Friday, August 8, 2008

The Bigfoot Body and Georgia Law

Over at the Bigfoot Forums they have been discussing to some degree the Bigfoot body and Georgia's "wildlife" laws. Currently, Bigfoot is not considered a species because technically it has not been verified to exist. Creating or interpreting these "wildlife" laws to apply to unknown or unverified species is ambitious at best. Please note that the terms "wildlife" and "wild animal" are not interchangeable under Georgia law and each has a different definition. Currently, any protection afforded to "Bigfoot" would certainly only fall under "wild animals". Let's look at a few excepts:

Definitions:
TITLE 27. GAME AND FISH CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
O.C.G.A. § 27-1-2 (2008)§ 27-1-2. (For effective date, see note) Definitions:

(6) "Big game" means turkey, deer, and bear.

(34) "Game animals" means the following animals: bear, bobcat, deer, fox, opossum, rabbit, raccoon, sea turtles and their eggs, squirrel, cougar (Felis concolor), and all members of the families Alligatoridae and Crocodylidae.

(75) "Wild animal" means any animal which is not wildlife and is not normally a domestic species in this state. This term specifically includes any hybrid or cross between any combination of a wild animal, wildlife, and a domestic animal. Offspring from all subsequent generations of such crosses or hybrids are wild animals.

(77) "Wildlife" means any vertebrate or invertebrate animal life indigenous to this state or any species introduced or specified by the board and includes fish, except domestic fish produced by aquaculturists registered under Code Section 27-4-255, mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans, and mollusks or any part thereof.


WHO owns the Georgia "Wildlife"?


TITLE 27. GAME AND FISH CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
O.C.G.A. § 27-1-3 (2008)§ 27-1-3. Legislative declarations; ownership and custody of wildlife; preservation of hunting and fishing opportunities; promotion and right to hunt, trap, or fish; local regulation; general offenses:


(b) The ownership of, jurisdiction over, and control of all wildlife, as defined in this title, are declared to be in the State of Georgia, in its sovereign capacity, to be controlled, regulated, and disposed of in accordance with this title. Wildlife is held in trust by the state for the benefit of its citizens and shall not be reduced to private ownership except as specifically provided for in this title. All wildlife of the State of Georgia is declared to be within the custody of the department for purposes of management and regulation in accordance with this title. However, the State of Georgia, the department, and the board shall be immune from suit and shall not be liable for any damage to life, person, or property caused directly or indirectly by any wildlife.

Question: Do I need a permit to simply possess a "wild animal" in Georgia?

Answer: Yes (see below)

TITLE 27. GAME AND FISH CHAPTER 5. WILD ANIMALS
O.C.G.A. § 27-5-4 (2008)§ 27-5-4. Wild animal licenses and permits generally:

(a) Unless otherwise provided in Code Section 27-5-5, it shall be unlawful for any person to import, transport, transfer, sell, purchase, or possess any wild animal listed in Code Section 27-5-5 or specified by the board by regulation without first obtaining a wild animal license from the department as provided in Code Section 27-2-23 or a wild animal permit as provided in this Code section; provided, however, anyone holding a deer-farming license is not required to have a wild animal license or permit to possess farmed deer. Unless otherwise specified by the department, such license or permit shall be effective from April 1 through March 31 and may contain such conditions and restrictions, including restrictions as to numbers and species of animals, as the department determines appropriate in light of the provisions of this chapter. An applicant for a wild animal license or permit shall have the burden of proving that any wild animals subject to such license or permit are or will be imported, transported, transferred, sold, purchased, or possessed in compliance with this chapter.

Additionally, since Bigfoot is presumably a mammal , you may be required to obtain another permit from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the USDA.

So, is Bigfoot protected or not?

It depends on whether it is determined to be a wild animal or part human. If it's determined to be a wild animal, then most likely it would receive some protection under the current law. If it's determined to be part human, then that opens up another can of worms altogether.

One thing is guaranteed, the courts would have to decide the status and the Georgia DNR (Law Enforcement Division) would be justified in basically impounding the body and even charging storage costs until a final disposition is issued.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

If it's part human, I would think they're screwed

Anonymous said...

Has anyone tried to figure out and contact the other people that they have said helped them out of the woods with the body?

Southern Bigfooter said...

Good Question!
I haven't found where anyone else involved has been identified yet, but you would think that SOMEONE else would be talkin'.

Psychic Bigfoot said...

Good post; methinks the fact that the legal status of a corpse hasn't been brought up might mean that there ain't no corpse in the first place.

By the way, what do you mean by "part human"?

Anonymous said...

First off, if the "so called body" was found after rigor had passed, then you have decomposition bloat and insect invasion of the corpse. The removal of the body would have created skin and hair sloughing and the stench alone would be overwhelming.

You drag said "body" out of the woods for 1.5 days with warm and humid weather. Right. Then you put said "decomposing" body on ice? Oh but wait, perhaps it was found in a peat bog and was partially mummified? Right.

There is no precedence to make any legal matters stick if "said body" is or has any human or homonoid characteristics. They can't make a law that affects a person after the fact.

If the "said body" is a primate (or bear or any known or unknown animal) that has been dumped or escaped, the body or skeleton belongs to the agency (lands - State, USFS, USPS etc) whom's rules apply. The state will not have first rights on Federal Lands unless so stated in the CFR Title 36.

You may want to compare Federal Regulations as well (Forests, Parks, Monuments and so on).

Also, check this out:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ptrs/2007/03/17/countdown-to-capturing-bigfoot

Anonymous said...

hey researchers wow this is very interesting new blog about the ga sasquatch body situation mess indeed. im sure we will see more updates in weeks to come. good afternoon bill green. this situation gets better to worse by everyday but still interesting at least until sept 1.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to see these clowns get raided, body or no body. The state should take a look and teach them a well deserved lesson.


Yours truly, Buttshiller.

Southern Bigfooter said...

psychic- I meant if the alleged sample contains DNA that is similar to humans.

Good points on the body and decomposition. If I was the one in that situation, I'd probably try to wrap it with something like a tent (since I'm camping) or a couple of sleeping bags. That would sure make the "drag" easier and reduce friction.
I didn't research any of the Federal laws because generally the Feds won't get involved in anything until late in the game, but you did give some food for thought. Also, thanks for the link, I'll give it a listen.

Bill Green--Hello and welcome, I recognize your name from the BF Forums.

BS(er)- I'm sure that when the truth comes out, all involved will get what's coming....Good or Bad.

Anonymous said...

Very true, SB, very true.


Yours truly, Buttshiller.

Anonymous said...

The latest is a link to Bigfoottracker.com on Biscardi's site, searchingforbigfoot.com.
A new video at Bigfoottracker.com of the Georgia guys with Biscardi, and then the words, "tick tick tick".