ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 325
(Senator Dittmar, original sponsor)
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[Passed March 10, 1994; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact sections five and thirty-a, article
two, chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating
to the regulation of wildlife resources; removing
prohibitions against possession of certain fishing
equipment; obtaining certain training prior to the issuance
of hunting license; prohibiting certain misrepresentations
or uses of documents regarding the training requirement; and
criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections five and thirty-a, article two, chapter twenty
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-
one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all 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 subdivisionshall 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 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 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) 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) 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 trappedanimals;
(12) Hunt with firearms or long bow while under the
influence of intoxicating liquor;
(13) Hunt, catch, take, kill, injure or pursue a wild animal
or bird with the use of a ferret;
(14) Buy raw furs, pelts or skins of fur-bearing animals
unless licensed to do so;
(15) 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) 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) 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 mannerand numbers prescribed by the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act
and regulations made thereunder;
(18) 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) 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) Have a bow and gun, or have a gun and any arrow or
arrows, in the fields or woods at the same time;
(21) Have a crossbow in the woods or fields or use a
crossbow to hunt for, take or attempt to take any wildlife;
(22) 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 threefourths of an inch wide;
(23) 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) Shoot an arrow across any public highway or from
aircraft, motor-driven watercraft, motor vehicle or other land
conveyance;
(25) 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 orkilled;
(26) 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) 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.
§20-2-30a. Certificate of training; falsifying, altering,
forging, counterfeiting or uttering training certificate;
penalties.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, no
hunting license may be issued to any person who was born on or
after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
seventy-five, unless the person submits to the person authorized
to issue hunting licenses a certificate of training as provided
for in this section or proof of completion of any course which
promotes as a major objective safety in the handling of firearms
and of bow and arrows and which course is approved by the hunter
education association or the director.
(b) The director shall establish a course in the safe
handling of firearms and of bows and arrows, such as the course
approved by the hunter education association. This course shall
be given at least once per year in each county in this state and
shall be taught by instructors certified by the director. In
establishing and conducting this course, the director may
cooperate with any reputable association or organization which
promotes as a major objective safety in the handling of firearms
and of bows and arrows:
Provided,
That any person holding a
Class A-L or AB-L lifetime resident license obtained prior to his
or her fifteenth birthday shall be required to obtain a
certificate of training as provided for in this section before
hunting or trapping pursuant to said license. This course of
instruction shall be offered without charge, except for materials
or ammunition consumed. Upon satisfactory completion of the
course, each person instructed in the course shall be issued a
certificate of training for the purposes of complying with the
requirements of subsection (a) of this section. The certificate
shall be in the form prescribed by the director and shall be
valid for hunting license application purposes.
(c) (1) Upon satisfactory completion of this course, any
person whose hunting license has been revoked for a violation of
the provisions of this chapter may petition the director for a
reduction of his revocation time. However, under no
circumstances may the time be reduced to less than one year.
(2) Successful completion of this course shall be required
to consider the reinstatement of a hunting license of any person
whose license has been revoked due to a conviction for negligentshooting of a human being or of livestock under the provisions of
section fifty-seven of this article or of section eleven, article
seven, chapter sixty-one of this code, and who petitions the
director for an early reinstatement of his hunting privileges.
Such a petitioner shall also comply with the other requirements
for consideration of reinstatement contained in section thirty-
eight of this article.
(d) It is unlawful for any person to falsify, alter, forge,
counterfeit or utter a certificate of training. Any person who
violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand
dollars, or confined in jail for a period not to exceed one year,
or both fined and imprisoned.
(e) Nothing herein contained shall mandate that any county
school district in the state be responsible for implementing
hunter safety education programs.