§19-2A-1. Public market defined.

A public market is (1) any place of business where livestock, poultry, and other agricultural or horticultural products are received and sold at public auction or, (2) any place where livestock is received from producers, assembled and sold, or offered for sale, by any method including, but not limited to, public auction. The term public market shall include all such places where such activities are conducted, whether or not such activities are performed according to a scheduled routine or a historically established pattern of days and times: Provided, That sales totally sponsored, organized and financed by the State of West Virginia or by any state, regional or county agricultural fair or festival, or by any 4-H, FFA or other educational activity, shall not be included in this definition. Annual sales held by nonprofit associations or nonprofit corporations devoted to improving the quality of beef cattle raised in this state where the net proceeds from such sales are used exclusively for the association or corporation conducting such sale, or purebred livestock sales conducted by generally recognized breed associations, shall not be subject to the provisions of sections eight and sixteen-a of this article: Provided, however, That only members in good standing in such nonprofit association or nonprofit corporation or such breed association shall offer cattle for sale at such annual sale and the bylaws of such association or corporation or such breed association shall provide either for a surety bond to be given as provided in this article or that each member offering stock at such sale shall bear any loss in proportion to the value of each member's stock to the total value of all such stock being sold at such sale.