Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm a tax accountant, not an attorney and certainly not qualified to opine on US constitutional issues with respect to state law, but it's possible that this law would be held to be too broad and unconstitutional if it were an issue involving the first amendment. It doesn't involve the first amendment-I know that, but it may involve other constitutional provisions because of being too broad and here's why: since the law prevents hunting on roads and right-of-ways, and hunting is defined as killing, people may unknowingly violate this law by driving their car down a road and hitting a snake, lizard, toad or turtle. In addition, the poor state highway crews that mow the tall grasses on the right-of-ways may unknowingly violate this law by killing a snake, lizard, toad or turtle. You can probably come up with other examples. Maybe this is the reason why this doesn't play in other states. Do you see what I mean???

R

it may be that every single citation gets thrown out of court, for this or any other reason.

This is why it is imperative that every single citation is challenged in court, beyond the local courts if they even make it that far before being thrown out.

It's a big can of worms, indeed.

Ignorance is not an excuse. Someone who runs over a snake, be it accident or purposeful, it still committing the crime. I guess that applies to all wildlife including rabbits?

Actually I think the killing would have to be a willful act. No one is prosecuted for hunting deer out of season if they accidently hit one....

Brad Chambers

If you swerve off onto the shoulder to hit a snake that is pretty willful. After all changed course to aim your car / weapon at it.

Lance

Brad,

Remember, I'm not an attorney. I'm simply looking at how the word "hunt" is used in Sec. 62.0031, then how it's defined in the code.

Subchapter A, Chapter 62, Parks and Wildlife Code, is amended by adding Section 62.0031 to read as follows:
Sec. 62.0031. HUNTING FROM PUBLIC ROAD OR RIGHT-OF-WAY PROHIBITED. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person may not hunt a wild animal or bird when the person is on a public road or right-of-way.
(b) This section does not apply to the trapping of a raptor for educational or sporting purposes as provided by Chapter 49.

SUBCHAPTER C. DEFINITIONS
§ 1.101. DEFINITIONS. In this code:
(1) "Hunt" means capture, trap, take, or kill, or an
attempt to capture, trap, take, or kill.
(2) "Catch" means take or kill and includes an attempt
to take or kill.
(3) "Sell" means to transfer the ownership or the
right of possession of an item to a person for consideration and
includes a barter and an even exchange.
(4) "Wild," when used in reference to an animal, means
a species, including each individual of a species, that normally
lives in a state of nature and is not ordinarily domesticated. This
definition does not include exotic livestock defined by Section
161.001(a)(4), Agriculture Code.
(5) "Take," except as otherwise provided by this code,
means collect, hook, hunt, net, shoot, or snare, by any means or
device, and includes an attempt to take or to pursue in order to
take.

Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.
Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 378, ch. 153, § 11, eff.
Sept. 1, 1981; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 424, § 3, eff. Sept. 1,
1991; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1256, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;
Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 604, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts
2005, 79th Leg., ch. 992, § 1, eff. June 18, 2005.

It is just a fact.. not an accident

Lance, I think what makes Section 62.0031 unconstitutional, if it is unconstitutional, is the possibility that it's a TECHNICAL violation if the person kills the wild animal when the person is on the road or ROW, irregardless of whether the person does so knowingly or unknowingly. Maybe the same thing that makes it unenforceable makes it unconstitutional and vice versa. Remember TPWD's concept of the roadside wildlife sanctuary-lol.

.... demonstrate that they are selectively enforcing the law against those that would capture vs kill a snake on the roadway.

And that will also work in our favor to get this thing squashed.

Remember its not only snakes, its ANY wild animal. So technically the dude that lives across the street from me that ran over a squirrel could be cited for "hunting" on a public roadway.

We need to publicize how poorly written the law is, not only about snakes, but every animal. I have a friend that is a wildlife rehaber and she gets injured animals from the roadside and rehabs them (squirrels, rabbits, possums etc...) I told her that now picking up those injured animals is now illegal and she was pretty upset. Unfortunately the general public doesn't care if a snake gets run over, but if you can't save a cute little bunny, that's an atrocity.

This is a shared problem and we can make it better for everybody that is impacted.

Yes, what about those people with extraordinary talents and patience to rehab injured animals? They should have a voice in this as well and maybe another point for the record.
Todd Hughes