California Fish and Game Code 12012 – (a) A person who illegally takes, possesses, imports, exports, …
(a) A person who illegally takes, possesses, imports, exports, sells, purchases, barters, trades, or exchanges a bird, fish, mammal, reptile, amphibian, or part of any of those animals, for profit or personal gain, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than forty thousand dollars ($40,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) If a person is convicted of a second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a), that person shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) nor more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
Terms Used In California Fish and Game Code 12012
- Bird: means a wild bird or part of a wild bird. See California Fish and Game Code 22
- Commission: means the Fish and Game Commission, and "commissioner" means a member of the Fish and Game Commission. See California Fish and Game Code 30
- County: includes city and county. See California Fish and Game Code 32
- Department: means the Department of Fish and Wildlife. See California Fish and Game Code 37
- District: means fish and game district. See California Fish and Game Code 41
- Fish: means a wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian, or part, spawn, or ovum of any of those animals. See California Fish and Game Code 45
- Mammal: means a wild or feral mammal or part of a wild or feral animal, but not a wild, feral, or undomesticated burro. See California Fish and Game Code 54
- Person: means any natural person or any partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust, or other type of association. See California Fish and Game Code 67
- Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Fish and Game Code 73
(c) If a second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a) also involves a violation of Section 8685.5, 8685.6, 8685.7, or 8688 that is punishable by subdivision (b) of Section 12004, the offense shall be punishable by a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 12004, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(d) Notwithstanding § 802 of the Penal Code, prosecution of an offense punishable under this section shall be commenced within three years after commission of the offense.
(e) This section does not apply to fish taken pursuant to a commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852, or fish sold pursuant to a commercial fish business license issued in accordance with Article 7 (commencing with Section 8030) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 6.
(f) This section does not supersede Section 12005 or 12009.
(g) (1) Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue deposited in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund from fines and forfeitures collected pursuant to this section shall be allocated for the support of the Special Operations Unit of the department, and used for law enforcement purposes.
(2) Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue from any fine collected pursuant to this section shall be paid to the county in which the offense was committed, pursuant to Section 13003. The board of supervisors shall first use revenues pursuant to this subdivision to reimburse the costs incurred by the district attorney or city attorney in investigating and prosecuting the violation. Any excess revenues may be expended in accordance with Section 13103.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 154, Sec. 106. (AB 1527) Effective January 1, 2016.)