| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | AN ACT concerning wildlife.
| |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing Section | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 2.25 as follows:
| |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | (520 ILCS 5/2.25) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.25)
| |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Sec. 2.25. It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | except (i) with
a shotgun, handgun, rifle, or muzzleloading | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | rifle or (ii) as provided by
administrative rule,
with a bow | |||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | and arrow, during the open season of not more than 14 days | |||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | which will
be set annually by the Director between the dates of
| |||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | November 1st and December 31st, both inclusive, or a special | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | 3-day, youth-only season between the dates of September 1 and | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | October 31.
For the purposes of this Section, legal handguns | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | include any centerfire
handguns of .30
caliber or larger with a | |||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | minimum barrel length of 4 inches. The only legal
ammunition
| |||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | for a centerfire handgun is a cartridge of .30 caliber or | |||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | larger with a
capability of at least
500 foot pounds of energy | |||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | at the muzzle. For the purposes of this Section, legal rifles | |||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | must use cartridges that fire a bullet of .357-inch diameter or | |||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | larger, have a minimum case length of 1.16 inches, and have a | |||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | maximum case length of 1.8 inches. Full metal jacket bullets | |||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | may not be
used to
harvest deer.
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | The Department shall make administrative rules concerning | ||||||
| 2 | management
restrictions applicable to the firearm and bow and | ||||||
| 3 | arrow season.
| ||||||
| 4 | It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer except | ||||||
| 5 | with a bow and
arrow during the open season for bow and arrow | ||||||
| 6 | set annually by the Director
between the dates of September 1st | ||||||
| 7 | and January 31st, both inclusive.
| ||||||
| 8 | It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer except | ||||||
| 9 | with (i) a
muzzleloading rifle or (ii) bow and arrow during the | ||||||
| 10 | open season for
muzzleloading rifles set annually by the | ||||||
| 11 | Director.
| ||||||
| 12 | The Director shall cause an administrative rule setting | ||||||
| 13 | forth the
prescribed rules and regulations, including bag and | ||||||
| 14 | possession limits and
those counties of the State where open | ||||||
| 15 | seasons are established, to be
published in accordance with | ||||||
| 16 | Sections 1.3 and 1.13 of this Act.
| ||||||
| 17 | The Department may establish separate harvest periods for | ||||||
| 18 | the purpose of
managing or eradicating disease that has been | ||||||
| 19 | found in the deer herd. This
season shall be restricted to gun | ||||||
| 20 | or bow and arrow hunting only. The Department
shall publicly | ||||||
| 21 | announce, via statewide news release, the season dates and
| ||||||
| 22 | shooting hours, the counties and sites open to hunting, permit | ||||||
| 23 | requirements,
application dates, hunting rules, legal weapons, | ||||||
| 24 | and reporting requirements.
| ||||||
| 25 | The Department is authorized to establish a separate | ||||||
| 26 | harvest period at
specific sites within the State for the | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | purpose of harvesting
surplus deer that cannot be taken during | ||||||
| 2 | the regular season provided for
the taking of deer. This season | ||||||
| 3 | shall be restricted to gun or bow and
arrow hunting only and | ||||||
| 4 | shall be established during the period of September 1st
to | ||||||
| 5 | February 15th, both inclusive. The Department shall publish | ||||||
| 6 | suitable
prescribed rules and regulations established by | ||||||
| 7 | administrative rule pertaining
to management restrictions | ||||||
| 8 | applicable to this special harvest program. The Department | ||||||
| 9 | shall allow unused gun deer permits that are left over from a | ||||||
| 10 | regular season for the taking of deer to be rolled over and | ||||||
| 11 | used during any separate harvest period held within 6 months of | ||||||
| 12 | the season for which those tags were issued at no additional | ||||||
| 13 | cost to the permit holder subject to the management | ||||||
| 14 | restrictions applicable to the special harvest program.
| ||||||
| 15 | (Source: P.A. 97-907, eff. 8-7-12; 98-368, eff. 8-16-13.)
| ||||||
| 16 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 17 | becoming law.
| ||||||