§ 4001 - Definitions - Vermont Statutes

§ 4001. Definitions

Words and phrases used in this part, unless otherwise provided, shall be construed to mean as follows:

(1) Closed season: that period of time during which fishing or hunting is prohibited.

(2) Open season: that period of time during which fishing or hunting is permitted.

(3) Legal day:

(A) Fishing: as provided by regulations of the fish and wildlife board;

(B) Hunting: as provided by regulations of the fish and wildlife board;

(C) [Repealed.]

(D) Hunting raccoon: as provided by regulations of the fish and wildlife board.

(4) Angling: fishing by any of the following methods:

(A) By means of hook and line in hand or attached to a rod, in accordance with regulations of the board.

(B) By casting or trolling artificial flies, lures or baited hooks, in accordance with regulations of the board.

(5) Black bass: large mouth bass or small mouth bass.

(6) Pickerel: the great northern pike, chain pickerel or muskellunge.

(7) Pike perch: walleyed or yellow pike.

(8) Trout: brook, rainbow, and brown.

(9) Game: game birds or game quadrupeds, or both.

(10) Game birds: quail, partridge, woodcock, pheasant, plover of any kind, Wilson snipe, other shore birds, rail, coot, gallinule, wild ducks, wild geese, and wild turkey.

(11) Partridge: ruffed grouse.

(12) Game quadruped: caribou, elk, moose, deer, gray squirrel, rabbit, and black bear.

(13) Rabbit: to include wild hare.

(14) Fur-bearing animals: beaver, otter, marten, mink, raccoon, fisher, fox, skunk, coyote, bobcat, and muskrat.

(15) Wild animals or wildlife: all animals, including birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles, other than domestic animals.

(16) Private preserves: lands or waters where the taking of fish or wild animals is prohibited as provided in sections 5204-5206 of this title.

(17) Propagation farms: lands or waters used for the propagation of fish or wild animals as provided in sections 5207-5209 of this title.

(18) Person: includes principal, agent, employee, firm, partnership, corporation, and association.

(19) Possession: actual or constructive possession or any control of things referred to.

(20) Resident: a person who has resided in this state for the six months immediately prior to the date of making application for a license and who has not during that period claimed a residence in any other state for any purpose.

(21) Nonresident: a person not a resident.

(22) Sell, sold, or sale: barter, exchange and offering or exposing for sale; and possession with intent to sell.

(23) Take and taking: pursuing, shooting, hunting, killing, capturing, trapping, snaring and netting fish, birds and quadrupeds and all lesser acts, such as disturbing, harrying or worrying or wounding or placing, setting, drawing or using any net or other device commonly used to take fish or wild animals, whether they result in the taking or not; and shall include every attempt to take and every act of assistance to every other person in taking or attempting to take fish or wild animals, provided that when taking is allowed by law, reference is had to taking by lawful means and in lawful manner.

(24) Transport and transportation: all carrying or moving or causing to be carried or moved.

(25) Whole to include part: every provision in this part relating to any fish or wild animal shall be deemed to apply to any part thereof with the same force and effect as it applies to the whole.

(26) Inclusion and exclusion of dates: except as herein otherwise specially provided, when a period is named during which an act is permitted or prohibited, the first date shall be included within and the last excluded from such period.

(27) Commissioner: fish and wildlife commissioner.

(28) Board: fish and wildlife board.

(29) Bow in the phrase "bow and arrow": hand-held bow, including a long bow, recurve bow or compound bow but does not include a crossbow.

(30) Paraplegic: a person who suffers from permanent paralysis of the lower half of the body with involvement of both legs, or a person who suffers from the loss of both lower extremities.

(31) Big game: deer, bear, moose, wild turkey, caribou, elk, and anadromous Atlantic salmon taken in the Connecticut River Basin.

(32) Field trials: a competitive event held by an organized club for the purpose of demonstrating the skill of hunting and retrieving dogs under hunting conditions.

(33)(A) Muzzle loading firearm: a single-shot, single-barrel rifle or smoothbore firearm, with a minimum barrel length of 20 inches, designed to be fired from the shoulder or a single-shot pistol with a minimum barrel length of 10 inches. Both rifle and pistol must be incapable of being loaded from the breach without the use of tools, and must have a minimum bore diameter of 0.43 inches and an ignition system of traditional or modern flintlock, caplock, matchlock, in line or wheellock style.

(B) Ammunition: for purposes of this section black powder or other suitable nonsmokeless propellant, and a single ball or bullet shall be the sole ammunition permitted.

(34) Small game: game birds except for turkeys; game quadrupeds except for big game; furbearers and other wild animals.

(35) Secretary: the secretary of the agency of natural resources. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961; amended 1973, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 1975, No. 61; 1977, No. 103, § 4, eff. May 6, 1977; 1981, No. 85, § 1, eff. May 7, 1981; 1981, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1983, No. 118 (Adj. Sess.); No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. April 13, 1984; No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), eff. April 13, 1984; 1985, No. 92, § 1; 1985, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 16, 1986; 1987, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1989, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, No. 205 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1991, No. 33, § 1; 1991, No. 230 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 2, 29; 2005, No. 31, § 1.)