The Iowa Code (Iowa Code Sec. 483A.1) requires a fur-harvester’s license for the trapping of fur-bearing animals (including raccoons and badgers) and vests the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) with the responsibility of enforcing those rules. When an individual violates these laws for the first time, they are charged with a criminal misdemeanor. Subsequent offenses are punished more harshly and may lead to a jail sentence.
The facts of this case revealed that two IDNR conservation officers came upon a raccoon in a snare while patrolling a rural area. The name of the defendant's son was written on the snare. The officers ultimately obtained a warrant to search the defendant’s residence and found forty dead raccoons, one dead badger, several traps and snares (some that had the defendant's name on them and some that had the name of the defendant's son on them), lures and bait, along with an envelope containing a receipt for payment from a Minnesota fur dealer. The receipt had the son's name on the top, but also contained a notation referring to the defendant. If the defendant were convicted of trapping without a license, it would be his fourth offense.
At trial, the defendant admitted that he did not have a trapping license and that he had three prior convictions for illegal trapping. However, the defendant claimed that, though he owned the traps, his son was the one trapping and accepting payment for the furs. The jury found the defendant not guilty on the charge of trapping without a valid license, but guilty of the charge of illegally possessing animal furs. The trial court judge sentenced the defendant to 120 days jail time, five years of probation, and suspension of his trapping license for five years.
On appeal, the defendant claimed that there was insufficient evidence that he was in exclusive possession of the fur-bearing animals. However, the appellate court determined that the defendant did have constructive possession of the animals, meaning that he had knowledge of the animals’ presence and had the right to control that presence – more than 40 dead animals in his garage was convincing. State v. Urban, No. 9-522/08-0891, 2009 Iowa App. LEXIS 786 (Iowa Ct. App., Aug. 6, 2009)