West Virginia Code 20-2-7 – Hunting, trapping or fishing on lands of another; damages and restitution
(a) It is unlawful for any person to shoot, hunt, fish or trap upon the fenced, enclosed or posted lands of another person; or to peel trees or timber, build fires or do any other act in connection with shooting, hunting, fishing or trapping on the lands without written permission in his or her possession from the owner, tenant or agent of the owner.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 20-2-7
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Game: means game animals, game birds and game fish as herein defined. See West Virginia Code 20-1-2
- Hunt: means to pursue, chase, catch or take any wild birds or wild animals. See West Virginia Code 20-1-2
- Lands: means land, waters and all other appurtenances connected therewith. See West Virginia Code 20-1-2
- Person: except as otherwise defined elsewhere in this chapter, means the plural "persons" and shall include individuals, partnerships, corporations or other legal entities. See West Virginia Code 20-1-2
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- Take: means to hunt, shoot, pursue, lure, kill, destroy, catch, capture, keep in captivity, gig, spear, trap, ensnare, wound or injure any wildlife, or attempt to do so. See West Virginia Code 20-1-2
(b) Any person who hunts, traps or fishes on land without the permission of the owner, tenant or agent of the owner is guilty of a misdemeanor and, liable to the owner or person suffering damage for all costs and damages for: (1) Killing or injuring any domestic animal, fowl, or private game farm animal; (2) cutting, destroying or damaging any bars, gates or fence or any part of the property; or (3) leaving open any bars or gates resulting in damage to the property.
(c) Restitution of the value of the property or animals injured, damaged or destroyed shall be required upon conviction pursuant to sections four and five, article eleven-a, chapter sixty-one of this code. The restitution ordered for private game farm animals shall be equivalent to or greater than the replacement values for deer listed in section five-a in this article.
(d) The owner, tenant or agent of the owner may arrest a person violating this section and immediately take him or her before a magistrate. The owner, tenant or agent of the owner is vested with the powers and rights of a natural resources police officer for these purposes. The officers charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall enforce the provisions of this section if requested to do so by the owner, tenant or agent of the owner, but not otherwise.
(e) The provisions of subsections (b) and (d) of this section related to criminal penalties and being subject to arrest are inapplicable to a person whose dog, without the person's direction or encouragement, travels onto the fenced, enclosed or posted land of another in pursuit of an animal or wild bird: Provided, That the pursuit does not result in the taking of game from the fenced, enclosed or posted land and does not result in the killing of domestic animals or fowl or other damage to or on the fenced, enclosed or posted land.