Sources: Code of Virginia, 1950, Title 29; 1992 Replacement Volume.
STATE WILDLIFE POLICY
Wild birds, wild animals and fish are property of the Commonwealth and may be reduced to personal possession only in accordance with law. Any wild bird, wild animal or fish which is illegally taken, possessed, sold, purchased, transported or imported shall be forfeited to the Commonwealth (29.1-557).
PROTECTED SPECIES OF WILDLIFE
The taking, transporting, processing, selling or offering for sale of fish or wildlife appearing on a list of threatened or endangered species published by the US Secretary of the Interior is prohibited except as otherwise provided (29.1-564). The Board is authorized to: adopt the federal list and modifications thereto by regulations; declare by regulation, after recommendations from the Director of the Department of Conservation and Historic Resources and other reliable data sources, that species not appearing on the federal lists are endangered or threatened in Virginia; prohibit by regulation the taking, transporting, processing, selling or offering for sale within the state of threatened or endangered species (29.1-566). Violation of endangered species provisions is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and an officer authorized to issue criminal warrants has the authority to issue warrants for search and seizure of goods, business records, merchandise or fish or wildlife taken or used in violation of a provision of this article, such items to be forfeited at the direction of the court. The Director may direct fish or wildlife seized to go to a qualified zoological, educational or scientific institution for safekeeping, with costs assessed to the defendant (29.1-567). (See also GENERAL EXCEPTIONS TO PROTECTION and RELEVANT WILDLIFE DEFINITIONS for nuisance species.)
HABITAT PROTECTION
There is nothing specific pertaining to habitat protection in Title 29.
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New Mexico Center for Wildlife Law
University of New Mexico School of Law
1117 Stanford NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131
(505) 277-5006
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