OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL . STATE OF TEXAS 

JOHN CORNYN 

September 4,2002 

The Honorable Toby Goodman 

Chair, House Committee on Juvenile 

Justice and Family Issues 

Texas House of Representatives 

P.O. Box 2910 

Austin, Texas 78768-2910 

Opinion No. JC-0552 

Re: Whether a county is required to establish a 

certificate of registration program for dangerous 

wild animals, and related questions (RQ-0525JC) 

Dear Representative Goodman: 

You have requested our opinion regarding the duty of a commissioners court to register and 

regulate dangerous wild animals in accordance with the provisions of subchapter E of chapter 822 

of the Health and Safety Code.’ See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. $8 822.101-.116 (Vernon 

Supp. 2002). For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the commissioners court of every 

county that has not entirely prohibited the “ownership, possession, confinement, or care” of 

dangerous wild animals within its jurisdictionsee id. 8 822.116, is required to have adopted, no later 

than December 1, 2001, an order “necessary to implement and administer the certificate of 

registration program” established by subchapter E of chapter 822. See Act of Apr. 25,2001,77th 

Leg., R.S., ch. 54, 9 6(c), 2001 Tex. Gen. Laws 90, 96. A commissioners court may not exempt 

from the requirements of subchapter E any person or organization not specifically excepted under 

section 822.102(a). See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETYCODEANN. 4 822.102(a)(Vemon Supp. 2002). Any 

resident of the county may bring an action in mandamus in a district court of the county to compel 

the commissioners court to adopt the certificate of registration program. 

House Bill 1362, enacted by the Seventy-seventh Texas Legislature, amended chapter 822 

of the Health and Safety Code by adding subchapter E. See Act of Apr. 25,2001,77th Leg., R.S., 

ch. 54, 2001 Tex. Gen. Laws 90. Section 822.103 provides that “[a] person may not own, harbor, 

or have custody or control of a dangerous wild animal for any purpose unless the person holds a 

certificate of registration for that animal issued by an animal registration agency.” TEX. HEALTH & 

SAFETY CODE ANN. 5 822.103(a) (Vernon Supp. 2002). A dangerous wild animal is defined to 

include a lion, tiger, cougar, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, bobcat, lynx, serval, caracal, hyena, bear, 

coyote, jackal, gorilla, baboon, chimpanzee, an orangutan, and an ocelot, or any hybrid therefrom. 

See id. 5 822.101(4). “Animal registration agency” is defined as “the municipal or county animal 

‘See Letter from Honorable Toby Goodman, Chair, House Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues, 

Texas House of Representatives, to Honorable John Cornyn, Texas Attorney General (Mar. 18, 2002) (on file with 

Opinion Committee) [hereinafter Request Letter]. 
The Honorable Toby Goodman - Page 2 (JC-0552) 

control office with authority over the area where a dangerous wild animal is kept or a county sheriff 

in an area that does not have an animal control office.” Id. tj 822.101(l). 

Section 822.104 specifies the requirements for obtaining “an original or renewal certificate 

of registration for a dangerous wild animal,” including the particulars of the application. Id. tj 

822.104. Certain documents must accompany the application, such as proof of liability insurance, 

a color photograph of each animal being registered, a photograph and a statement of the dimensions 

of the primary enclosure in which each animal is to be kept as well as a scale diagram of the 

premises, and, if the applicant holds a dealer or exhibitor’s license issued by the United States 

Department of Agriculture, “a clear and legible photocopy of the license.” Id. 5 822.104(c). An 

application for renewal must include a statement signed by a licensed veterinarian to the effect that 

he or she has inspected the animal within thirty days of the date of filing the renewal application and 

“finds that the care and treatment of each animal by the owner meets or exceeds the standards 

prescribed under this subchapter.” Id. 6 822.104(d). A certificate of registration “is not transferrable 

and is valid for one year after its date of issuance or renewal unless revoked.” Id. 8 822.103(b). The 

statute permits the animal registration agency to charge a reasonable fee for the “application, 

issuance, and renewal of a certificate of registration,” not to exceed “$50 for each animal registered” 

and not to exceed “$500 for each person registering animals, regardless of the number of animals 

owned by the person.” Id. 0 822.103(c). 

Section 822.102 lists eleven exceptions to the applicability of subchapter E.* You first ask 

whether a county is required to register and regulate all dangerous wild animals kept within its 

*“This subchapter does not apply to: (1) a county, municipality, or [an] agency of the state or. . . of the United 

States or an agent or official of a county, municipality, or agency acting in an official capacity; (2) a research facility, 

as that term is defined by Section 2(e), Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2 132), and its subsequent amendments, 

that is licensed by the secretary of agriculture of the United States under that Act; (3) an organization that is an 

accredited member of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association; (4) an injured, infm, orphaned, or abandoned 

dangerous wild animal while being transported for care or treatment; (5) [or] . . . while being rehabilitated, treated, or 

cared for by a licensed veterinarian, an incorporated humane society or animal shelter, or a person who holds a 

rehabilitation permit issued under Subchapter C, Chapter 43, Parks and Wildlife Code; (6) a dangerous wild animal 

owned by and in the custody and control of a transient circus company that is not based in this state if: (A) the animal 

is used as an integral part of the circus performance; and (B) . . . is kept within this state only during the time the circus 

is performing in this state or for a period of time not to exceed 30 days while the circus is performing outside the United 

States; (7) a dangerous wild animal while in the temporary custody or control of a television or motion picture 

production company [that is] filming . . . in this state; (8) a dangerous wild animal owned by and in the possession, 

custody, or control of a college or university solely as a mascot. . . ; (9) a dangerous wild animal while being transported 

in interstate commerce through the state in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 213 1 et seq.) 

and its subsequent amendments and the regulations adopted under that Act; (10) a nonhuman primate owned by and 

in the control and custody of a person whose only business is supplying nonhuman primates directly and exclusively 

to biomedical research facilities and who holds a Class “A” or Class “B” dealer’s license issued by the secretary of 

agriculture of the United States under the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. Section 2 13 1 et seq.) and its subsequent 

amendments; and (11) a dangerous wild animal that is: (A) owned by or in the possession, control, or custody of a 

person who is a participant in a species survival plan of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association for that species; 

and (B) an integral part of that species survival plan.” TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. 9 822.102(a) (Vernon Supp. 

2002). 
The Honorable Toby Goodman - Page 3 (JC-0552) 

borders by anyone and under any circumstance other than those exempted under section 822.102. 

See Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1. 

On the one hand, subsection 822.116(b) of the Health and Safety Code permits a county by 

order to entirely prohibit “the ownership, possession, confinement, or care of a dangerous wild 

animal.” TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. 0 822.116(b) (V emon Supp. 2002). On the other hand, 

if a county opts not to bar absolutely the keeping of dangerous wild animals, section 6 of House Bill 

1362 provides that “[n]ot later than December 1,2001, each municipality and county shall adopt any 

ordinance or order necessary to implement and administer the certificate of registration program.” 

Act of Apr. 25,2001,77th Leg., R.S., ch. 54,§ 6(c), 2001 Tex. Gen. Laws 90,96 (emphasis added). 

Section 3 11 .016(2) of the Government Code declares that, “unless the context in which the word . 

. . appears necessarily requires a different construction or unless a different construction is expressly 

provided by statute . . . ‘[slhall’ imposes a duty.” TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. 5 3 11.016(2) (Vernon 

1998). Thus, a plain reading of House Bill 1362 requires a county, unless it has prohibited the 

keeping of dangerous wild animals within its jurisdiction, to have established a certificate of 

registration program by December 1, 2001. In fact, as we have noted, an “[alnimal registration 

agency” is defined as, inter alia, “a county sheriff in an area that does not have an animal control 

office.” TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. 5 822.101(l) (Vernon Supp. 2002). Although 

subsection 822.116(a) provides that “[tlhis subchapter does not affect the applicability of any other 

law, rule, order, ordinance, or other legal requirement of this state or a political subdivision of this 

state,” see id. 5 822.116(a), this provision may not be used by a corntnissioners court to ignore the 

clear directive of section 6 of House Bill 1362, which requires a county to implement and administer 

a certificate of registration program. See Act of Apr. 25,2001,77th Leg., R.S., ch. 54,§ 6(c), 2001 

Tex. Gen. Laws 90, 96. We conclude that every county that has not entirely prohibited the 

“ownership, possession, confinement, or care of a dangerous wild animal” within its jurisdiction is 

required, by December 1,2001, to have adopted an order “necessary to implement and administer 

the certificate of registration program” established by subchapter E, chapter 822 of the Health and 

Safety Code. See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. 4 822.116(b) (Vernon Supp. 2002); Act of Apr. 

25,2001,77th Leg., R.S., ch. 54, 6 6(c), 2001 Tex. Gen. Laws 90,96. 

You next ask whether a county may exempt from the requirements of subchapter E a person 

or organization other than those specifically exempted under section 822.102(a). See Request Letter, 

supra note 1, at 1. As we have indicated, section 822.102(a) lists eleven exceptions to the 

registration requirements of subchapter E. See supra, note 2. It is a well established rule of 

construction that where a statute contains express exceptions, no other exceptions may be implied. 

See State v. Richards, 301 S.W.2d 597,600 (Tex. 1957); R.R. Comm ‘n v. Olin Corp., 690 S.W.2d 

628, 631 (Tex. App.-Austin 1985, writ ref d n.r.e.) (“When there are specific exceptions in a 

statutory definition, no other exceptions are to be presumed.“). Thus, a county may not exempt from 

the requirements of subchapter E a person or organization not specifically exempted under section 

822.102(a). 

Finally, you ask who has standing to enforce the mandate of House Bill 1362, which directs 

a county to implement and administer a certificate of registration program, and what remedies are 

available to enforce that mandate. See Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1. As we have observed, 
The Honorable Toby Goodman - Page 4 (JC-0552) 

section 6(c) of House Bill 1362 imposes a duty on counties to create a certificate of registration 

program. In our view, the appropriate remedy in such a situation is mandamus. “There are three 

requisites for a mandamus: a legal duty to perform a nondiscretionary act, a demand for 

performance, and a refusal.” Doctors Hosp. Facilities v. Fifth Court ofAppeals, 750 S.W.2d 177, 

178 (Tex. 1988); see also In re Bailey, 975 S.W.2d 430, 432 (Tex. App.-Waco 1998, no pet.) 

(“Mandamus will issue when there is a legal duty to perform a nondiscretionary, ministerial act, a 

demand for performance of that act, and a refusal.“). Because, as we have determined, House Bill 

1362 requires a county to implement and administer a certificate of registration program, doing so 

is a “nondiscretionary, ministerial act.” 

A suit for mandamus must be prosecuted by a real party in interest. See Porth v. Currie, 6 13 

S.W.2d 534, 538 (Tex. Civ. App.-Tyler 1981, no writ). A “real party in interest” is one who can 

“show that he has a justiciable interest in the subject matter in litigation, either in his own right or 

in a representative capacity.” Id. A justiciable interest is manifest when there is “an actual 

controversy between parties who have conflicting personal stakes.” Hanna v. Godwin, 876 S.W.2d 

454,457 (Tex. App.-El Paso 1994, no writ). If a commissioners court has not complied with the 

directive of House Bill 1362 and is unwilling to do so, any resident of the county may have a 

justiciable interest in compelling that body to act. Original mandamus jurisdiction over county 

officials is vested in the district court in the “exercise of its general supervisory control over the 

orders of the commissioners court.” Vondy v. Comm ‘rs Court, 620 S.W.2d 104, 109 (Tex. 1981). 

We conclude that, where a commissioners court has not barred outright the keeping of dangerous 

wild animals within its jurisdiction, any resident of the county may bring an action in mandamus in 

a district court of the county to compel the commissioners court to implement and administer the 

certificate of registration program established by subchapter E of chapter 822 of the Health and 

Safety Code. 
The Honorable Toby Goodman - Page 5 (JC-0552) 

SUMMARY 

The commissioners court of every county that has not entirely 

prohibited the “ownership, possession, confinement, or care” of 

dangerous wild animals within its jurisdiction is required to have 

adopted, no later than December 1, 2001, an order “necessary to 

implement and administer the certificate of registration program” 

established by subchapter E of chapter 822 of the Texas Health and 

Safety Code. See Act of Apr. 25, 2001, 77th Leg., R.S., ch. 54, 5 

6(c), 2001 Tex. Gen. Laws 90’96; TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. 

0 822.116(b) (V emon Supp. 2002). A commissioners court may not 

exempt from the requirements of subchapter E any person or 

organization not specifically excepted under section 822.102(a). Any 

resident of the county may bring an action in mandamus in a district 

court of the county to compel the commissioners court to adopt the 

certificate of registration program. 

Your very truly, 

4 ( okJOHN CORNYN 

Attorney General of Texas 

HOWARD G. BALDWIN, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

NANCY FULLER 

Deputy Attorney General - General Counsel 

SUSAN DENMON GUSKY 

Chair, Opinion Committee 

Rick Gilpin 

Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee