July 8, 1993
Richard B. Hamilton Assistant Director Wildlife Resources Commission 512 N. Salisbury Street Raleigh, North Carolina 27604-1188
Re: Advisory Opinion to the Assistant Director of the Wildlife Resources Commission ("WRC") from the Administrative Division, Service to State Agencies Section, as to whether the effect of Sess. Law 1993 ch. 220, which allows the bear hunting season in Pasquotank and Camden counties to begin two days earlier than the season established by WRC, is to allow Sunday bear hunting in those counties.
Dear Mr. Hamilton:
We are in receipt of your July 6, 1993, letter inquiring about the effect of the recently enacted Sess. Law 1993 ch. 220. This local law provides that the bear season in Camden and Pasquotank counties shall begin two days prior to the start of the season established by WRC and shall end on the same date that the WRC session ends. WRC’s season begins on Monday, November 8, 1993. Camden and Pasquotank counties’ season begins on Saturday, November 6, 1993. Your specific question is whether hunting will be allowed in Camden and Pasquotank counties on Sunday, November 7th, notwithstanding the general statutory and regulatory prohibitions against Sunday hunting.
G.S. §103-2 provides:
If any person shall, except in defense of his own property, hunt on Sunday, having with him a shotgun, rifle, or pistol, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and pay a fine not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) or [be] imprisoned not exceeding 30 days. Provided, that the provisions hereof shall not be applicable to military reservations, the jurisdiction of which is exclusively in the federal government. Wildlife protectors are granted authority to enforce the provisions of this section.
This statute only prohibits hunting with firearms on Sundays. By administrative rule, however, WRC has extended the prohibition to include hunting by all methods. 15A NCAC 10B .0201 PROHIBITED TAKING provides in pertinent part:
Lawful seasons and bag limits for each species apply beginning with the first day of the listed season and continue through the last day of the listed season, with all dates being included except Sundays. On military installations under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government the open seasons include Sundays. When any hunting season ends on a January 1 that falls on a Sunday, that season is extended to Monday, January 2. Note: Where local laws govern hunting, or are in conflict with these regulations, the local law shall prevail.
Both G.S. § 103-2 and Sess. Law 1993 ch. 220 address hunting. Where two statutes address the same subject, they must be read in para materia and reconciled, if possible to give effect to each.
Shaw v. Baxley, 270 N.C. 740, 155 S.E.2d 266 (1967). Reading these statutes together, it is our
opinion that Sess. Law 1993 ch. 220 merely opens bear season for those two counties on
November 6, 1993. Hunting bear with firearms on Sundays is still unlawful, therefore, pursuant
to G.S. §103-2. Bear can, however, be hunted with methods other than firearms on Sunday,
November 7, 1993, in accordance with Sess. Law 1993 ch. 220, since this session law would take
precedence over 15A NCAC 10B .0201.
Andrew A. Vanore, Jr.
Chief Deputy Attorney General
Melissa L. Trippe
Assistant Attorney General