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Public Act 097-0031
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| HB1724 Enrolled | LRB097 10510 CEL 50822 b |
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AN ACT concerning wildlife.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing |
Sections 2.30 and 2.33a and by adding Section 2.30b as follows:
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(520 ILCS 5/2.30) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.30)
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Sec. 2.30. It shall be unlawful for any person to trap or |
to hunt
with gun, dog, dog and gun, or bow and arrow, gray fox, |
red fox,
raccoon, weasel, mink, muskrat, badger, and opossum |
except during
the open season which will be set annually by the |
Director between 12:01
a.m., November 1 to 12:00 midnight, |
February 15, both inclusive.
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It is unlawful for any person to take bobcat or river otter
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in this State at any time.
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It is unlawful to pursue any fur-bearing mammal with a dog |
or dogs
between the hours of sunset and sunrise during the 10 |
day period
preceding the opening date of the raccoon hunting |
season and the 10 day
period following the closing date of the |
raccoon hunting season except
that the Department may issue |
field trial permits in accordance with Section
2.34 of this |
Act. A non-resident from a state with more restrictive
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fur-bearer pursuit regulations for any particular species than |
provided for
that species in this Act may not pursue that |
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species in Illinois except
during the period of time that |
Illinois residents are allowed to pursue
that species in the |
non-resident's state of residence. Hound running areas |
approved by the Department shall be exempt from the
provisions |
of this Section.
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It shall be unlawful to take beaver, river otter, weasel, |
mink or muskrat except during
the open season set annually by |
the Director, and then, only with traps.
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It shall be unlawful for any person to trap beaver or river |
otter with traps except during
the open season which will be |
set annually by the Director between 12:01
a.m., November 1st |
and 12:00 midnight, March 31, both inclusive.
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Coyote may be taken by trapping methods only during the |
period from
September 1 to March 1, both inclusive, and by |
hunting methods at any time.
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Striped skunk may be taken by trapping methods only during |
the period
from September 1 to March 1, both inclusive, and by |
hunting methods at
any time.
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For the purpose of taking fur-bearing mammals, the State |
may be
divided into management zones by administrative rule.
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The provisions of this Section are subject to modification |
by
administrative rule.
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It shall be unlawful to take or possess more than the |
season limit or possession limit of fur-bearing mammals that |
shall be set annually by the Director. The season limit for |
river otter shall not exceed 5 river otters per person per |
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season. Possession limits shall not apply to fur buyers, |
tanners, manufacturers, and taxidermists, as defined by this |
Act, who possess fur-bearing mammals in accordance with laws |
governing such activities. |
The provisions of this Section are subject to modification |
by administrative rule. |
(Source: P.A. 95-196, eff. 1-1-08.)
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(520 ILCS 5/2.30b new) |
Sec. 2.30b. River otter pelts. The pelts of river otters |
shall be tagged in accordance with federal regulation 50 CFR |
23.69(e). The Department may require harvest registration and |
set forth procedures, fees for registration, and the process of |
tagging pelts in administrative rules. Fees for registration |
and tagging shall not exceed $5 per pelt.
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(520 ILCS 5/2.33a) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.33a)
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Sec. 2.33a.
(a) It is unlawful to fail to visit and remove |
all animals
from traps staked out, set, used, tended, placed or |
maintained at least
once each calendar day.
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(b) It is unlawful for any person to place, set, use, or |
maintain a
leghold trap or one of similar construction on land, |
that has a jaw spread
of larger than 6 1/2 inches (16.6 CM), or |
a body-gripping trap or one of
similar construction having a |
jaw spread larger than 7 inches (17.8 CM) on
a side if square |
and 8 inches (20.4 CM) if round;
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(c) It is unlawful for any person to place, set, use, or |
maintain a
leghold trap or one of similar construction in |
water, that has a jaw spread
of larger than 7 1/2 inches (19.1 |
CM), or a body-gripping trap or one of
similar construction |
having a jaw spread larger than 10 inches (25.4 CM) on
a side |
if square and 12 inches (30.5 CM) if round;
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(d) It is unlawful to use any trap with saw-toothed, |
spiked, or toothed jaws;
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(e) It is unlawful to destroy, disturb or in any manner |
interfere with
dams, lodges, burrows or feed beds of beaver |
while trapping for beaver or
to set a trap inside a muskrat |
house or beaver lodge, except that this shall
not apply to |
Drainage Districts who are acting pursuant to the provisions
of |
Section 2.37;
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(f) It is unlawful to trap beaver or river otter with: (1) |
a leghold trap or one of similar
construction having a jaw |
spread of less than 5 1/2 inches (13.9 CM) or
more than 7 1/2 |
inches (19.1 CM), or (2) a body-gripping trap or one of
similar |
construction having a jaw spread of less than 7 inches (17.7 |
CM) or
more than 10 inches (25.4 CM) on a side if square and 12 |
inches (30.5 CM) if
round, except that these restrictions shall |
not apply during
the open season for trapping muskrats;
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(g) It is unlawful to set traps closer than 10 feet (3.05 |
M) from any
hole or den which may be occupied by a game mammal |
or fur-bearing mammal
except that this restriction shall not |
apply to water sets.
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(h) It is unlawful to trap or attempt to trap any |
fur-bearing mammal
with any colony, cage, box, or stove-pipe |
trap designed to take more than one
mammal at a single setting.
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(i) It is unlawful for any person to set or place any trap |
designed to
take any fur-bearing mammal protected by this Act |
during the closed
trapping season. Proof that any trap was |
placed during the closed trapping
season shall be deemed prima |
facie evidence of a violation of this provision.
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(j) It is unlawful to place, set, or maintain any leghold |
trap or one of
similar construction within thirty (30) feet |
(9.14 m) of bait placed in
such a manner or position that it is |
not completely covered and concealed
from sight, except that |
this shall not apply to underwater sets. Bait shall
mean and |
include any bait composed of mammal, bird, or fish flesh, fur,
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hide, entrails or feathers.
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(k) It shall be unlawful for hunters or trappers to have |
the green hides
of fur-bearing mammals, protected by this Act, |
in their possession except
during the open season and for an |
additional period of 10 days succeeding
such open season.
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(l) It is unlawful for any person to place, set, use or |
maintain a
snare trap or one of similar construction in water, |
that has a loop
diameter exceeding 15 inches (38.1 CM) or a |
cable or wire diameter of more
than 1/8 inch (3.2 MM) or less |
than 5/64 inch (2.0 MM), that is constructed
of stainless steel |
metal cable or wire, and that does not have a mechanical
lock, |
anchor swivel and stop device to prevent the mechanical lock |