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| 1 | AN ACT concerning wildlife.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing Section | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 2.25 as follows:
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| 6 | (520 ILCS 5/2.25) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.25)
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| 7 | Sec. 2.25. It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | except (i) with
a shotgun, handgun, or muzzleloading rifle or | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | (ii) as provided by
administrative rule,
with a bow and arrow, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | or crossbow device for handicapped persons, as defined
in | |||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Section 2.33, and persons age 62 or older during the open | |||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | season of not more than 21 14 days which will
be set annually | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | by the Director between the dates of
November 1st and December | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | 31st, both inclusive, or a special 2-day, youth-only season | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | between the dates of September 1 and October 31.
For the | |||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | purposes of this Section, legal handguns include any centerfire
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| 17 | handguns of .30
caliber or larger with a minimum barrel length | |||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | of 4 inches. The only legal
ammunition
for a centerfire handgun | |||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | is a cartridge of .30 caliber or larger with a
capability of at | |||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | least
500 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle. Full metal | |||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | jacket bullets may not be
used to
harvest deer.
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| 22 | The Department shall make administrative rules concerning | |||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | management
restrictions applicable to the firearm and bow and | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | arrow season.
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| 2 | It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer except | ||||||
| 3 | with a bow and
arrow, or crossbow device for handicapped | ||||||
| 4 | persons,
as defined in Section
2.33, and persons age 62 or | ||||||
| 5 | older during the open season for bow and arrow set annually by | ||||||
| 6 | the Director
between the dates of September 1st and January | ||||||
| 7 | 31st, both inclusive.
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| 8 | It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer except | ||||||
| 9 | with (i) a
muzzleloading rifle, or (ii) bow and arrow, or | ||||||
| 10 | crossbow device for
handicapped persons, as defined in Section | ||||||
| 11 | 2.33, and persons age 62 or older during the open season for
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| 12 | muzzleloading rifles set annually by the Director.
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| 13 | The Director shall cause an administrative rule setting | ||||||
| 14 | forth the
prescribed rules and regulations, including bag and | ||||||
| 15 | possession limits and
those counties of the State where open | ||||||
| 16 | seasons are established, to be
published in accordance with | ||||||
| 17 | Sections 1.3 and 1.13 of this Act.
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| 18 | The Department may establish separate harvest periods for | ||||||
| 19 | the purpose of
managing or eradicating disease that has been | ||||||
| 20 | found in the deer herd. This
season shall be restricted to gun | ||||||
| 21 | or bow and arrow hunting only. The Department
shall publicly | ||||||
| 22 | announce, via statewide news release, the season dates and
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| 23 | shooting hours, the counties and sites open to hunting, permit | ||||||
| 24 | requirements,
application dates, hunting rules, legal weapons, | ||||||
| 25 | and reporting requirements.
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| 26 | The Department is authorized to establish a separate | ||||||
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| 1 | harvest period at
specific sites within the State for the | ||||||
| 2 | purpose of harvesting
surplus deer that cannot be taken during | ||||||
| 3 | the regular season provided for
the taking of deer. This season | ||||||
| 4 | shall be restricted to gun or bow and
arrow hunting only and | ||||||
| 5 | shall be established during the period of September 1st
to | ||||||
| 6 | February 15th, both inclusive. The Department shall publish | ||||||
| 7 | suitable
prescribed rules and regulations established by | ||||||
| 8 | administrative rule pertaining
to management restrictions | ||||||
| 9 | applicable to this special harvest program. The Department | ||||||
| 10 | shall allow unused gun deer permits that are left over from a | ||||||
| 11 | regular season for the taking of deer to be rolled over and | ||||||
| 12 | used during any separate harvest period held within 6 months of | ||||||
| 13 | the season for which those tags were issued at no additional | ||||||
| 14 | cost to the permit holder subject to the management | ||||||
| 15 | restrictions applicable to the special harvest program.
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| 16 | (Source: P.A. 94-919, eff. 6-26-06; 95-13, eff. 1-1-08; 95-329, | ||||||
| 17 | eff. 8-21-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)
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