.7 DEFINITIONS:
A. “Agent”
means the executive director, deputy director, veterinarian, livestock
inspectors or employee of the board.
B. “American
association of equine practitioners” or AAEP, is an internationally recognized
authority on equine care composed of equine veterinarians.
C. “Board” means
the New Mexico livestock board.
D. “Facility” means
a horse rescue or retirement facility, including a private preserve or private
reserve, that advertises or solicits for horses and provides lifelong care or
finds new owners for horses that are unwanted or have been neglected or abused
or captured wild horses that cannot be returned to their range.
E. “Person” means
an individual, partnership, association or operation.
F. “Wild horses”
means feral horses. Feral horses are
horses existing in an untamed state having returned to a wild state from
domestication.
[21.30.5.7
NMAC - N, 7-15-05]
21.30.5.8 HORSE RESCUE OR RETIREMENT FACILITY
REGISTRATION:
A. The
board shall register facilities that meet the requirements of 21.30.5 NMAC. The board will follow the guidelines as
established by the American association of equine practitioners (AAEP), an
internationally recognized authority on equine care. Prior to registration, agents of the board
will inspect said premise for adherence to the AAEP prescribed standards of
care guidelines for equine rescue and retirement facilities, with the exception
of wild horse facilities. Wild horse
facilities will be inspected using the requirements set out in Subsection C of
21.30.5.10 NMAC.
(1) Any
person desiring to operate a horse rescue or retirement facility in New Mexico
shall file an application for registration with the board on such form(s) as
the board shall prescribe, which application shall be signed by the applicant. The form(s) will contain at the very minimum the
information as listed in the AAEP veterinary checklist for equine rescue and
retirement facilities and any other information the board shall prescribe. The form(s)
will be available at the board’s office or may be downloaded from the board’s
website (www.newmexicolivestockboard.com).
(2) Every
registration issued by the board to a horse rescue or retirement facility shall
expire one year from the date of issuance.
Renewal of such registration shall be made on renewal forms as
prescribed by the board.
(3) The board
shall provide an official registration document to registered facilities, and each
facility owner shall display that registration document in a prominent place
visible to the public.
(4) The
board may extend registrations for a portion of a calendar year, in order to
synchronize the periods of all registrations, so that the one year period of
issue coincides with the calendar year.
(5) A facility shall use only humane horsemanship training
methods.
(6) A
facility shall not exceed the number of horses allowed by any applicable state,
county, municipal, or zoning ordinances.
(7) A facility shall notify the board within fourteen (14) days of
the introduction of any new horse to the facility.
(8) Foals born to horses owned by the facility shall be considered
owned by the facility. Upon the birth of
a foal from a horse not owned by the facility, the facility shall notify the
board within fourteen (14) days, so the board can establish ownership.
B. The board shall
annually consult with representatives from the equine industry, equine rescue
organizations and veterinarians on facility standards.
[21.30.5.8
NMAC - N, 7-15-05; A, 07/15/14]
21.30.5.9 HORSE RESCUE OR RETIREMENT FACILITY REGISTRATION
FEES:
A. The initial inspection and registration fee
is two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) per facility.
B. The annual inspection and registration fee is
one hundred dollars ($100.00) per facility.
C. The re-inspection fee is one hundred dollars
($100.00) per facility.
[21.30.5.9
NMAC - N, 7-15-05; A, 07/15/14]
21.30.5.10 HORSE
RESCUE OR RETIREMENT FACILITIES, INSPECTIONS, RE-INSPECTION:
A. Prior to annual registration conducted in
January of each year, each facility will be inspected by agents of the board.
B. The board or its agents may enter the
premises of a facility to conduct unannounced inspections.
(1) The board or its agents may request, and the registrant must
provide, all records pertaining to ownership, transportation, feed and care for
all horses in the facility.
(2) Any violations of Chapters 30 or 77, NMSA 1978, or NMLB rule
violations, may be reason to revoke the facility’s registration.
C. Prior to annual
registration of wild horse facilities, each facility will be inspected by
agents of the board for adherence to standard of care guidelines in the
following areas:
(1) Environment, including access to water, forage, salt and
supplemental feeding with hay in winter;
(2) Veterinary care, including at least one annual visual check
per horse and all other care as needed in consultation with an experienced
veterinarian;
(3) Sanctuary maintenance, including proper fencing in accordance
with Sections 77-16-4 through 77-16-8, NMSA 1978.
(4) Policies regarding quarantine, euthanasia, reproduction and
emergencies specific to wild horses.
D. If, following an inspection, the board’s
agent determines that the facility does not meet the requirements as
established by the American association of equine practitioners or the
requirements for wild horse facilities established in Subsection C of
21.30.5.10 NMAC, the board’s agent shall give the registrant written notice of
the deficiencies on site. Within ten
(10) days, the registrant must submit to the agent performing the inspection a
written plan to remedy the deficiencies.
The registrant and agent will then determine a mutually agreeable timeframe
for the registrant to correct the deficiencies and schedule a re-inspection,
which must occur no later than one hundred twenty (120) days after the initial
inspection.
E. If the board
determines that the health or safety of the horses is at risk because of the
deficiencies, the board may authorize the removal of the horses.
F. The registrant shall remedy the deficiencies
and submit written evidence to the board demonstrating compliance with board
rules for the facility.
G. If on re-inspection the board determines that
the facility is still deficient in those areas for which it has been given
written notice, the horses may be impounded in accordance with the provisions
of Section 77-18-2 NMSA 1978, and the board shall hold a hearing as provided in
the Uniform Licensing Act to determine if the registration should be suspended
or revoked.
[21.30.5.10
NMAC - N, 7-15-05; A, 07/15/14]
HISTORY OF 21.30.5 NMAC:
[RESERVED]