License to capture or kill fur-bearing animals for commercial purposes; traps.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to take, capture, or kill, or to attempt to take, capture, or kill for commercial purposes by any means or device any of the fur-bearing animals protected by the laws or regulations of this state without first procuring a license therefor, to be issued in the same manner as is provided for hunting and fishing licenses.

(b)(1) Any person who has been a bona fide resident of this state for 90 days next preceding may procure a resident trapping license by paying the sum of twenty dollars ($20).

(2) Any person who has not been a bona fide resident of this state for 90 days next preceding may procure a nonresident trapping license by paying the amount charged a resident of Alabama for a similar license in the nonresident state, except that the license fee for a nonresident in no event shall be less than 10 times the license fee charged by the department for a trapping license for an Alabama resident.

(c) A trapping license shall be valid only during the season when fur-bearing animals may be legally taken. The license fees provided in this section and the issuance fees for the issuance of licenses shall be subject to adjustment as provided in Section 9-11-68.

(d)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to trap in the State of Alabama without identifying each trap with a metal tag bearing information adequate to identify the owner. Should any law enforcement officer of this state or employee of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources of the State of Alabama discover any trapping device being used in violation of the terms of this section, the officer shall confiscate the device and it shall become the property of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and shall be disposed of as ordered by the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources.

(2) The Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources shall adopt rules requiring the use of a unique identification number or license number to identify the owner of trapping equipment without requiring the disclosure of the owner's Social Security number, home address, or other sensitive personally identifying information.

(e) A violation of this section or failure to fully comply with this section shall constitute a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, the person violating or failing to comply with this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each offense.

(Acts 1935, No. 383, p. 813, §10; Code 1940, T. 8, §91; Acts 1951, No. 707, p. 1246, §1; Acts 1961, Ex. Sess., No. 187, p. 2157, §1; Acts 1969, No. 759, p. 1339, §2; Acts 1977, No. 801, p. 1381, §1; Act 2008-384, p. 714, §1; Act 2014-181, p. 229, §1; Act 2019-308, §1.)