(520 ILCS 5/3.21) (from Ch. 61, par. 3.21)

Sec. 3.21. (a) Every person before engaging in the business of taxidermy shall obtain a license for such purpose from the Department. Application for such license shall be filed with the Department and shall set forth the name of the applicant; its principal officers, if the applicant is a corporation, or the partners, if the applicant is a partnership; the location of the place of business and such additional information as the Department may require. The annual fee for each taxidermist license shall be $25.00. All licenses issued to taxidermists are valid only at the location described and designated on the application for such license. All taxidermist permits shall expire on March 31 of each year. Persons employed by a licensed taxidermist shall not be required to possess a taxidermist license while working for and at the place of business of the license holder.

Licensed taxidermists shall submit to the Department a list naming all individuals who will be working at the place of business specified on the license. Only those individuals whose names are on file with the Department shall be authorized to work under the scope of the taxidermist's license.

(b) Taxidermists shall keep written records of all birds or mammals, or parts thereof, received or returned by them. Records shall include the following information:

(1) The date the bird or mammal was received.

(2) The name and address of the person from whom the bird or mammal was received.

(3) The number and species of each bird or mammal received.

(4) The number and state of issuance of the hunting or trapping license, or special Department permit, of the individual from whom the bird or mammal was received. In the absence of a license or permit number, the taxidermist may rely on the written certification of the person from whom the bird or mammal was received that the specimen was legally taken or obtained, or, in the event the individual is exempt from the apposite license requirements, an indication of such exemption.

(c) All birds or mammals or parts thereof that have been received, preserved or mounted or possessed by a taxidermist are required to bear a coded origin tag or label. The origin tag or label shall correspond with written records containing more complete information as required by the Department.

(d) Taxidermy records shall be open for inspection by any peace officer at any reasonable hour. Taxidermists shall maintain records for a period of 2 years from the date of receipt of the bird or mammal or for as long as the specimen or mount remains in the taxidermist's possession, whichever is longer. The Department may require the taxidermist to submit to it such information as it deems necessary.

(e) A licensed taxidermist may possess the green hides of furbearers and other game mammals the year round as long as such hides are tagged as and remain the property of the individual who legally took them and for whom the taxidermist is performing services.

(f) A licensed taxidermist may without a fur tanners permit tan the green hides of furbearers and other game mammals as long as such hides are tagged as and remain the property of the individual who legally took them and for whom the taxidermist is performing services.

(f.5) A licensed taxidermist may, without a fur buyer's permit, buy, sell, transport and possess the green or tanned hides of any legally obtained furbearer or game mammal the year round as long as the hides in the taxidermist's possession are used for taxidermy purposes only and bear a coded origin tag or label. The origin tag or label shall correspond with written records containing more complete information as required by the Department.

(g) No taxidermist shall have in his or her possession any bird or mammal that is not listed in his written records and properly tagged or labeled.

(h) All persons licensed as taxidermists under this Act who shall ship any birds or mammals or parts thereof that have been received, preserved or mounted, shall tag or label such shipment and such tag or label shall state the name of the taxidermist and the number and date of his or her license.

(i) Nothing in this Section removes taxidermists from responsibility for the observance of any federal laws, rules, or regulations that may apply to the taxidermy business.

(Source: P.A. 100-256, eff. 1-1-18.)