West Virginia Reptile Laws
 

>From: "Captain Kaven Ransom" <kavenransom@wvdnr.gov>
>To: "Bill Daniel" <billdaniel@wvdnr.gov>,<tenn_eseejed@hotmail.com >
>Subject: Reptile laws for W.V.
>Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 15:49:04 -0500
>
> In Wv. all reptiles are considered wildlife. If you raise and buy or sell
>dead or alive you must have a Game farm License issued by DNR. To do
>business in the State of WV you must also have a business license issued by
>the Secretary of States Office. To import any Wildlife into the State of
>WV. a person must have a business license, Game Farm License, and a
>IMPORTATION PERMIT issued by Paul Johansen Assistant Chief, Game Management
>Charleston 558-2771. Game Farm License are issued fdrom one of Six District
>Offices and re-newed each year by December 1st. Records must be sent in for
>purchases, sells, transfers, birth, deaths, and a end of the yeard report of
>all of these. You can stop by any District Office and view or obtain a copy
>of the Regulations dealing with Wildlife in the State Of West Virginia 8am
>to 5pm any week day.
> One last reg. you may have to deal with is that the Director for The
>Division Of Natural Resources is the only person who issues a permit to
>import VENOMOUS REPTILES. He does not allow the importation, except for
>educational purposes.
> Being that you are located in District One's area you may contact us at
>825-6787 Farmington W.V. If you have any other questions please feel free
>to call, or stop by.
>
>
> Captain Kaven Ransom
> WV. DNR Law Enforcement
>
>

Wow, when did that happen? Must have been relatively recently?
WV (in the past, anyway) was one of those states where it seems nothing was regulated and you could buy just about anything, whether reptile, mammals, large cats, etc.

Even my field guide to Reptiles and the Law, state that all those regs, he is talking about only pertain to native wildlife. Course it does state that "*WV is currently revising the legislation, at publication time." Appears my book is way out of date. I need to see if they have a new edition.
Ca laws suck, but they have sucked for a long time, so when ever they add to it, it doesn't seem as bad. To go from being almost unregulated to that all within a few years, would be hard to cope with.

Not sure
 

Not sure exactly when this happened.It was my understanding that they started regulating reptiles in 2003 sometime,thats what i got from my recent conversations with an officer.But i like you was under the impression from everything i read on here or elsewhere that wv was one of the states that didnt seem to have any regulations or permits or anything.
Thats why i posted that email on here after i learned the hard way,hopefully it will make people aware and save them from facing some of the charges i am faced with.