Senate Bill No. 397
(By Senator Dittmar)
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[Introduced March 20, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section seven, article two, chapter
twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to natural
resources; wildlife resources; hunting, trapping or fishing
on lands of another; damages and compensation; and
misdemeanor offenses, damages and penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section seven, 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.
§20-2-7. Hunting, trapping or fishing on lands of another;
damages and compensation.
It shall be unlawful for any person to shoot, hunt, fish or
trap upon the fenced, enclosed or posted grounds or lands of another person or to peel or damage trees or timber, build fires,
construct permanent tree stands or do any other act or thing
thereon in connection with or auxiliary to shooting, hunting,
fishing or trapping on such lands without permission in writing
from the owner, tenant or agent of such owner, and every person
hunting, fishing, shooting or fowling upon such lands shall have
in his possession such written permission when so doing.
Any person who, for the purpose of, or while hunting,
trapping or fishing, shall, without the permission of the owner,
tenant or agent of the owner, enter upon the land of another and
while thereon shall kill or injure any domestic animal or fowl,
or shall cut, destroy or damage any bars, gates or fence, or any
part thereof, or shall leave open any bars or gates thereon
resulting in damage to the owner or occupant thereof, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and in addition shall be liable to the
owner or person suffering such damage for all costs and damages
resulting therefrom.
It shall be lawful for the owner, lessee or the person
entitled to the possession of such lands, or the agent thereof,
to arrest any such person found violating this section and
immediately take him before a justice of the peace magistrate for
trial, and such the owner, lessee, person or agent is hereby
vested with all the powers and rights of a game protector
conservation officer for such these purposes. The officers
charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall have the duty to enforce the provisions of this section if
requested to do so by such the owner, lessee, person or agent,
but not otherwise.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make it a
misdemeanor offense for a person hunting or fishing to damage
trees or construct permanent tree stands on the lands of another
person.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.)