Senate Bill No. 553
(By Senators White, Bailey, Rowe and Hunter)
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[Introduced February 17, 2003; referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-two-a, article two,
chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to prohibiting
shooting at or killing a bear weighing less than one hundred
pounds or shooting at or killing any bear accompanying a bear
weighing less than one hundred pounds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-two-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.
§20-2-22a. Hunting, tagging and reporting bear; procedures
applicable to property destruction by bear;
penalties.
(a) No person in any county of this state shall hunt, capture or kill any bear, or have in his or her possession any bear or bear
parts, except during the hunting season for bear and in the manner
designated by rules promulgated by the division of natural
resources and as provided for in this section. For the purposes of
this section, bear parts include, but are not limited to, the pelt,
gall bladder, skull and claws of bear.
(b) A person who kills a bear shall, within twenty-four hours
after the killing, deliver the bear or fresh skin to a conservation
officer or checking station for tagging. A division of natural
resources tag shall be affixed to it before any part of the bear
may be transported more than seventy-five miles from the point of
kill. The division of natural resources tag shall remain on the
skin until it is tanned or mounted. Any bear or bear parts not
properly tagged shall be forfeited to the state for disposal to a
charitable institution, school or as otherwise designated by the
division of natural resources.
(c) It is unlawful:
(1) To hunt bear without a bear damage stamp as prescribed in
section forty-four-b of this article, in addition to a hunting
license as prescribed in this article;
(2) To hunt a bear with: (A) A shotgun using ammunition
loaded with more than one solid ball; (B) a rifle of less than
twenty-five caliber using rimfire ammunition; or (C) a crossbow;
(3) To kill or attempt to kill any bear through the use of poison, explosives, snares, steel traps or deadfalls other than as
authorized in this section;
(4) To shoot at or kill a bear cub weighing less than one
hundred pounds or to kill any bear accompanied by a cub bear
weighing less than one hundred pounds;
(5) To possess any part of a bear not tagged in accordance
with the provisions of this section;
(6) To enter a state game refuge with firearms for the purpose
of pursuing or killing a bear except under the direct supervision
of division personnel;
(7) To hunt bear with dogs or to cause dogs to chase bear
during seasons other than those designated by the division of
natural resources for the hunting of bear;
(8) To pursue a bear with a pack of dogs other than the pack
used at the beginning of the hunt once the bear is spotted and the
chase has begun;
(9) To possess, harvest, sell or purchase bear parts obtained
from bear killed in violation of this section;
(10) To organize for commercial purposes or to professionally
outfit a bear hunt or to give or receive any consideration
whatsoever or any donation in money, goods or services in
connection with a bear hunt notwithstanding the provisions of
sections twenty-three and twenty-four of this article; or
(11) For any person who is not a resident of this state to hunt bear with dogs or to use dogs in any fashion for the purpose
of hunting bear in this state except in legally authorized hunts.
(d) The following provisions apply to bear destroying
property:
(1)(A) Any property owner or lessee who has suffered damage to
real or personal property, including loss occasioned by the death
or injury of livestock or the unborn issue of livestock, caused by
an act of a bear may complain to any conservation officer of the
division of natural resources for protection against the bear.
(B) Upon receipt of the complaint, the officer shall
immediately investigate the circumstances of the complaint. If the
officer is unable to personally investigate the complaint, he or
she shall designate a wildlife biologist to investigate on his or
her behalf.
(C) If the complaint is found to be justified, the officer or
designated person may, together with the owner and other residents,
proceed to hunt, destroy or capture the bear that caused the
property damage: Provided, That only the conservation officer or
the wildlife biologist shall determine whether to destroy or
capture the bear and whether to use dogs to capture or destroy the
bear: Provided, however, That, in the event out-of-state dogs are
used in the hunt, the owners of the dogs are the only nonresidents
permitted to participate in hunting the bear.
(2) (A) When a property owner has suffered damage to real or personal property as the result of an act by a bear, the owner
shall file a report with the director of the division of natural
resources. The report shall state whether or not the bear was
hunted and destroyed and, if so, the sex, weight and estimated age
of the bear. The report shall also include an appraisal of the
property damage occasioned by the bear duly signed by three
competent appraisers fixing the value of the property lost.
(B) The report shall be ruled upon and the alleged damages
examined by a commission comprised of the complaining property
owner, an officer of the division and a person to be jointly
selected by the officer and the complaining property owner.
(C) The division shall establish the procedures to be followed
in presenting and deciding claims under this section in accordance
with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(D) All claims shall be paid in the first instance from the
bear damage fund provided for in section forty-four-b of this
article. In the event the fund is insufficient to pay all claims
determined by the commission to be just and proper, the remainder
due to owners of lost or destroyed property shall be paid from the
special revenue account of the division of natural resources.
(3) In all cases where the act of the bear complained of by
the property owner is the killing of livestock, the value to be
established is the fair market value of the livestock at the date
of death. In cases where the livestock killed is pregnant, the total value shall be the sum of the values of the mother and the
unborn issue, with the value of the unborn issue to be determined
on the basis of the fair market value of the issue had it been
born. In no event shall the fair market value of the livestock
exceed twice the assessed value of the livestock for personal
property taxes.
(e) Criminal penalties. -- (1) Any person who commits a
violation of the provisions of this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars,
which fine is not subject to suspension by the court, imprisoned in
a county or regional jail not less than thirty nor more than one
hundred days, or both fined and imprisoned. Further, the person's
hunting and fishing licenses shall be suspended for two years.
(2) Any person who commits a second violation of the
provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than two thousand
dollars nor more than seven thousand five hundred dollars, which
fine is not subject to suspension by the court, imprisoned in a
county or regional jail not less than thirty days nor more than one
year, or both fined and imprisoned. The person's hunting and
fishing licenses shall be suspended for life.
(3) Any person who commits a third or subsequent violation of
the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five thousand
dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars, which fine is not
subject to suspension by the court, imprisoned in a correctional
facility not less than one year nor more than five years, or both
fined and imprisoned.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit shooting at or
killing a bear weighing less than one hundred pounds or shooting at
or killing any bear accompanying a bear weighing less than one
hundred pounds.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)