H. B. 2069
(By Delegates Whitman, Ellis, Hendricks and Dempsey)
[Introduced February 10, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then the
Judiciary.]
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; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto two new sections, designated
sections five-c and forty-six-n, all relating to wildlife
resources; permitting hunting on Sunday; providing for a
special Sunday hunting stamp; and setting a fee for the
stamp.
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; and that article two of said
chapter be further amended by adding thereto two new sections,
designated sections five-c and forty-six-n, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-5. Unlawful methods of hunting and fishing.
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 orother 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, 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) Take any beaver or muskrat by any means other than by
trap;
(6) 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) 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) 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 hehas 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) Except as provided 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) (9) 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 July
first to September thirtieth, 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) Hunt, catch, take, kill, trap, injure or pursue withfirearms 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) (10) Hunt with firearms or long bow while under the
influence of intoxicating liquor;
(13) (11) Hunt, catch, take, kill, injure or pursue a wild
animal or bird with the use of a ferret;
(14) (12) Buy raw furs, pelts or skins of fur-bearing
animals unless licensed to do so;
(15) (13) Have in his possession or about his premises,
without the written permission of the director, any hunting or
fishing paraphernalia which cannot be used lawfully in this state
for hunting or fishing, and any conservation officer shall remove
and destroy such hunting and fishing paraphernalia, whenever
found in this state, and the person or persons claiming ownership
shall have no recourse at law against such confiscation and
destruction;
(16) (14) 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, fallfishand creek chubs shall at all times be lawful;
(17) (15) 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;
(18) (16) 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, August sixteen, one thousand
nine hundred sixteen, and February seven, 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;
(19) (17) 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;
(20) (18) 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;
(21) (19) Have a bow and gun, or have a gun and any arrow or
arrows, in the fields or woods at the same time;
(22) (20) Have a crossbow in the woods or fields or use a
crossbow to hunt for, take or attempt to take any wildlife;
(23) (21) 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;
(24) (22) 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;
(25) (23) Shoot an arrow across any public highway or from
aircraft, motor-driven watercraft, motor vehicle or other land
conveyance;
(26) (24) Permit any dog owned by him or under his controlto 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;
(27) (25) 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 ofthis 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
(28) (26) 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 six, section seven, article one of this
chapter.
§20-2-5c. Permitting hunting on Sundays.
It is lawful for any person, who has been issued and has in
his or her possession a Class SS stamp issued by the director of
the division of natural resources, to hunt, kill, trap or pursue
with firearms or other implement any wild animals or wild birds
on Sunday pursuant to the provisions of this article and rules
and regulations governing seasons and licenses:
Provided, That
no person may hunt or discharge a firearm within one statute mile
of any church or house of worship.
§20-2-46n. Class SS special Sunday hunting stamp.
The director shall issue a special Class SS stamp to allow
licensed hunters to hunt on Sunday. The fee for the Class SS
stamp is five dollars. The director may promulgate rules to
implement the provisions of this section and to govern the use of
the stamp.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit hunting on
Sundays except within one statute mile of a church. The bill
also provides for a special hunting stamp to be issued to
licensed hunters to allow them to hunt on Sundays. The fee for
the stamp is five dollars.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
§§20-2-5c and 46n are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.