CHAPTER 527

An Act to amend and reenact § 2, as amended, of Chapter 420, Acts of
Assembly of 1962, approved March 81, 1 962, authorizing certain
counties to require special stamps for hunting bear and deer, which
section relates to same and to disposition of funds therefrom.

[S 330]

Approved April 4, 1968
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 2, as amended, of Chapter 420, Acts of Assembly of 1962,
approved March 31, 1962, be amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 2. It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt bear and deer in
any such county without first having obtained a special stamp the fee for
which shall be one dollar annually, provided that ordinances adopted pur-
suant to this act by the counties of Grayson, Smyth and Wythe may pre-
scribe any fee for such special stamp for nonresidents of the
Commonwealth not to exceed five dollars. The stamp shall be adhesively
affixed to the back of the current season’s hunting license issued such
person, who shall cancel the same with his initials in ink. The money
received from the sale of such special stamps shall be paid into the county
treasury to the credit of a special fund and identified by the year collected,
and the net amount thereof, or so much as is necessary, shall be used for
the payment of damages to crops, fruit trees, livestock or farm equipment
by deer, bear or big game hunters in the county whenever such damage
amounts to ten dollars or more, provided, however, that in any case
in which such damage was caused by hunters, and the hunter be known,
the claimant shall have first proceeded in a civil action against such
hunter. Upon payment of any such claim, the county shall be subrogated
to the rights of the claimant against such hunter. Any payment under the
provisions of this act shall be limited to the net amount accruing in the
special fund from sales of such stamps for the county during the three
preceding years in which the damage occurs. Any surplus remaining in
the fund, which surplus has been in the fund more than three years, shall
be earmarked for conservation, restoration, protection of widlife and
preventing damage by wildlife to property in said county under the
direction of the board of supervisors and in cooperation with the Commis-
sion of Game and Inland Fisheries. Provided however, that any county
board of supervisors may transfer funds from such special fund before the
end of three years for the purposes set forth above, so long as such board
of supervisors appropriates sufficient money to satisfy claims which cannot
be met by reason of such transferal. Provided further, that the board of
supervisors of Bath County may use any surplus in the fund, which surplus
has been in the fund more than three years, for installing a telephone line
within the county of Bath in addition to the purposes set forth above.
Provided further, that the board of supervisors of Bland County may use
any surplus in the fund, which surplus has been in the fund more than
three years, for payment of fox and bob cat bounties. Moneys heretofore
accumulated in such special fund prior to the effective date of this act
may be transferred at any time for the purposes set forth hereinabove. Any
person suffering such damage shall report the same to the game warden
of the county whose duty it shall be to investigate the same at once. The
claim for damage shall be filed in duplicate, under oath, on forms fur-
nished by the clerk of the county. If the claimant and game warden
agree as to the amount of damage, the game warden shall approve the
claim and forward it to the county board of supervisors, who may approve
same and order payment thereof. If no such agreement is reached between
them, by and with the approval of the board of supervisors, the claim
may be submitted to the arbitration of three persons in the customary
manner and the award of the arbitrators shall be final and binding. Pro-
vided, however, that no such claim for damages shall be paid to any person
who shall prohibit hunting on his land by the general public.

Provided, however, in Grayson and Smyth counties if the claimant
and the game warden agree as to the amount of damage and such
amount does not exceed three hundred dollars, the game warden shall
approve the claim and forward it to the treasurer of the county for pay-
ment, with the approval of the board of supervisors, and if such amount
agreed upon exceeds three hundred dollars, or if no such agreement can be
reached between them, and the claimant makes application to the circuit
court of the county in which the damage occurred, the judge of such court
shall appoint a committee of three qualified, disinterested persons, who
shall fix the damages in the customary manner, and the award of the
committee shall be final and binding.