H. B. 2715
(By Delegate Michael)
[Introduced February 24, 1995; referred to the
Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section five, article two, chapter
twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to prohibiting
baiting wildlife.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five, article two, chapter twenty of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-5. Unlawful methods of hunting and fishing and other
unlawful acts.
Except as authorized by the director, it is unlawful at any
time for any person to:
(1) Shoot at or to shoot any wild bird or animal unless it
is plainly visible to him;
(2) Dig out, cut out or smoke out, or in any manner take or
attempt to take, any live wild animal or wild bird out of its den
or place of refuge, except as may be authorized by regulations
promulgated by the director or by law;
(3) Make use of, or take advantage of, any artificial light
in hunting, locating, attracting, taking, trapping or killing any
wild bird or wild animal, or to attempt to do so, while having in
his possession or subject to his control, or for any person
accompanying him to have in his possession or subject to his
control, any firearm, whether cased or uncased, bow, arrow, or
both, or other implement or device suitable for taking, killing
or trapping a wild bird or animal: Provided, That it shall not
be unlawful to hunt or take raccoon, opossum or skunk by the use
of artificial lights. No person shall be guilty of a violation of this subdivision merely because he looks for, looks at,
attracts or makes motionless a wild bird or wild animal with or
by the use of an artificial light, unless at such time he has in
his possession a firearm, whether cased or uncased, bow, arrow,
or both, or other implement or device suitable for taking,
killing or trapping a wild bird or wild animal, or unless such
artificial light (other than the head lamps of an automobile or
other land conveyance) is attached to, a part of, or used from
within or upon an automobile or other land conveyance.
Any person violating the provisions of this subdivision
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof,
shall for each offense be fined not less than one hundred dollars
nor more than five hundred dollars and shall be imprisoned in the
county jail for not less than ten days nor more than one hundred
days;
(4) Hunt for, take, kill, or attempt to do so, any wildlife
from bait. A baited site is any area where grain, feed, bait,
salt, meat scraps, meat bones or any other materials have been placed, deposited, dumped or scattered which would lure, attract
or entice wildlife to the site. Further, it is unlawful to
place, deposit, dump or scatter any feed or bait for wildlife
during a period of fourteen days prior to the opening of the
respective hunting season until seven days after the close of
hunting season;
(4) (5) Hunt for, take, kill, wound or shoot at wild animals
or wild birds from an airplane, or other airborne conveyance, an
automobile, or other land conveyance, or from a motor-driven
water conveyance, except as may be authorized by regulations
promulgated by the director;
(5) (6) Take any beaver or muskrat by any means other than
by trap;
(6) (7) Catch, capture, take or kill by seine, net, bait,
trap or snare or like device of any kind, any wild turkey, ruffed
grouse, pheasant or quail;
(7) (8) Destroy or attempt to destroy needlessly or
willfully the nest or eggs of any wild bird or have in his possession such nest or eggs unless authorized to do so under
regulations or under a permit by the director;
(8) (9) Except as provided in section six of this article,
carry an uncased or loaded gun in any of the woods of this state
except during the open firearms hunting season for wild animals
and nonmigratory wild birds within any county of the state,
unless he has in his possession a permit in writing issued to him
by the director: Provided, That this section shall not prohibit
hunting or taking of unprotected species of wild animals and wild
birds and migratory wild birds, during the open season, in the
open fields, open water and open marshes of the state;
(9) (10) Except as provided in subdivision (11) below or in
section six of this article, carry an uncased or loaded gun after
the hour of five o'clock antemeridian on Sunday in any woods or
on any highway, railroad right-of-way, public road, field or
stream of this state, except at a regularly used rifle, pistol,
skeet, target or trapshooting ground or range;
(10) (11) Have in his possession a loaded firearm or a firearm from the magazine of which all shells and cartridges have
not been removed, in or on any vehicle or conveyance, or its
attachments, within the state, except as may otherwise be
provided by law or regulation. Except as hereinafter provided,
between five o'clock postmeridian of one day and seven o'clock
antemeridian, eastern standard time of the day following, any
unloaded firearm, being lawfully carried in accordance with the
foregoing provisions, shall be so carried only when in a case or
taken apart and securely wrapped. During the period from the
first day of July to the thirtieth day of September, inclusive,
of each year, the foregoing requirements relative to carrying
certain unloaded firearms shall be permissible only from
eight-thirty o'clock postmeridian to five o'clock antemeridian,
eastern standard time;
(11) (12) Hunt, catch, take, kill, trap, injure or pursue
with firearms or other implement by which wildlife may be taken
after the hour of five o'clock antemeridian on Sunday any wild
animals or wild birds: Provided, That traps previously and legally set may be tended after the hour of five o'clock
antemeridian on Sunday, and the person so doing may carry only a
twenty-two caliber firearm for the purpose of humanely
dispatching trapped animals;
(12) (13) Hunt with firearms or long bow while under the
influence of intoxicating liquor;
(13) (14) Hunt, catch, take, kill, injure or pursue a wild
animal or bird with the use of a ferret;
(14) (15) Buy raw furs, pelts or skins of fur-bearing
animals unless licensed to do so;
(15) (16) Catch, take, kill or attempt to catch, take or
kill any fish at any time by any means other than by rod, line
and hooks with natural or artificial lures unless otherwise
authorized by law or regulation issued by the director:
Provided, That snaring of any species of suckers, carp, fallfish
and creek chubs shall at all times be lawful;
(16) (17) Employ or hire, or induce or persuade, by the use
of money or other things of value, or by any means, any person to hunt, take, catch or kill any wild animal or wild bird except
those species on which there is no closed season, or to fish for,
catch, take or kill any fish, amphibian or aquatic life which is
protected by the provisions of this chapter or regulations of the
director, or the sale of which is prohibited;
(17) (18) Hunt, catch, take, kill, capture, pursue,
transport, possess or use any migratory game or nongame birds
included in the terms of conventions between the United States
and Great Britain and between the United States and United
Mexican States for the protection of migratory birds and wild
mammals concluded, respectively, the sixteenth day of August, one
thousand nine hundred sixteen, and the seventh day of February,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-six, except during the time and
in the manner and numbers prescribed by the Federal Migratory
Bird Treaty Act and regulations made thereunder;
(18) (19) Kill, take, catch or have in his possession,
living or dead, any wild bird, other than a game bird; or expose
for sale, or transport within or without the state any such bird, except as aforesaid. No part of the plumage, skin or body of any
protected bird shall be sold or had in possession for sale,
except mounted or stuffed plumage, skin, bodies or heads of such
birds legally taken and stuffed or mounted, irrespective of
whether such bird was captured within or without this state,
except the English or European sparrow (Passer domesticus),
starling (Sturnus vulgaris), crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and
cowbird (Molothrus ater), which shall not be protected and the
killing thereof at any time is lawful;
(19) (20) Use dynamite or any like explosive or poisonous
mixture placed in any waters of the state for the purpose of
killing or taking fish. Any person violating the provisions of
this subdivision shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five hundred
dollars or imprisoned for not less than six months nor more than
three years, or both fined and imprisoned;
(20) (21) Have a bow and gun, or have a gun and any arrow or
arrows, in the fields or woods at the same time;
(21) (22) Have a crossbow in the woods or fields or use a
crossbow to hunt for, take or attempt to take any wildlife;
(22) (23) Take or attempt to take turkey, bear, elk or deer
with any arrow unless the same is equipped with a point having at
least two sharp cutting edges measuring in excess of three
fourths of an inch wide;
(23) (24) Take or attempt to take any wildlife with an arrow
having an explosive head or shaft, a poisoned arrow or an arrow
which would affect wildlife by any chemical action;
(24) (25) Shoot an arrow across any public highway or from
aircraft, motor-driven watercraft, motor vehicle or other land
conveyance;
(25) (26) Permit any dog owned by him or under his control
to chase, pursue or follow upon the track of any wild animal or
wild bird, either day or night, between the first day of May and
the fifteenth day of August next following: Provided, That dogs
may be trained on wild animals and wild birds, except deer and
wild turkeys, and field trials may be held or conducted on the grounds or lands of the owner or by his bona fide tenant or
tenants or upon the grounds or lands of another person with his
written permission or on public lands, at any time: Provided,
however, That notwithstanding any of the above provisions, no
person may train a dog in any county, or portion thereof, in
which a legal bear hunting season has been established prior to
the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight,
except that residents may train dogs in such counties after the
twenty-fourth day of August through the end of the legal small
game hunting season: Provided further, That nonresidents shall
not train dogs in this state at any time except during the legal
small game hunting season: And provided further, That the person
training said dogs does not have firearms or other implements in
his possession during the closed season on such wild animals and
wild birds, whereby wild animals or wild birds could be taken or
killed;
(26) (27) Conduct or participate in a field trial,
shoot-to-retrieve field trial, water race or wild hunt hereafter referred to as trial: Provided, That any person, group of
persons, club or organization may hold such trial at any time of
the year upon obtaining such permit as is provided for in section
fifty-six of this article. The person responsible for obtaining
said permit shall prepare and keep an accurate record of the
names and addresses of all persons participating in said trial,
and make same readily available for inspection by any
conservation officer upon request; and
(27) (28) Except as provided in section four of this
article, hunt, catch, take, kill or attempt to hunt, catch, take
or kill any wild animal, wild bird or wild fowl except during the
open season established by regulation of the director as
authorized by subdivision (6), section seven, article one of this
chapter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make illegal baiting
wildlife for subsequent hunting.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.