Committee Substitute
House Bill 2309 History
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COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2309
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chambers, and Delegates Michael and
Martin)
(Originating in the House Committee on Agriculture and
Natural Resources)
[March 10, 1993]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections five and five-a, article
two, chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
unlawful methods of hunting and fishing; prohibiting
hunting, killing, possessing, selling and buying bald eagles
and golden eagles; criminal penalties; forfeiture of
equipment used in the unlawful taking; revocation of hunting
license; replacement value for bald and golden eagles.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections five and five-a, 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.
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 itis 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 thecounty 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 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) 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, railroadright-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) 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 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) Hunt with firearms or long bow while under the
influence of intoxicating liquor;
(13) Hunt, catch, take, kill, injure or pursue a wild animalor bird with the use of a ferret;
(14) Buy raw furs, pelts or skins of fur-bearing animals
unless licensed to do so;
(15) 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) 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;
(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;
(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 Statesfor 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) 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) 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) Have a bow and gun, or have a gun and any arrow or
arrows, in the fields or woods at the same time;
(22) Have a crossbow in the woods or fields or use acrossbow to hunt for, take or attempt to take any wildlife;
(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;
(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;
(25) Shoot an arrow across any public highway or from
aircraft, motor-driven watercraft, motor vehicle or other land
conveyance;
(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 gamehunting 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) 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
(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 six, section seven, article one of this chapter; and
(29) Take, possess, transport, import, export or process,
sell or offer for sale, buy, barter or trade or offer to buy,
barter or trade at any time or in any manner, any bald eagle,
also commonly known as the American eagle, or any golden eagle,
alive or dead, or any part, nest or egg thereof of the foregoing
eagles.
Anyone who violates the provisions of this subdivision is
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall befined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than five
thousand dollars or imprisoned in the county jail not less than
sixty days nor more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
One half of any fine imposed shall be paid to any person or
persons providing information that leads to the arrest and
conviction of anyone violating the provisions of this section.
For a second or subsequent conviction for a violation of
this subdivision, a person is guilty of a felony and shall be
fined not less than five thousand dollars nor more than ten
thousand dollars and imprisoned in the penitentiary for not less
than one year nor more than two years. An amount equal to one
half of the fine imposed, not exceeding two thousand five hundred
dollars, shall be paid to the person or persons providing
information that leads to the arrest and conviction of anyone for
a second or subsequent violation of the provisions of this
subdivision.
"Take" is defined as including any means to pursue, hunt,
wound, kill, capture, collect, poison, molest, disturb or attempt
to do these acts.
Nothing in this subdivision may be construed to prohibit the
possession or transportation of eagles held legally under the
current federal Eagle Protection Act, Statute 16 USC 668a
Regulation 50 CFR 22.
All wildlife, merchandise, guns, traps, nets and other
equipment, vessels, vehicles, aircraft and other means of
transportation used to and in taking, possessing, transporting,
importing, exporting, selling or offering for sale, purchasing or
bartering or offering to purchase or barter any eagle or part,nest, or egg thereof in violation of this subdivision shall be
forfeited, at the time of conviction, to the state.
Upon conviction of taking or attempting to take any eagle,
the hunting licenses of such person or persons may be revoked and
such person or persons shall not be issued any new hunting
licenses for a period of ten years from the date of conviction.
§20-2-5a. Forfeiture by person causing injury, death or
destruction of game or protected species of animal;
replacement values thereof; forfeiture procedures.
Any person who is convicted of violating any criminal law of
this state and the violation causes or results in the injury,
death or destruction of game, as defined in section two, article
one of this chapter, or a protected species of animal, in
addition to any other penalty to which he is subject, shall
forfeit the cost of replacing such game or protected species of
animal to the state. For such purpose, replacement values for
game and protected species of animals are as follows:
(1) For each game fish or each fish of a protected species
taken illegally other than by pollution kill, five dollars for
each pound and any fraction thereof;
(2) For each bear or elk, or eagle five hundred dollars;
(3) For each deer or raven, two hundred dollars;
(4) For each wild turkey, hawk or owl, one hundred dollars;
(5) For each beaver, otter or mink, twenty-five dollars;
(6) For each muskrat, raccoon, skunk or fox, fifteen
dollars;
(7) For each rabbit, squirrel, opossum, duck, quail,
woodcock, grouse or pheasant, ten dollars;
(8) For each wild boar, two hundred dollars; and
(9) For any other game or protected species of animal, ten
dollars each;
(10) For each bald eagle, five thousand dollars each; and
(11) For each golden eagle, two thousand five-hundred
dollars each.
The court upon convicting such person shall order him to
forfeit to the state the proper amount based on the values set
forth herein for the game or protected species of animal the
injury, death or destruction of which he caused or which resulted
from his criminal act. If two or more defendants are convicted
for the same violation causing, or resulting in, the injury,
death or destruction of game or protected species of animal, the
forfeiture shall be declared against them jointly and equally.
The forfeiture shall be paid by the person so convicted and
ordered to pay the forfeiture within the time prescribed by the
court, but not exceeding sixty days. In each instance, the court
shall pay such forfeiture to the state treasury where it shall be
credited to the department of natural resources to be used only
for the replacement, habitat management or enforcement programs
for injured, killed or destroyed game or protected species of
animal.