No person shall trap, take, capture, kill or have in possession a beaver, except as authorized by a valid permit at a time and in a manner prescribed by the State Fish and Game Code. In the absence of provisions for a season and limit in the code, the season shall be January 15 through and including February 15 of each year, and the season limit shall be five beavers per permit. Permits shall expire on the last day of the open season. The Division of Fish and Wildlife may issue up to and not exceeding 200 permits in any one calendar year. The fee for this permit is $15.00. The penalty for violating this section is a fine of no less than $100 and no more than $200. The Division of Fish and Wildlife may, in its discretion, issue permits to owners or lessees of land to control beavers that are destroying said property.
N.J.S. § 23:4-55