Section 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 conservation rangers;

   (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.

Code 1933, § 45-603, enacted by Ga. L. 1977, p. 396, § 1; Ga. L. 1977, p. 1270, § 2; Ga. L. 1979, p. 800, §§ 2, 3; Ga. L. 1982, p. 988, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 20; Ga. L. 1984, p. 802, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2863, § 8; Ga. L. 2009, p. 47, § 1/SB 110.