| ||||
| Public Act 100-0949 | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
AN ACT concerning wildlife.
| ||||
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| ||||
represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||
Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing Section | ||||
2.26 and 2.33 as follows:
| ||||
(520 ILCS 5/2.26) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.26)
| ||||
Sec. 2.26. Deer hunting permits. Any person attempting to | ||||
take deer shall first obtain a "Deer
Hunting Permit" issued by | ||||
the Department in accordance with its administrative rules.
| ||||
Those rules must provide for the issuance of the following | ||||
types of resident deer archery permits: (i) a combination | ||||
permit, consisting of one either-sex permit and one | ||||
antlerless-only permit, (ii) a single antlerless-only permit, | ||||
and (iii) a single either-sex permit. The fee for a Deer | ||||
Hunting Permit to take deer with either bow and arrow or gun
| ||||
shall not exceed $25.00 for residents of the State. The | ||||
Department may by
administrative rule provide for non-resident | ||||
deer hunting permits for which the
fee will not exceed $300 in | ||||
2005, $350 in 2006, and $400 in 2007 and thereafter except as | ||||
provided below for non-resident landowners
and non-resident | ||||
archery hunters. The Department may by
administrative rule | ||||
provide for a non-resident archery deer permit consisting
of | ||||
not more than 2 harvest tags at a total cost not to exceed $325 | ||||
in 2005, $375 in 2006, and $425 in 2007 and thereafter.
| ||
The standards and specifications for use of guns and bow | ||
and arrow for
deer hunting shall be established by | ||
administrative rule.
| ||
No person may have in his possession any firearm not | ||
authorized by
administrative rule for a specific hunting season | ||
when taking deer.
| ||
Persons having a firearm deer hunting permit shall be | ||
permitted to
take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour | ||
before sunrise to
1/2 hour after sunset, and only during those | ||
days for which an open season is
established for the taking of | ||
deer by use of shotgun, handgun, or muzzle
loading
rifle.
| ||
Persons having an archery deer hunting permit shall be | ||
permitted to
take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour | ||
before sunrise to 1/2 hour
after sunset, and only during those | ||
days for which an open season is
established for the taking of | ||
deer by use of bow and arrow.
| ||
It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer by use of | ||
dogs,
horses, automobiles, aircraft or other vehicles, or by | ||
the use
or aid of bait or baiting of any kind. For the purposes | ||
of this Section, "bait" means any material, whether liquid or | ||
solid, including food, salt, minerals, and other products, | ||
except pure water, that can be ingested, placed, or scattered | ||
in such a manner as to attract or lure white-tailed deer. | ||
"Baiting" means the placement or scattering of bait to attract | ||
deer. An area is considered as baited during the presence
of | ||
and for 10 consecutive days following the removal of bait. | ||
Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the use of a dog to | ||
track wounded deer. Any person using a dog for tracking wounded | ||
deer must maintain physical control of the dog at all times by | ||
means of a maximum 50 foot lead attached to the dog's collar or | ||
harness. Tracking wounded deer is permissible at night, but at | ||
no time outside of legal deer hunting hours or seasons shall | ||
any person handling or accompanying a dog being used for | ||
tracking wounded deer be in possession of any firearm or | ||
archery device. Persons tracking wounded deer with a dog during | ||
the firearm deer seasons shall wear blaze orange or solid blaze | ||
pink color as required. Dog handlers tracking wounded deer with | ||
a dog are exempt from hunting license and deer permit | ||
requirements so long as they are accompanied by the licensed | ||
deer hunter who wounded the deer.
| ||
It shall be unlawful to possess or transport any wild deer | ||
which has
been injured or killed in any manner upon a public | ||
highway or public
right-of-way of this State unless exempted by | ||
administrative rule.
| ||
Persons hunting deer must have gun unloaded and no bow and | ||
arrow
device shall be carried with the arrow in the nocked | ||
position during
hours when deer hunting is unlawful.
| ||
It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the legal | ||
limit of
deer by gun, to further participate with gun in any | ||
deer hunting party.
| ||
It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the legal | ||
limit
of deer by bow and arrow, to further participate with bow | ||
and arrow in any
deer hunting party.
| ||
The Department may prohibit upland game hunting during the | ||
gun deer
season by administrative rule.
| ||
The Department shall not limit the number of non-resident, | ||
either-sex archery deer hunting permits to less than 20,000.
| ||
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this | ||
Section,
including administrative rules, shall be guilty of a | ||
Class B misdemeanor.
| ||
For the purposes of calculating acreage under this Section, | ||
the Department shall, after determining the total acreage of | ||
the applicable tract or tracts of land, round remaining | ||
fractional portions of an acre greater than or equal to half of | ||
an acre up to the next whole acre. | ||
For the purposes of taking white-tailed deer, nothing in | ||
this Section shall be construed to prevent the manipulation, | ||
including mowing or cutting, of standing crops as a normal | ||
agricultural or soil stabilization practice, food plots, or | ||
normal agricultural practices, including planting, harvesting, | ||
and maintenance such as cultivating or the use of products | ||
designed for scent only and not capable of ingestion, solid or | ||
liquid, placed or scattered, in such a manner as to attract or | ||
lure deer. Such manipulation for the purpose of taking | ||
white-tailed deer may be further modified by administrative | ||
rule. | ||
(Source: P.A. 98-180, eff. 8-5-13; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16; | ||
99-869, eff. 1-1-17.)
| ||
(520 ILCS 5/2.33) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.33)
| ||
Sec. 2.33. Prohibitions.
| ||
(a) It is unlawful to carry or possess any gun in any
State | ||
refuge unless otherwise permitted by administrative rule.
| ||
(b) It is unlawful to use or possess any snare or | ||
snare-like device,
deadfall, net, or pit trap to take any | ||
species, except that snares not
powered by springs or other | ||
mechanical devices may be used to trap
fur-bearing mammals, in | ||
water sets only, if at least one-half of the snare
noose is | ||
located underwater at all times.
| ||
(c) It is unlawful for any person at any time to take a | ||
wild mammal
protected by this Act from its den by means of any | ||
mechanical device,
spade, or digging device or to use smoke or | ||
other gases to dislodge or
remove such mammal except as | ||
provided in Section 2.37.
| ||
(d) It is unlawful to use a ferret or any other small | ||
mammal which is
used in the same or similar manner for which | ||
ferrets are used for the
purpose of frightening or driving any | ||
mammals from their dens or hiding places.
| ||
(e) (Blank).
| ||
(f) It is unlawful to use spears, gigs, hooks or any like | ||
device to
take any species protected by this Act.
| ||
(g) It is unlawful to use poisons, chemicals or explosives | ||
for the
purpose of taking any species protected by this Act.
| ||
(h) It is unlawful to hunt adjacent to or near any peat, | ||
grass,
brush or other inflammable substance when it is burning.
| ||
(i) It is unlawful to take, pursue or intentionally harass | ||
or disturb
in any manner any wild birds or mammals by use or | ||
aid of any vehicle or
conveyance, except as permitted by the | ||
Code of Federal Regulations for the
taking of waterfowl. It is | ||
also unlawful to use the lights of any vehicle
or conveyance or | ||
any light from or any light connected to the
vehicle or | ||
conveyance in any area where wildlife may be found except in
| ||
accordance with Section 2.37 of this Act; however, nothing in | ||
this
Section shall prohibit the normal use of headlamps for the | ||
purpose of driving
upon a roadway. Striped skunk, opossum, red | ||
fox, gray
fox, raccoon, bobcat, and coyote may be taken during | ||
the open season by use of a small
light which is worn on the | ||
body or hand-held by a person on foot and not in any
vehicle.
| ||
(j) It is unlawful to use any shotgun larger than 10 gauge | ||
while
taking or attempting to take any of the species protected | ||
by this Act.
| ||
(k) It is unlawful to use or possess in the field any | ||
shotgun shell loaded
with a shot size larger than lead BB or | ||
steel T (.20 diameter) when taking or
attempting to take any | ||
species of wild game mammals (excluding white-tailed
deer), | ||
wild game birds, migratory waterfowl or migratory game birds | ||
protected
by this Act, except white-tailed deer as provided for | ||
in Section 2.26 and other
species as provided for by subsection | ||
(l) or administrative rule.
| ||
(l) It is unlawful to take any species of wild game, except
| ||
white-tailed deer and fur-bearing mammals, with a shotgun | ||
loaded with slugs unless otherwise
provided for by | ||
administrative rule.
| ||
(m) It is unlawful to use any shotgun capable of holding | ||
more than 3
shells in the magazine or chamber combined, except | ||
on game breeding and
hunting preserve areas licensed under | ||
Section 3.27 and except as permitted by
the Code of Federal | ||
Regulations for the taking of waterfowl. If the shotgun
is | ||
capable of holding more than 3 shells, it shall, while being | ||
used on an
area other than a game breeding and shooting | ||
preserve area licensed
pursuant to Section 3.27, be fitted with | ||
a one piece plug that is
irremovable without dismantling the | ||
shotgun or otherwise altered to
render it incapable of holding | ||
more than 3 shells in the magazine and
chamber, combined.
| ||
(n) It is unlawful for any person, except persons who | ||
possess a permit to
hunt from a vehicle as provided in this | ||
Section and persons otherwise permitted
by law, to have or | ||
carry any gun in or on any vehicle, conveyance or aircraft,
| ||
unless such gun is unloaded and enclosed in a case, except that | ||
at field trials
authorized by Section 2.34 of this Act, | ||
unloaded guns or guns loaded with blank
cartridges only, may be | ||
carried on horseback while not contained in a case, or
to have | ||
or carry any bow or arrow device in or on any vehicle unless | ||
such bow
or arrow device is unstrung or enclosed in a case, or | ||
otherwise made
inoperable.
| ||
(o) (Blank).
| ||
(p) It is unlawful to take game birds, migratory game birds | ||
or
migratory waterfowl with a rifle, pistol, revolver or | ||
airgun.
| ||
(q) It is unlawful to fire a rifle, pistol, revolver or | ||
airgun on,
over or into any waters of this State, including | ||
frozen waters.
| ||
(r) It is unlawful to discharge any gun or bow and arrow | ||
device
along, upon, across, or from any public right-of-way or | ||
highway in this State.
| ||
(s) It is unlawful to use a silencer or other device to | ||
muffle or
mute the sound of the explosion or report resulting | ||
from the firing of
any gun.
| ||
(t) It is unlawful for any person to take or attempt to | ||
take any species of wildlife or parts thereof, intentionally or | ||
wantonly allow a dog to
hunt, within or upon the land of | ||
another, or upon waters flowing over or
standing on the land of | ||
another, or to knowingly shoot a gun or bow and arrow device at | ||
any wildlife physically on or flying over the property of | ||
another without first obtaining permission from
the owner or | ||
the owner's designee. For the purposes of this Section, the | ||
owner's designee means anyone who the owner designates in a | ||
written authorization and the authorization must contain (i) | ||
the legal or common description of property for such authority | ||
is given, (ii) the extent that the owner's designee is | ||
authorized to make decisions regarding who is allowed to take | ||
or attempt to take any species of wildlife or parts thereof, | ||
and (iii) the owner's notarized signature. Before enforcing | ||
this
Section the law enforcement officer must have received | ||
notice from the
owner or the owner's designee of a violation of | ||
this Section. Statements made to the
law enforcement officer | ||
regarding this notice shall not be rendered
inadmissible by the | ||
hearsay rule when offered for the purpose of showing the
| ||
required notice.
| ||
(u) It is unlawful for any person to discharge any firearm | ||
for the purpose
of taking any of the species protected by this | ||
Act, or hunt with gun or
dog, or intentionally or wantonly | ||
allow a dog to hunt, within 300 yards of an inhabited dwelling | ||
without
first obtaining permission from the owner or tenant, | ||
except that while
trapping, hunting with bow and arrow, hunting | ||
with dog and shotgun using shot
shells only, or hunting with | ||
shotgun using shot shells only, or providing outfitting | ||
services under a waterfowl outfitter permit, or
on licensed | ||
game breeding and hunting preserve areas, as defined in Section
| ||
3.27, on
federally owned and managed lands and on Department | ||
owned, managed, leased, or
controlled lands, a 100 yard | ||
restriction shall apply.
| ||
(v) It is unlawful for any person to remove fur-bearing | ||
mammals from, or
to move or disturb in any manner, the traps | ||
owned by another person without
written authorization of the | ||
owner to do so.
| ||
(w) It is unlawful for any owner of a dog to knowingly or | ||
wantonly allow
his or her dog to pursue, harass or kill deer, | ||
except that nothing in this Section shall prohibit the tracking | ||
of wounded deer with a dog in accordance with the provisions of | ||
Section 2.26 of this Code.
| ||
(x) It is unlawful for any person to wantonly or carelessly | ||
injure
or destroy, in any manner whatsoever, any real or | ||
personal property on
the land of another while engaged in | ||
hunting or trapping thereon.
| ||
(y) It is unlawful to hunt wild game protected by this Act | ||
between one
half hour after sunset and one half hour before | ||
sunrise, except that
hunting hours between one half hour after | ||
sunset and one half hour
before sunrise may be established by | ||
administrative rule for fur-bearing
mammals.
| ||
(z) It is unlawful to take any game bird (excluding wild | ||
turkeys and
crippled pheasants not capable of normal flight and | ||
otherwise irretrievable)
protected by this Act when not flying. | ||
Nothing in this Section shall prohibit
a person from carrying | ||
an uncased, unloaded shotgun in a boat, while in pursuit
of a | ||
crippled migratory waterfowl that is incapable of normal | ||
flight, for the
purpose of attempting to reduce the migratory | ||
waterfowl to possession, provided
that the attempt is made | ||
immediately upon downing the migratory waterfowl and
is done | ||
within 400 yards of the blind from which the migratory | ||
waterfowl was
downed. This exception shall apply only to | ||
migratory game birds that are not
capable of normal flight. | ||
Migratory waterfowl that are crippled may be taken
only with a | ||
shotgun as regulated by subsection (j) of this Section using
| ||
shotgun shells as regulated in subsection (k) of this Section.
| ||
(aa) It is unlawful to use or possess any device that may | ||
be used for
tree climbing or cutting, while hunting fur-bearing | ||
mammals, excluding coyotes.
| ||
(bb) It is unlawful for any person, except licensed game | ||
breeders,
pursuant to Section 2.29 to import, carry into, or | ||
possess alive in this
State any species of wildlife taken | ||
outside of this State, without
obtaining permission to do so | ||
from the Director.
| ||
(cc) It is unlawful for any person to have in his or her
| ||
possession any freshly killed species protected by this Act | ||
during the season
closed for taking.
| ||
(dd) It is unlawful to take any species protected by this | ||
Act and retain
it alive except as provided by administrative | ||
rule.
| ||
(ee) It is unlawful to possess any rifle while in the field | ||
during gun
deer season except as provided in Section 2.26 and | ||
administrative rules.
| ||
(ff) It is unlawful for any person to take any species | ||
protected by
this Act, except migratory waterfowl, during the | ||
gun deer hunting season in
those counties open to gun deer | ||
hunting, unless he or she wears, when in
the field, a cap and | ||
upper outer garment of a solid blaze orange color or solid | ||
blaze pink color, with
such articles of clothing displaying a | ||
minimum of 400 square inches of
blaze orange or solid blaze | ||
pink color material.
| ||
(gg) It is unlawful during the upland game season for any | ||
person to take
upland game with a firearm unless he or she | ||
wears, while in the field, a
cap of solid blaze orange color or | ||
solid blaze pink color. For purposes of this Act, upland game | ||
is
defined as Bobwhite Quail, Hungarian Partridge, Ring-necked | ||
Pheasant, Eastern
Cottontail and Swamp Rabbit.
| ||
(hh) It shall be unlawful to kill or cripple any species | ||
protected by
this Act for which there is a bag limit without | ||
making a reasonable
effort to retrieve such species and include | ||
such in the bag limit. It shall be unlawful for any person | ||
having control over harvested game mammals, game birds, or | ||
migratory game birds for which there is a bag limit to wantonly | ||
waste or destroy the usable meat of the game, except this shall | ||
not apply to wildlife taken under Sections 2.37 or 3.22 of this | ||
Code. For purposes of this subsection, "usable meat" means the | ||
breast meat of a game bird or migratory game bird and the hind | ||
ham and front shoulders of a game mammal. It shall be unlawful | ||
for any person to place, leave, dump, or abandon a wildlife | ||
carcass or parts of it along or upon a public right-of-way or | ||
highway or on public or private property, including a waterway | ||
or stream, without the permission of the owner or tenant. It | ||
shall not be unlawful to discard game meat that is determined | ||
to be unfit for human consumption.
| ||
(ii) This Section shall apply only to those species | ||
protected by this
Act taken within the State. Any species or | ||
any parts thereof, legally taken
in and transported from other | ||
states or countries, may be possessed
within the State, except | ||
as provided in this Section and Sections 2.35, 2.36
and 3.21.
| ||
(jj) (Blank).
| ||
(kk) Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit the | ||
Director
from issuing permits to paraplegics or to other | ||
persons with disabilities who meet the
requirements set forth | ||
in administrative rule to shoot or hunt from a vehicle
as | ||
provided by that rule, provided that such is otherwise in | ||
accord with this
Act.
| ||
(ll) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the | ||
taking of aquatic
life protected by the Fish and Aquatic Life | ||
Code or birds and mammals
protected by this Act, except deer | ||
and fur-bearing mammals, from a boat not
camouflaged or | ||
disguised to alter its identity or to further provide a place
| ||
of concealment and not propelled by sail or mechanical power. | ||
However, only
shotguns not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller | ||
than .410 bore loaded with not
more than 3 shells of a shot | ||
size no larger than lead BB or steel T (.20
diameter) may be | ||
used to take species protected by this Act.
| ||
(mm) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the use | ||
of a shotgun,
not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller than a 20 | ||
gauge, with a rifled barrel.
| ||
(nn) It shall be unlawful to possess any species of | ||
wildlife or wildlife parts taken unlawfully in Illinois, any | ||
other state, or any other country, whether or not the wildlife | ||
or wildlife parts is indigenous to Illinois. For the purposes | ||
of this subsection, the statute of limitations for unlawful | ||
possession of wildlife or wildlife parts shall not cease until | ||
2 years after the possession has permanently ended. | ||
(Source: P.A. 99-33, eff. 1-1-16; 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 99-642, | ||
eff. 7-28-16; 100-489, eff. 9-8-17.)
| ||