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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
veterinary
medical examining board; continuation
(NOW: salt river horse herd)
As passed by the Senate, S.B. 1199 continued the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board for eight years.
The House of Representatives adopted a strike-everything amendment that does the following:
Purpose
An emergency measure that prescribes requirements relating to the Salt River horse herd and allows the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) or the county sheriff, if outlined conditions exist, to remove and transfer an unidentified horse to a private entity that has a valid agreement with Arizona to address issues relating to the Salt River horse herd and to adopt out the unidentified horse through an adoption contract. Prescribes requirements for agreements between the AZDA and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and private entities relating to the Salt River horse herd.
Background
A person may not harass, shoot, injure, kill or slaughter a horse that is part of the Salt River horse herd or interfere with, take, chase, capture or euthanize a horse that is part of the Salt River horse herd without written authorization from either the AZDA or the county sheriff for humane purposes. Arizona must enter into an agreement with the USFS to address any issue relating to the Salt River horse herd. If an incident occurs that requires interaction with the Salt River horse herd in order to protect the safety or health of a horse that is, or horses that are, part of the Salt River horse herd or the public, a private or public entity may address the incident after obtaining written authorization from either the AZDA or the county sheriff.
Salt River horse herd includes the horses that inhabit and that have historically lived in and around the lower Salt River and Saguaro Lake areas in the Tonto National Forest and that do not have a brand or other mark that indicates ownership (A.R.S. § 3-1491).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Allows the AZDA or the county sheriff, if the AZDA cannot prove ownership of a horse and the horse is not identified as part of the Salt River horse herd, to remove and transfer the unidentified horse to a private entity that has a valid agreement with Arizona to address issues relating to the Salt River horse herd and to adopt out the unidentified horse through an adoption contract.
2. Requires the state, when entering into an agreement with a private entity to address any issue relating to the Salt River horse herd, to give preference to an entity that has a proven record and experience addressing issues relating to the Salt River horse herd.
3. Requires the AZDA to post the statutorily prescribed agreement with the USFS and the outlined agreement with a private entity relating to the Salt River horse herd on its website.
4. Requires the AZDA to maintain a genetically viable Salt River horse herd consistent with genetic viability standards and peer reviewed studies as they evolve and become available.
5. Requires the AZDA to make publicly available on its website all genetic assessment data and all corresponding scientific studies on which the assessment relies.
6. Deems that a person that interferes with, takes, chases, captures or euthanizes a Salt River horse without written authorization from the AZDA or a county sheriff is guilty of a petty offense.
7. Requires the AZDA to contract for an independent genetic assessment of the Salt River horse herd.
8. Requires the genetic testing to employ generally accepted genetic analysis methodologies that include measures of effective population size, allelic diversity and inbreeding coefficients.
9. Requires the AZDA to award the contract for genetic testing consistent with the statutorily prescribed competitive bidding process with preference given to providers with a demonstrated expertise in equine genetics.
10. Prohibits a person from intentionally harassing, shooting, injuring, killing or slaughtering a horse that is, or was, part of the Salt River horse herd.
11. Prohibits a private entity that has entered into a contract with Arizona to address any issues relating to the Salt River horse herd from:
a) removing any Salt River horse if the herd maintains a negative growth rate unless removal is necessary to prevent or alleviate the suffering of an individually assessed horse and not for population control; or
b) employing fertility control and population control measures other than nonhormonal fertility control vaccines that preserve the mare's natural reproductive cycle and natural behavior.
12. Prohibits the AZDA from entering into any new agreement with a private entity to address any issue relating to the Salt River horse herd that includes an obligation to remove Salt River horses from the herd.
13. Specifies that the outlined requirement relating to Salt River horses does not impair any obligations that Arizona incurred through an agreement between Arizona and the USFS before the effective date of this act.
14. Contains statements of legislative findings.
15. Defines interfere with as:
a) approaching a Salt River horse at a distance of less than 50 feet while a Salt River horse is present; or
b) approaching an authorized Salt River horse herd feeding station at a distance of less than 50 feet.
16. Defines Salt River horse herd.
17. Makes conforming changes.
18. Becomes effective on signature of the Governor, if the emergency clause is enacted.
Amendments Adopted by the House of Representatives
· Adopted the strike-everything amendment relating to Salt River horses.
House Action
LARA 3/23/26 DPA/SE 5-3-0-0
3rd Read 6/9/26 43-10-6-1
Prepared by Senate Research
June 10, 2026
SB/hk