To eliminate the restriction of hunting bears over bait

HB 4559 Text

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Introduced Version

House Bill 4559 History

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Key:
Green
= existing Code.
Red
= new code to be enacted

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2026
REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 4559
By Delegates Brooks, Pritt, and Martin
[Introduced January 20, 2026; referred to the Committee on Government Organization]
A BILL to amend and reenact §20-2-22a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to eliminating the restriction on bear kills during concurrent hunting seasons for deer and bear when baiting is used for deer.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.

§20-2-22a. Hunting, tagging and reporting bear; procedures applicable to property destruction by bear; penalties.

(a) A person may not 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 in the manner designated by rule or law. For the purposes of this section, bear parts include, but are not limited to, the pelt, gallbladder, skull and claws of bear.
(b) A person who kills a bear shall, within 24 hours after the killing, electronically register the bear. A game tag number shall be issued to the person and recorded in writing with the person’s name and address, or on a field tag and 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 director.
(c) Training dogs on bears or pursuing bears with dogs is the hunting of bear for all purposes of this chapter, including all applicable regulations and license requirements.
(d) It is unlawful:
(1) To hunt bear without a bear damage stamp, as prescribed in §20-2-44b of this code, 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; or
(B) A rifle of less than 25 caliber using rimfire ammunition;
(3) To kill or attempt to kill, or wound or attempt to wound, any bear through the use of bait, poison, explosives, traps or deadfalls or to feed bears at any time. For purposes of this section, bait includes, but is not limited to, corn and other grains, animal carcasses or animal remains, grease, sugars in any form, scent attractants and other edible enticements, and an area is considered baited for 10 days after all bait has been removed:
Provided
, That this provision does not apply if a bear is killed, in an area where bait, corn and other grains, were used to attract deer, during a hunting season that is concurrent with hunting deer and;
(4) To shoot at or kill:
(A) A bear weighing less than 75 pounds live weight or 50 pounds field dressed weight, after removal of all internal organs;
(B) Any bear accompanied by a cub; or
(C) Any bear cub so accompanied, regardless of its weight;
(5) To transport or possess any part of a bear not tagged in accordance with the provisions of this section;
(6) To possess, harvest, sell or purchase bear parts obtained from bear killed in violation of this section; or
(7) Except as provided in §20-2-5j of this code, 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 §20-2-23 and §20-2-24 of this code.
(e) The following provisions apply to bear damaging or 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 natural resources police officer of the division 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 wildlife biologist may issue a permit to kill the bear that caused the property damage or may authorize the owner and other residents to proceed to hunt, destroy or capture the bear that caused the property damage:
Provided
, That only the natural resources police officer or the wildlife biologist may recommend other measures to end or minimize property damage:
Provided, however
, That, if 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. A bear damage report shall be completed by a representative of the division and shall state whether or not the bear was hunted and destroyed or killed under authorization of a depredation permit and, if so, the sex and weight shall be recorded and a premolar tooth collected from the bear, all of which shall be submitted with the report. The report shall also include an appraisal of the property damage occasioned by the bear fixing the value of the property lost. Bear damage claims will not be accepted for personal and real property which is commonly used for the purposes of feeding, baiting, observing or hunting wildlife, including, but not limited to, hunting blinds, tree stands, artificial feeders, game or trail cameras and crops planted for the purposes of feeding or baiting wildlife.
(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, issuing bear depredation permits and organizing bear hunts under this section in accordance with §29A-3-1
et seq.
of this code.
(D) All claims shall be paid in the first instance from the Bear Damage Fund provided in §20-2-44b of this code:
Provided,
That the claimant shall submit accurate information as to whether he or she is insured for the damages caused by the acts of bear on forms prescribed by the director, and all damage claims shall first be made by the claimant against any insurance policies before payment may be approved from the Bear Damage Fund. Claims for an award of compensation from the Bear Damage Fund shall be reduced or denied in the amount the claimant is actually reimbursed by insurance for the economic loss upon which the claim is based. 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.
(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 is 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.
(f) 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 $500 nor more than $1,000, which is not subject to suspension by the court, confined in jail not less than 10 nor more than 30 days, or both fined and confined. Further, the person’s hunting and fishing licenses shall be assigned six points, however, the hunting and fishing licenses of any person convicted of a violation of this section which results in the killing or death of a bear 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 $1,000 nor more than $3,000, which is not subject to suspension by the court, confined in jail not less than 30 days nor more than 100 days, or both fined and confined. The person’s hunting and fishing licenses shall be suspended for five years.
(3) Any person who commits a third or subsequent violation of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $2,500 nor more than $5,000, which is not subject to suspension by the court, confined in jail not less than six months nor more than one year, or both fined and confined. The person’s hunting and fishing licenses shall be suspended for 10 years.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to eliminate the restriction on bear kills, when deer baiting is used during concurrent deer and bear hunting season.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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