Section 650.45  Reporting Harvest

a)         Testing of deer for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) by DNR personnel will occur so long as funding is available in:

1)      counties where deer have been documented with the disease;

2)      counties considered high-risk for the disease; and

3)      counties in which additional surveillance is warranted. 

b)         These counties shall be publicly announced following the conclusion of the previous year's annual fall/winter CWD surveillance, which will be used as a basis for decision making.  For these counties, hunters shall take their whole (or field dressed) deer to a designated firearm deer check station by 8:00 p.m. on the day the deer was killed.  A permanent harvest tag will be attached to the leg of the deer upon registration at the check station.  If a hunter is not able to locate a harvested deer in sufficient time to enable reporting the harvest by 8:00 p.m., the hunter must take the deer to the appropriate check station upon its opening at 8:00 a.m. the following morning, or immediately upon retrieving it if that occurs later than the opening of the check station.  If this situation occurs on a Sunday (e.g., the check station will not be open on Monday), the hunter must contact the appropriate regional DNR Law Enforcement Office by 10:00 a.m. Monday morning for instructions on checking in the deer.  If the head/antlers are delivered to a taxidermist for processing, the temporary harvest tag must accompany the head/antlers and be kept with the head/antlers while at the taxidermist.  If the carcass is taken to a meat processor, the permanent harvest tag must remain attached to the leg of the deer until it is processed, then must remain with the processed deer until it is at the legal residence of the person who legally took or possessed the deer.  Persons delivering deer/parts of deer to a tanner for processing must supply the tanner with their deer permit number to verify lawful acquisition.  In the absence of a permit number, the tanner may rely on the written certification of the person from whom the deer was received that the specimen was legally taken or obtained.

c)         For counties in which Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance is not occurring:

1)         Successful hunters during the firearm deer season must register their harvest by 10:00 p.m. on the same calendar day the deer was taken by calling the toll-free telephone check-in system at 1-866-ILCHECK or by accessing the on-line check-in system at www.dnr.illinois.gov.  If a hunter is not able to locate a harvested deer in sufficient time to enable reporting the harvest by 10:00 p.m., the hunter must immediately report the harvest upon retrieving it.  The hunter will be provided with a confirmation number to verify that he or she checked in the harvest.  This number must be written by the hunter onto the temporary harvest tag (leg tag).  If the condition of the tag precludes writing on the tag in the appropriate space (i.e., bloody, etc.), the confirmation number shall be written elsewhere on the tag, or onto a piece of paper and attached to the deer along with the temporary harvest tag.  The deer must remain whole (or field dressed) until it has been checked in.  In instances where deer are checked in while the hunter is still afield, the deer may not be dismembered while afield beyond quartering the animal.  If quartered, all parts of the carcass (except the entrails removed during field dressing) must be transported together and evidence of sex must remain naturally attached to one quarter.  Evidence of sex is:

A)        For a buck:  head with antlers attached to carcass, or attached testicle, scrotum, or penis.

B)        For a doe:  head attached to carcass, or attached udder (mammary) or vulva.

2)         The temporary harvest tag (leg tag) and confirmation number must remain attached to the deer until it is at the legal residence of the person who legally took or possessed the deer, the deer has been checked in, and final processing is completed.  If the head/antlers are delivered to a taxidermist for processing, the confirmation number must be recorded on the "head tag" portion of the permit and both must remain with the deer while at the taxidermist.  If the carcass is taken to a meat processor, the temporary harvest tag with confirmation number must remain with the deer while it is processed, and until it is at the legal residence of the person who legally took or possessed the deer.  Persons delivering deer/parts of deer to a tanner for processing must supply the tanner with either their deer permit number, their confirmation number, or a written certification by the person from whom the deer was received that the specimen was legally taken or obtained.

d)        Site specific reporting requirements must be followed in addition to this Section.

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 18660, effective November 2, 2022)