Source: https://www.fishwildlife.org/law-research-library/law-categories/endangered-species/endangered-species-enforcement-and-penalties-virginia
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 06:33:58+00:00

Document:
A. Any person who violates the provisions of § 29.1-564 or § 29.1-566, or any regulations issued pursuant to these sections, or whoever violates any regulation or permit issued under § 29.1-568 shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor; however, the sale, offering for sale, purchasing or offering to purchase within the Commonwealth of any fish or wildlife appearing on a list of threatened or endangered species as prohibited by § 29.1-564 shall be punishable as provided in § 29.1-553.
B. Any judicial officer or other officer authorized to issue criminal warrants shall have authority to issue a warrant for the search and seizure of any goods, business records, merchandise or fish or wildlife taken, employed or used in connection with a violation of any provision of this article. All such search warrants shall be issued and executed pursuant to Chapter 5 (§ 19.2-52 et seq.) of Title 19.2.
C. Goods, merchandise, fish or wildlife or records seized under the provisions of subsection B of this section shall be held by an officer or agent of the Department at the direction of the judge or court pending disposition of court proceedings, and thereafter be forfeited to the Commonwealth for destruction or disposition as the Director may deem appropriate. However, prior to forfeiture, the Director may direct the transfer of fish or wildlife so seized to a qualified zoological, educational, or scientific institution for safekeeping, with costs assessable to the defendant. The Board is authorized to issue regulations to implement this section.
Citation: VA Code Ann. § 29.1-567.
A. Any person who offers for sale, sells, offers to purchase, or purchases any wild bird or wild animal, or any part thereof, or any freshwater fish, except as provided by law, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. However, when the aggregate of such sales or purchases or any combination thereof, by any person totals $500 or more during any 90-day period, that person shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.
B. Whether or not criminal charges have been placed, when any property is taken possession of by a conservation police officer for the purpose of being used as evidence of a violation of this section or for confiscation, the conservation police officer making such seizure shall immediately report the seizure to the Attorney for the Commonwealth.
C. In any prosecution for a violation of this section, photographs of the wild bird, wild animal, or any freshwater fish, or any part thereof shall be deemed competent evidence of such wild bird, wild animal, or freshwater fish, or part thereof and shall be admissible in any proceeding, hearing, or trial of the case to the same extent as if such wild bird, wild animal, or any freshwater fish, or part thereof had been introduced as evidence. Such photographs shall bear a written description of the wild bird, wild animal, or freshwater fish, or parts thereof, the name of the place where the alleged offense occurred, the date on which the alleged offense occurred, the name of the accused, the name of the arresting officer or investigating officer, the date of the photograph, and the name of the photographer. The photographs shall be identified by the signature of the photographer.
D. Any licensed Virginia auctioneer or licensed auction firm that sells, as a legitimate item of an auction sale, wildlife mounts that have undergone the taxidermy process, shall be exempt from the provisions of this section and subdivision A 11 of § 29.1-521.
Citation: VA Code Ann. § 29.1-553.
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to dig, take, cut, process, or otherwise collect, remove, transport, possess, sell, offer for sale, or give away any species native to or occurring in the wild in the Commonwealth that are listed in this chapter or the regulations adopted hereunder as threatened or endangered, other than from such person's own land, except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter or the regulations adopted hereunder.
B. The Commissioner may require any person possessing endangered species or parts thereof to present such species or parts thereof for inspection and to give full information as to their origin and destination.
Any conservation police officer or law-enforcement officer as defined in § 9.1-101, excluding certain Alcoholic Beverage Control Board members, may enforce the provisions of this chapter and the regulations adopted hereunder as well as those who are so designated by the Commissioner. Those designated by the Commissioner may issue a summons to any person who violates any provision of this chapter to appear at a time and place to be specified in such summons.
Citation: VA Code Ann. § 3.2-1010.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or the regulations adopted hereunder is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Citation: VA Code Ann. § 3.2-1011.

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