§ 3315. Forfeiture
(a) Any livestock product or poultry product of any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased
livestock or poultry that is being transported in intrastate commerce, or is otherwise
subject to this chapter, or is held for sale in this State after transportation, and
that:
(1) is or has been prepared, sold, transported, or otherwise distributed or offered or
received for distribution in violation of this chapter, or the rules adopted under
it; or
(2) is capable of use as human food and is adulterated or misbranded; or
(3) in any other way is in violation of this chapter, shall be liable to be proceeded
against and seized and condemned, at any time, on a complaint in any Superior Court
as provided in section 3316 of this title. If the product or animal is condemned, it shall, after entry of the decree, be
disposed of by destruction or sale as the court may direct and the proceeds, if sold,
less the court costs and fees, and storage and other proper expenses, shall be paid
into the Treasury of this State. The product or animal shall not be sold contrary
to the provisions of this chapter, the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the federal Poultry
Products Inspection Act, or the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Upon the execution
and delivery of a good and sufficient bond guaranteeing that the product or animal
shall not be sold or otherwise disposed of contrary to the provisions of this chapter,
or the laws of the United States, the court may direct that the product or animal
be delivered to the owner subject to the supervision by authorized representatives
of the Secretary as is necessary to ensure compliance with the applicable laws. When
a decree of condemnation is entered against the product or animal and it is released
under bond, or destroyed, court costs and fees, and storage and other proper expenses,
shall be awarded against the person, if any, intervening as claimant of the product
or animal.
(b) The provisions of this section shall in no way impair authority for condemnation or
seizure conferred by other provisions of this chapter or other laws. (Added 1985, No. 226 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. June 2, 1986; amended 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 140, eff. July 1, 2022.)