COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 107
(By Senators Love, Dempsey, Lanham, Barnes and Yoder)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported March 4, 2005.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §20-2-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to hunting with dogs; providing
that persons are not trespassing or hunting without permission
when dog pursues an animal or fowl onto another person's land;
and prohibiting hunting or damaging land while retrieving dog.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §20-2-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, 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.
(a) It shall be is 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 trees or timber, build fires or do
any other act or thing thereon in connection with or auxiliary to
shooting, hunting, fishing or trapping on such lands without written permission in writing in his or her possession from the
owner, tenant or agent of such the owner. and every person
hunting, fishing, shooting or fowling upon such lands shall have in
his possession such written permission when so doing.
(b) Any person who hunts, traps or fishes on land for the
purpose of, or while hunting, trapping or fishing, shall, without
the permission of the owner, tenant or agent of the owner is guilty
of a misdemeanor and liable to the owner or person suffering damage
for all costs and damages for: enter: upon the land of another and
while thereon shall kill (1) Killing or injuring injure any
domestic animal or fowl, or shall cut, destroy fowl; (2) cutting,
destroying or damage damaging any bars, gates or fence or any part
thereof, or shall of the property; or leave (3) leaving 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 property.
It shall be lawful for the (c) The owner, lessee or the person
entitled to the possession of such lands, or the agent thereof, to
tenant or agent of the owner may arrest any such a person found
violating this section and immediately take him or her before a
justice of the peace for trial, and such magistrate. The owner,
lessee, person or agent tenant or agent of the owner 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 tenant or agent of
the owner, but not otherwise.
(d) The provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section
related to criminal penalties and being subject to arrest are
inapplicable to a person whose dog, without the person's direction
or encouragement, travels onto the fenced, enclosed or posted land
of another in pursuit of an animal or wild bird. No person
entering the lands of another to retrieve a dog may take game from
the land, kill domestic animals or fowl or cause other damage to or
on the fenced, enclosed or posted land.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that a person
is not guilty of trespassing or hunting without permission merely
because the person's dog pursues an animal or wild bird onto
another person's private or leased land.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)