Senate Bill No. 525
(By Senators Dittmar, Schoonover, Helmick, Anderson, Love,
Ross, Ball, Hunter and Sharpe)
____________
[Introduced February 12, 1999;
referred to the Committee Natural Resources.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact section eleven, article two, chapter
twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to making it
illegal to sell the hide, head, skull, organs and feet of a
legally killed bear.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eleven, 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.
§20-2-11. Sale of wildlife; transportation of same.
No person, except those legally licensed to operate private
game preserves for the purpose of propagating game for commercial
purposes and those legally licensed to propagate or sell fish, amphibians and other forms of aquatic life, shall purchase or
offer to purchase, sell or offer to sell, expose for sale, or
have in his
or her possession for the purpose of sale any
wildlife, or part thereof, which has been designated as game
animals, fur-bearing animals, game birds, game fish or
amphibians, or any of the song or insectivorous birds of the
state, or any other species of wildlife which the director may
designate:
Provided, That pelts of game or fur-bearing animals
taken during the legal season may be sold and live red and gray
foxes and raccoon taken by legal methods during legal and
established trapping seasons may be sold within the state:
Provided, however, That hide, head, antlers and feet of a legally
killed deer
and the hide, head, skull, organs and feet of a
legally killed black bear may be sold.
No person, including a common carrier, shall transport,
carry or convey, or receive for such purposes any wildlife, the
sale of which is prohibited, if such person knows or has reason
to believe that such wildlife has been or is to be sold in
violation of this section.
The selling or exposing for sale, having in possession for
sale, transporting or carrying in violation of this section shall
each constitute a separate misdemeanor offense. Notwithstanding
the provisions of this or any other section of this chapter, any
game birds or game bird meats sold by licensed retailers may be served at any hotel, restaurant or other licensed eating place in
this state.
The director shall have authority to promulgate rules
and
regulations in accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code, dealing with the sale of wildlife and the skins thereof.
____________
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to stop the sale of the
hide, head, skull, organs and feet of the black bear.
Strike-throughs indicate language which would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.)
___________
NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
On page two, section eleven, line fifteen, after the word
"deer" by inserting the words "and the hide, head, skull and feet
of a legally killed black bear".
And,
On page one, by striking out the title and substituting
therefor a new title, to read as follows:
Eng. Senate Bill No. 525--A Bill to amend and reenact
section eleven, article two, chapter twenty of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
relating to making it illegal to sell the internal organs of a
bear.