(a) It is unlawful for any person in this state to hunt, chase, trap, kill or take any form of wildlife in the open season, unless the person so hunting, chasing, trapping, killing or taking, or attempting to take, such wild animals, wild birds, wild fowl, or fish at the time possesses the requisite license prescribed by this chapter, such license, of proper color and design, to be on the person of the licensee while hunting, chasing, trapping or fishing.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class C misdemeanorup to 30 daysup to $50
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 70-2-101

  • Commission: means the Tennessee fish and wildlife commission, and "commissioner" means a member of the fish and wildlife commission. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Fish: means all species of trout, salmon, walleye, northern pike, bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish, perch, sunfish, drum, carp, sucker, shad, minnow, and such other species of fish that are presently found in the state or may be introduced or transplanted into this state for consumptive or nonconsumptive use. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Fishing: means any effort made to take, kill, injure, capture, or catch any fish and every act of assistance in any effort. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Hunting: means chasing, driving, flushing, attracting, pursuing, worrying, following after or on the trail of, searching for, trapping, shooting at, stalking, or lying in wait for, any wildlife, whether or not such wildlife is then or subsequently captured, killed, taken, or wounded and every act of assistance to any other person, but "hunting" does not include stalking, attracting, searching for, or lying in wait for, wildlife by an unarmed person solely for the purpose of watching wildlife or taking pictures of wildlife. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Person: means an individual, association, partnership, or corporation. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Trapping: means taking, killing, and capturing wildlife by the use of any trap, snare, deadfall, or other device commonly used to capture wildlife, and the shooting or killing of wildlife lawfully trapped, and includes all lesser acts such as placing, setting, or staking such traps, snares, deadfalls, and other devices, whether or not such acts result in taking of wildlife, and every attempt to take and every act of assistance to any other person in taking or attempting to take wildlife with traps, snares, deadfalls, or other devices. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Wildlife: means wild vertebrates, mollusks, crustaceans, and fish. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) A valid federal migratory waterfowl stamp must be possessed while hunting migratory waterfowl by any person over sixteen (16) years of age, which stamp shall be cancelled in ink by the signature of the hunting licensee.
(c) No license or permit, required and issued under this chapter, may be loaned or transferred to any other person, firm or corporation.
(d)

(1)

(A) Upon conviction for any offense against this title, any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to this title, or any proclamation of the fish and wildlife commission, the court may revoke the license or suspend any or all of the fishing, hunting, or trapping privileges of the person so convicted, or both revoke the license and revoke any or all of the fishing, hunting or trapping privileges of the person so convicted.
(B) Any license so revoked shall be surrendered to the court and transmitted to the arresting officer, to be made a part of the prosecution record.
(2) Any person whose license has been revoked or whose privileges have been suspended, or both, may be prohibited from fishing, hunting and trapping for a period of time of not less than one (1) year to be fixed by the court.
(e) Any violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00). Any person who violates the revocation order of the court may be fined not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and may be confined in the county jail or workhouse not less than ten (10) days nor more than eleven (11) months and twenty-nine (29) days, it being mandatory upon the court to impose the prison sentence, and the minimum time may not be subject to suspension.
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