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TN Purple Paint Law in effect for trespassing while hunting

The purple paint law is in effect for this hunting season. Trespassing is a Class C Misdemeanor in the State of Tennessee which can result in a $50 dollar fine or up to 30 days in jail.

Many states use the what is called the Purple Paint Law, and this July it was passed for Tennessee.

"You post one 'No Trespassing' sign on a predominant area of the property, and then you can go through the rest of your property by marking it with a purple X," Justin Cooper, the Hunting Team Lead at Bass Pro Shop, said to the NBC affiliate in Chattanooga.

The law helps property owners and hunters. The idea is that hunters won't miss the bright color. The purple color indicates trespassing, meaning hunting is not allowed.

"For hunters, you're only going in pretty low light conditions, or it's going to be dark, or they come out when it's dark, so it's helping you as a visual to where you can and can't be," Bass Pro Hunting Associate Wade Ruse said.

If game has traveled onto a different property, the paint should help identify locations, and it will help when hunters are looking through a scope from 100 to 200 yards away.

"You could be up on a property, up against somebody else that is marked, so you can verify through our scope, okay I can't shoot there," Ruse said.

So here's what owners and hunters need to know:

"For the size of the markings, they need a minimum on the vertical line of being at least 8 inches, and a minimum width of 1 inch," Ruse said.

There is not a specific brand or brightness of the paint indicated on the bill, so it's the property owners preference.

Ruse also said the paint should be in the strike zone which is above the knee and up to chest height so everyone can see it.

The purple paint law is in effect for this hunting season. Trespassing is a Class C Misdemeanor in the State of Tennessee which can result in a $50 dollar fine or up to 30 days in jail.

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