Georgia State Code Pertaining to Black Bears

Georgia State Code as it pertains to Black Bears specifically and overall Wildlife Management. 

 

27-3-1.1. Acts prohibited on wildlife management areas.

(9)  While hunting bears in any such area opened to bear hunting, to kill a female bear with a cub or cubs or to kill a cub weighing less than 75 pounds;

(10)  To fail to report if he or she kills a deer, bear, or turkey in the manner specified by the rules of the department for that wildlife management area on the date killed to the state game and fish checking station on the area;

 

27-3-2. Hunting at Night.

It shall be unlawful to hunt at night any game bird or game animal in this state except for alligators, raccoons, opossums, foxes, and bobcats. Any light used to hunt raccoons, opossums, foxes, or bobcats shall be carried on the person of a hunter, affixed to a helmet or hat worn by a hunter, or be part of a belt system worn by a hunter.

 

27-3-8. Unlawful devices.

It shall be unlawful for any person to make use of any pitfall, deadfall, catch, snare, trap, net, salt lick, blind pig, baited hook, or other device for the purpose of taking any game animal or game bird or any other wildlife, except as otherwise provided in this title or by rule or regulation of the board.

 

27-3-9. Unlawful Enticement of Game.

(a)  It shall be unlawful for any person to place, expose, deposit, distribute, or scatter any corn, wheat, or other grains, salts, apples, or other feeds or bait so as to constitute a lure or attraction or enticement for any game bird or game animal on or over any area where hunters are or will be hunting.

(a.1)  Nothing in subsection (a) of this Code section shall prohibit any person from placing, exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering any corn, wheat, or other grains, salts, apples, or other feeds or bait so as to constitute a lure or attraction or enticement for deer on lands that are not under the ownership or control and management of the state or federal government; provided, however, that any such lure or attraction or enticement shall not be placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered so as to cause hunting any species of wildlife on any adjoining property to be prohibited under subsection (b) of this Code section.

(b) 

(1)  Except as otherwise provided by law or regulation, it shall be unlawful for any person to hunt any game bird or game animal upon, over, around, or near any place where any corn, wheat, or other grains, salts, apples, or other feed or bait has been placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered so as to constitute a lure, attraction, or enticement to such birds or animals. It shall also be unlawful to hunt any game animal or game bird upon, over, around, or near any such place for a period of ten days following the complete removal of all such feed or bait.

(2)  The prohibitions of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply to the hunting of deer, other than on lands under the ownership or control and management of the state or federal government, if the hunter has written permission of the landowner to hunt upon, over, around, or near such feed or bait, except as otherwise provided by paragraph (3) of this subsection.

(3)  (A) The board may by rule or regulation restrict the feeding, baiting, or hunting of deer upon, over, around, or near such feed or bait in any county wherein there is a documented occurrence of a communicable disease in deer and in any county adjoining such county. Such restriction may be imposed in such county and any adjoining county for a period of up to and including one year and may be extended for additional periods of up to and including two years each upon documentation that the communicable disease is still present in deer in such county. No person shall feed, bait, or hunt deer in violation of any restriction imposed pursuant to this paragraph.

(B)  The department shall give notice of such restriction by mail or electronic means to each person holding a current license to hunt whose last known address is within a restricted county. The department may place or designate the placement of signs and markers so as to give notice of such restriction.

(4)  Any person who takes any big game animal, other than deer, within 200 yards of any place where any corn, wheat, or other grains, salts, apples, or other feed or bait has been placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered so as to constitute a lure, attraction, or enticement for any game bird or game animal shall, upon conviction of thereof, be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature and shall be punished as provided by Code Section 17-10-4.

(c)  When a game warden is aware or becomes aware that a clearly identifiable area of land or field is baited for doves in such a manner that hunting thereon would be a violation of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section, it shall be the duty of the game warden to require the owner or other person having lawful possession or control of the baited area of land or field to remove such bait. The game warden shall require such owner or other person to erect on the area of land or field signs having printed thereon the words: “No Hunting, Baited Field.” Such signs shall remain for ten days after bait is removed. The printing on such signs shall be clearly visible to a person with normal eyesight from a distance of at least 50 yards. A sufficient number of such signs shall be erected to provide reasonable notice to hunters that the field or area is baited for doves. If the game warden cannot locate the owner or other person having lawful possession or control of the area of land or field baited for doves, it shall be the duty of such game warden to erect such signs. The owner or other person having lawful possession or control of an area or field baited for doves who fails to comply with an order of a game warden requiring the removal of bait or the erection of signs, or both, as required by this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. When a game warden is aware that a clearly identifiable area of land or field is baited for doves in such a manner that hunting thereon would be a violation of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section prior to any such violation, no charge may be brought against any person under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section unless the provisions of this subsection have been followed. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to preclude the owner or other person having lawful possession or control of a baited area or field from being charged with and convicted of a violation of subsection (a.1) of this Code section. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to preclude a person’s being charged with and convicted of a violation of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section when such violation is on an area of land or field baited for doves which was not previously identified by a game warden as provided in this subsection prior to such violation.

 

27-3-12. Unlawful substances and equipment; computer assisted remote hunting prohibited.

(a) It shall be unlawful to hunt any wild animal, game animal, or game bird by means of drugs, poisons, chemicals, smoke, gas, explosives, recorded calls or sounds, or recorded and electronically imitated or amplified sounds or calls. It shall also be unlawful to use electronic communications equipment for the purpose of facilitating pursuit of any wild animal, game bird, or game animal.

 

27-3-14. Killing or crippling of game bird or game animal without reasonable effort to retrieve.

It shall be unlawful for any person to kill or cripple any game bird or game animal without making a reasonable effort to retrieve the same.

 

27-3-15. Seasons and bag limits; promulgation of rules and regulations by board; possession of more than bag limit; reporting number of deer killed

(a)  It shall be unlawful to hunt the following game species at any time during the periods set forth below:

Game Species Closed Season

(10)  Bear Jan. 16 — Sept. 7

 

(b)  It shall be unlawful to hunt the following game species at any time during the period set forth below, except that it shall not be unlawful to hunt the following game species during such periods or portions thereof, and in such number not to exceed the following numbers, as may be designated by the board as open seasons and bag limits for such species:

 

Game Species Maximum Open Season Maximum Bag LimitsDaily Season

(12)  Bear Sept. 8 — Jan. 15 2 2The department mayby rule exempt beartaken on departmentmanaged lands fromhe state-wide baglimit.

 

27-3-21. Killing of bears by property owners.

Any property owner or his or her agent shall have the right to petition the department to remove any bear which shall constitute a clear and immediate threat to his or her property. The property owner shall petition the department for such removal on a form containing such information as may be necessary for the proper evaluation and consideration of the application. Removal shall occur only in cases where the department has determined that the removal of the bear is justified. Representatives of the department are authorized to investigate claims of damage and the necessity of removal of the bear prior to taking action on the petition.

 

27-3-21. Hunting Bears; required outer garments.

It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt bears or for any person to accompany another person hunting bears unless each person shall wear a total of at least 500 square inches of daylight fluorescent orange material as an outer garment during firearms and primitive weapons seasons. Such clothing must be worn above the waistline and may include a head covering.

 

27-3-26. Hunting bears; restrictions; penalties.

(a)  It shall be unlawful for any person to:

(1)  Hunt, take, or attempt to take a bear except during the open season for hunting and taking bears or under authority of a permit by the Department of Natural Resources to kill or take a bear;

(2)  Buy, sell, barter, or exchange a bear or bear part; or

(3)  Possess or transport a freshly killed bear or bear part except during the open season for hunting and taking bears and except as provided in Code Section 27-3-28.

(b)  Each act constituting a violation of this Code section is a separate offense.

(c)  Any person violating the provisions of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, and, upon conviction, may be punished by a fine of not less than $500.00 nor more than $5,000.00, by confinement for a term not to exceed 12 months, or both. The court may order that restitution be paid to the department of not less than $1,500.00 for each bear or bear part which is the subject of a violation of this Code section. Any equipment which is used or intended for use in a violation of this Code section, excluding motor vehicles, is declared to be contraband and is forfeited in accordance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 16 of Title 9. The hunting and fishing privileges of any person convicted of violating the provisions of this Code section shall be suspended for three years.

 

27-3-27. Unlawful use of bear bait

(a)  It is unlawful to use any type of bait to concentrate the bear population in any area or to lure them to any location which gives or might give a hunter an unnatural advantage when hunting bear.

(b)  Any person violating the provisions of this Code section is guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature and, upon conviction, may be punished by a fine of not less than $500.00 and not to exceed $5,000.00 or by confinement for a term not to exceed 12 months, or both.

 

27-3-28. Person may take possession of native wildlife which has been killed by a motor vehicle

(a)  Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, any person may lawfully possess native wildlife which has been accidentally killed by a motor vehicle. The following exceptions and conditions to this general rule shall apply:

(1)  Any person taking possession of a bear accidentally killed by a motor vehicle shall notify the department or a law enforcement officer of the fact and location of the taking of possession and his or her name and address within 48 hours after taking possession of the bear; and

(2)  This Code section shall not authorize any person to take possession of any animal of a species designated as a protected species under Article 5 of this chapter or under federal law.

(b)  A law enforcement officer receiving a report of a person taking possession of a bear under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section shall in turn transmit the reported information to the department within 48 hours after receipt of such information.

 

Trapping

 

27-3-63. General offenses and penalties.

(a)  It shall be unlawful for any person to:

(1)  Trap any wildlife upon the right of way of any public road or highway of this state; provided, however, that this paragraph shall not apply to any person licensed as required by Code Section 27-3-60 who traps beaver upon the right of way of any state highway, county road, or municipal street as an authorized agent, employee, or contractor of the state, county, or municipality for the purpose of preventing, reducing, or stopping damage to such highway, road, or street resulting from beaver activity;

(2)  Set, place, or bait any trap for the purpose of taking any wildlife upon the land or in the waters adjoining the land of any other person, except during the open trapping season for such wildlife, and then only after obtaining the written consent of the owner of the land, which written consent shall be carried upon the trapper’s person while engaged in trapping;

(3)  Trap any wildlife without inspecting the traps used for such purpose at least once during each 24 hour period and removing from the traps any wildlife caught therein;

(4)  Trap any wildlife by the use of any trap or other device which is not legibly etched, stamped, or tagged by affixing a stamped metal tag showing the owner’s permanent trapper’s identification number as provided by the department or the owner’s name. In the event that a trap or other device etched or stamped with the owner’s permanent trapper’s identification number or name is being used in the field by another, such trap or device must have attached to it a stamped metal tag with the user’s permanent trapper’s identification number or name. Any trap or other device found in use in the field which is not etched, stamped, or tagged as required by this paragraph may be confiscated and destroyed by the department through its officers and game wardens;

(5)  Ship or otherwise remove or cause to be removed from this state any raw or undressed hide, fur, pelt, or skin of any fur-bearing animal without first making a report to the department of the removal on forms to be furnished by the department for such purpose;

(6)  Fail to carry a weapon of .22 caliber rimfire while tending traps and to fail to use such weapon to dispatch any fur-bearing animal found in a trap, which animal is to be taken by the person;

(7)  Fail to carry a choke stick or similar device while tending traps, which device shall be used for releasing domestic animals;

(8)  Set on land any trap with a jaw opening larger than 5 3/4 inches, provided that nothing in this Code section shall be construed to restrict the type of trap which may be used in water;

(9)  Sell the fur, hide, or pelt of any domestic dog or cat caught by a trap;

(10)  Sell the raw, undressed fur, hide, skin, or pelt of any fur-bearing animal unless the person has a current valid commercial trapping license or fur dealer license; or

(11)  Set any body-gripping trap (as opposed to a leg-hold trap) of a size in excess of 9 1/2 inches square except in water or on land within ten feet of water, including swamps, marshes, and tidal areas.

(b)  Any person who violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as for a misdemeanor, subject to a minimum punishment as follows:

(1)  For the first offense, the offender shall be fined not less than $100.00, except that this minimum fine shall not apply to the offender if he is 17 years of age or younger;

(2)  For a second offense within a two-year period after the first offense, the offender shall be fined not less than $300.00; or

(3)  For a third offense and for each subsequent offense within a two-year period after the first offense, the offender shall be fined not less than $750.00.