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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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Sections 1.2bb, 2.25, and 2.33 and by adding Section 1.2t-2 as | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | follows: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | (520 ILCS 5/1.2t-2 new) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | Sec. 1.2t-2. Wildlife rifle. "Wildlife rifle" means a | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | rifle that can hold up to 3 rounds in the magazine and chamber | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | combined.
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11 | (520 ILCS 5/2.25) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.25)
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12 | Sec. 2.25. It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | except (i) with
a shotgun, handgun, single shot centerfire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | wildlife rifle, or muzzleloading rifle or (ii) as provided by
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15 | administrative rule,
with a bow and arrow, during the open | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | season of not more than 14 days which will
be set annually by | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | the Director between the dates of
November 1st and December | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | 31st, both inclusive, or a special 3-day, youth-only season | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | between the dates of September 1 and October 31.
For the | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | purposes of this Section, legal handguns and rifles are | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | limited to centerfire
handguns that are either a single shot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | or revolver and centerfire wildlife rifles that are single |
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1 | shot . The only legal
ammunition
for a centerfire handgun or | ||||||
2 | rifle is a bottleneck centerfire cartridge of .30 caliber or | ||||||
3 | larger with a case length not exceeding one and two-fifths | ||||||
4 | inches, or a straight-walled centerfire cartridge of .30 | ||||||
5 | caliber or larger, both of which must be available as a factory | ||||||
6 | load with the published ballistic tables of the manufacturer | ||||||
7 | showing a
capability of at least
500 foot pounds of energy at | ||||||
8 | the muzzle. The barrel of a handgun shall be at least 4 inches. | ||||||
9 | Full metal jacket bullets may not be
used to
harvest deer.
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10 | The Department shall make administrative rules concerning | ||||||
11 | management
restrictions applicable to the firearm and bow and | ||||||
12 | arrow season.
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13 | It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer except | ||||||
14 | with a bow and
arrow during the open season for bow and arrow | ||||||
15 | set annually by the Director
between the dates of September | ||||||
16 | 1st and January 31st, both inclusive.
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17 | It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer except | ||||||
18 | with (i) a
muzzleloading rifle or (ii) bow and arrow during the | ||||||
19 | open season for
muzzleloading rifles set annually by the | ||||||
20 | Director.
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21 | The Director shall cause an administrative rule setting | ||||||
22 | forth the
prescribed rules and regulations, including bag and | ||||||
23 | possession limits and
those counties of the State where open | ||||||
24 | seasons are established, to be
published in accordance with | ||||||
25 | Sections 1.3 and 1.13 of this Act.
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26 | The Department may establish separate harvest periods for |
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1 | the purpose of
managing or eradicating disease that has been | ||||||
2 | found in the deer herd. This
season shall be restricted to gun | ||||||
3 | or bow and arrow hunting only. The Department
shall publicly | ||||||
4 | announce, via statewide news release, the season dates and
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5 | shooting hours, the counties and sites open to hunting.
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6 | The Department is authorized to establish a separate | ||||||
7 | harvest period at
specific sites within the State for the | ||||||
8 | purpose of harvesting
surplus deer that cannot be taken during | ||||||
9 | the regular season provided for
the taking of deer. This | ||||||
10 | season shall be restricted to gun or bow and
arrow hunting only | ||||||
11 | and shall be established during the period of September 1st
to | ||||||
12 | February 15th, both inclusive. The Department shall publicly | ||||||
13 | announce, via statewide news release, the season dates and | ||||||
14 | shooting hours, and the counties and sites open to hunting. | ||||||
15 | The Department shall publish suitable
prescribed rules and | ||||||
16 | regulations established by administrative rule pertaining
to | ||||||
17 | management restrictions applicable to this special harvest | ||||||
18 | program. The Department shall allow unused gun deer permits | ||||||
19 | that are left over from a regular season for the taking of deer | ||||||
20 | to be rolled over and used during any separate harvest period | ||||||
21 | held within 6 months of the season for which those tags were | ||||||
22 | issued at no additional cost to the permit holder subject to | ||||||
23 | the management restrictions applicable to the special harvest | ||||||
24 | program.
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25 | Beginning July 1, 2019, and on an annual basis thereafter, | ||||||
26 | the Department shall provide a report to the General Assembly |
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1 | providing information regarding deer management programs | ||||||
2 | established by the Code or by administrative rule that | ||||||
3 | includes: (1) the number of surplus deer taken during each | ||||||
4 | separate harvest season; (2) the number of deer found to have a | ||||||
5 | communicable disease or other abnormality; and (3) what | ||||||
6 | happens to the deer taken during each separate harvest season.
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7 | (Source: P.A. 101-66, eff. 7-12-19; 102-314, eff. 1-1-22; | ||||||
8 | 102-932, eff. 1-1-23 .)
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9 | (520 ILCS 5/2.33)
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10 | Sec. 2.33. Prohibitions.
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11 | (a) It is unlawful to carry or possess any gun in any
State | ||||||
12 | refuge unless otherwise permitted by administrative rule.
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13 | (b) It is unlawful to use or possess any snare or | ||||||
14 | snare-like device,
deadfall, net, or pit trap to take any | ||||||
15 | species, except that snares not
powered by springs or other | ||||||
16 | mechanical devices may be used to trap
fur-bearing mammals, in | ||||||
17 | water sets only, if at least one-half of the snare
noose is | ||||||
18 | located underwater at all times.
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19 | (c) It is unlawful for any person at any time to take a | ||||||
20 | wild mammal
protected by this Act from its den by means of any | ||||||
21 | mechanical device,
spade, or digging device or to use smoke or | ||||||
22 | other gases to dislodge or
remove such mammal except as | ||||||
23 | provided in Section 2.37.
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24 | (d) It is unlawful to use a ferret or any other small | ||||||
25 | mammal which is
used in the same or similar manner for which |
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1 | ferrets are used for the
purpose of frightening or driving any | ||||||
2 | mammals from their dens or hiding places.
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3 | (e) (Blank).
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4 | (f) It is unlawful to use spears, gigs, hooks , or any like | ||||||
5 | device to
take any species protected by this Act.
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6 | (g) It is unlawful to use poisons, chemicals , or | ||||||
7 | explosives for the
purpose of taking any species protected by | ||||||
8 | this Act.
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9 | (h) It is unlawful to hunt adjacent to or near any peat, | ||||||
10 | grass,
brush , or other inflammable substance when it is | ||||||
11 | burning.
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12 | (i) It is unlawful to take, pursue or intentionally harass | ||||||
13 | or disturb
in any manner any wild birds or mammals by use or | ||||||
14 | aid of any vehicle,
conveyance, or unmanned aircraft as | ||||||
15 | defined by the Illinois Aeronautics Act, except as permitted | ||||||
16 | by the Code of Federal Regulations for the
taking of | ||||||
17 | waterfowl; except that nothing in this subsection shall | ||||||
18 | prohibit the use of unmanned aircraft in the inspection of a | ||||||
19 | public utility facility, tower, or structure or a mobile | ||||||
20 | service facility, tower, or structure by a public utility, as | ||||||
21 | defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act, or a | ||||||
22 | provider of mobile services as defined in Section 153 of Title | ||||||
23 | 47 of the United States Code. It is also unlawful to use the | ||||||
24 | lights of any vehicle
or conveyance, any light connected to | ||||||
25 | any
vehicle or conveyance, or any other lighting device or | ||||||
26 | mechanism from inside or on a vehicle or conveyance in any area |
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1 | where wildlife may be found except in
accordance with Section | ||||||
2 | 2.37 of this Act; however, nothing in this
Section shall | ||||||
3 | prohibit the normal use of headlamps for the purpose of | ||||||
4 | driving
upon a roadway. For purposes of this Section, any | ||||||
5 | other lighting device or mechanism shall include, but not be | ||||||
6 | limited to, any device that uses infrared or other light not | ||||||
7 | visible to the naked eye, electronic image intensification, | ||||||
8 | active illumination, thermal imaging, or night vision. Striped | ||||||
9 | skunk, opossum, red fox, gray
fox, raccoon, bobcat, and coyote | ||||||
10 | may be taken during the open season by use of a small
light | ||||||
11 | which is worn on the body or hand-held by a person on foot and | ||||||
12 | not in any
vehicle.
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13 | (j) It is unlawful to use any shotgun larger than 10 gauge | ||||||
14 | while
taking or attempting to take any of the species | ||||||
15 | protected by this Act.
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16 | (k) It is unlawful to use or possess in the field any | ||||||
17 | shotgun shell loaded
with a shot size larger than lead BB or | ||||||
18 | steel T (.20 diameter) when taking or
attempting to take any | ||||||
19 | species of wild game mammals (excluding white-tailed
deer), | ||||||
20 | wild game birds, migratory waterfowl or migratory game birds | ||||||
21 | protected
by this Act, except white-tailed deer as provided | ||||||
22 | for in Section 2.26 and other
species as provided for by | ||||||
23 | subsection (l) or administrative rule.
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24 | (l) It is unlawful to take any species of wild game, except
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25 | white-tailed deer and fur-bearing mammals, with a shotgun | ||||||
26 | loaded with slugs unless otherwise
provided for by |
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1 | administrative rule.
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2 | (m) It is unlawful to use any shotgun capable of holding | ||||||
3 | more than 3
shells in the magazine or chamber combined, except | ||||||
4 | on game breeding and
hunting preserve areas licensed under | ||||||
5 | Section 3.27 and except as permitted by
the Code of Federal | ||||||
6 | Regulations for the taking of waterfowl. If the shotgun
is | ||||||
7 | capable of holding more than 3 shells, it shall, while being | ||||||
8 | used on an
area other than a game breeding and shooting | ||||||
9 | preserve area licensed
pursuant to Section 3.27, be fitted | ||||||
10 | with a one-piece one piece plug that is
irremovable without | ||||||
11 | dismantling the shotgun or otherwise altered to
render it | ||||||
12 | incapable of holding more than 3 shells in the magazine and
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13 | chamber, combined.
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14 | (n) It is unlawful for any person, except persons who | ||||||
15 | possess a permit to
hunt from a vehicle as provided in this | ||||||
16 | Section and persons otherwise permitted
by law, to have or | ||||||
17 | carry any gun in or on any vehicle, conveyance , or aircraft,
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18 | unless such gun is unloaded and enclosed in a case, except that | ||||||
19 | at field trials
authorized by Section 2.34 of this Act, | ||||||
20 | unloaded guns or guns loaded with blank
cartridges only , may | ||||||
21 | be carried on horseback while not contained in a case, or
to | ||||||
22 | have or carry any bow or arrow device in or on any vehicle | ||||||
23 | unless such bow
or arrow device is unstrung or enclosed in a | ||||||
24 | case, or otherwise made
inoperable unless in accordance with | ||||||
25 | the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.
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26 | (o) (Blank).
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1 | (p) It is unlawful to take game birds, migratory game | ||||||
2 | birds or
migratory waterfowl with a rifle, pistol, revolver, | ||||||
3 | or air rifle.
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4 | (q) It is unlawful to fire a rifle, pistol, revolver, or | ||||||
5 | air rifle on,
over, or into any waters of this State, including | ||||||
6 | frozen waters.
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7 | (r) It is unlawful to discharge any gun or bow and arrow | ||||||
8 | device
along, upon, across, or from any public right-of-way or | ||||||
9 | highway in this State.
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10 | (s) It is unlawful to use a silencer or other device to | ||||||
11 | muffle or
mute the sound of the explosion or report resulting | ||||||
12 | from the firing of
any gun.
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13 | (t) It is unlawful for any person to take or attempt to | ||||||
14 | take any species of wildlife or parts thereof, or allow a dog | ||||||
15 | to
hunt, within or upon the land of another, or upon waters | ||||||
16 | flowing over or
standing on the land of another, or to | ||||||
17 | knowingly shoot a gun or bow and arrow device at any wildlife | ||||||
18 | physically on or flying over the property of another without | ||||||
19 | first obtaining permission from
the owner or the owner's | ||||||
20 | designee. For the purposes of this Section, the owner's | ||||||
21 | designee means anyone who the owner designates in a written | ||||||
22 | authorization and the authorization must contain (i) the legal | ||||||
23 | or common description of property for which such authority is | ||||||
24 | given, (ii) the extent that the owner's designee is authorized | ||||||
25 | to make decisions regarding who is allowed to take or attempt | ||||||
26 | to take any species of wildlife or parts thereof, and (iii) the |
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1 | owner's notarized signature. Before enforcing this
Section , | ||||||
2 | the law enforcement officer must have received notice from the
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3 | owner or the owner's designee of a violation of this Section. | ||||||
4 | Statements made to the
law enforcement officer regarding this | ||||||
5 | notice shall not be rendered
inadmissible by the hearsay rule | ||||||
6 | when offered for the purpose of showing the
required notice.
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7 | (u) It is unlawful for any person to discharge any firearm | ||||||
8 | for the purpose
of taking any of the species protected by this | ||||||
9 | Act, or hunt with gun or
dog, or allow a dog to hunt, within | ||||||
10 | 300 yards of an inhabited dwelling without
first obtaining | ||||||
11 | permission from the owner or tenant, except that while
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12 | trapping, hunting with bow and arrow, hunting with dog and | ||||||
13 | shotgun using shot
shells only, or hunting with shotgun using | ||||||
14 | shot shells only, or providing outfitting services under a | ||||||
15 | waterfowl outfitter permit, or
on licensed game breeding and | ||||||
16 | hunting preserve areas, as defined in Section
3.27, on
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17 | federally owned and managed lands and on Department owned, | ||||||
18 | managed, leased, or
controlled lands, a 100 yard restriction | ||||||
19 | shall apply.
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20 | (v) It is unlawful for any person to remove fur-bearing | ||||||
21 | mammals from, or
to move or disturb in any manner, the traps | ||||||
22 | owned by another person without
written authorization of the | ||||||
23 | owner to do so.
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24 | (w) It is unlawful for any owner of a dog to allow
his or | ||||||
25 | her dog to pursue, harass , or kill deer, except that nothing in | ||||||
26 | this Section shall prohibit the tracking of wounded deer with |
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1 | a dog in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.26 of this | ||||||
2 | Code.
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3 | (x) It is unlawful for any person to wantonly or | ||||||
4 | carelessly injure
or destroy, in any manner whatsoever, any | ||||||
5 | real or personal property on
the land of another while engaged | ||||||
6 | in hunting or trapping thereon.
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7 | (y) It is unlawful to hunt wild game protected by this Act | ||||||
8 | between one-half one
half hour after sunset and one-half one | ||||||
9 | half hour before sunrise, except that
hunting hours between | ||||||
10 | one-half one half hour after sunset and one-half one half hour
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11 | before sunrise may be established by administrative rule for | ||||||
12 | fur-bearing
mammals.
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13 | (z) It is unlawful to take any game bird (excluding wild | ||||||
14 | turkeys and
crippled pheasants not capable of normal flight | ||||||
15 | and otherwise irretrievable)
protected by this Act when not | ||||||
16 | flying. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit
a person from | ||||||
17 | carrying an uncased, unloaded shotgun in a boat, while in | ||||||
18 | pursuit
of a crippled migratory waterfowl that is incapable of | ||||||
19 | normal flight, for the
purpose of attempting to reduce the | ||||||
20 | migratory waterfowl to possession, provided
that the attempt | ||||||
21 | is made immediately upon downing the migratory waterfowl and
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22 | is done within 400 yards of the blind from which the migratory | ||||||
23 | waterfowl was
downed. This exception shall apply only to | ||||||
24 | migratory game birds that are not
capable of normal flight. | ||||||
25 | Migratory waterfowl that are crippled may be taken
only with a | ||||||
26 | shotgun as regulated by subsection (j) of this Section using
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1 | shotgun shells as regulated in subsection (k) of this Section.
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2 | (aa) It is unlawful to use or possess any device that may | ||||||
3 | be used for
tree climbing or cutting , while hunting | ||||||
4 | fur-bearing mammals, excluding coyotes. However, coyotes may | ||||||
5 | not be hunted utilizing these devices during open season for | ||||||
6 | deer except by properly licensed deer hunters.
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7 | (bb) It is unlawful for any person, except licensed game | ||||||
8 | breeders,
pursuant to Section 2.29 to import, carry into, or | ||||||
9 | possess alive in this
State any species of wildlife taken | ||||||
10 | outside of this State, without
obtaining permission to do so | ||||||
11 | from the Director.
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12 | (cc) It is unlawful for any person to have in his or her
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13 | possession any freshly killed species protected by this Act | ||||||
14 | during the season
closed for taking.
| ||||||
15 | (dd) It is unlawful to take any species protected by this | ||||||
16 | Act and retain
it alive except as provided by administrative | ||||||
17 | rule.
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18 | (ee) It is unlawful to possess any rifle while in the field | ||||||
19 | during gun
deer season except as provided in Sections 2.25 and | ||||||
20 | 2.26 and administrative rules.
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21 | (ff) It is unlawful for any person to take any species | ||||||
22 | protected by
this Act, except migratory waterfowl, during the | ||||||
23 | gun deer hunting season in
those counties open to gun deer | ||||||
24 | hunting, unless he or she wears, when in
the field, a cap and | ||||||
25 | upper outer garment of a solid blaze orange color or solid | ||||||
26 | blaze pink color, with
such articles of clothing displaying a |
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| |||||||
1 | minimum of 400 square inches of
blaze orange or solid blaze | ||||||
2 | pink color material.
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3 | (gg) It is unlawful during the upland game season for any | ||||||
4 | person to take
upland game with a firearm unless he or she | ||||||
5 | wears, while in the field, a
cap of solid blaze orange color or | ||||||
6 | solid blaze pink color. For purposes of this Act, upland game | ||||||
7 | is
defined as Bobwhite Quail, Hungarian Partridge, Ring-necked | ||||||
8 | Pheasant, Eastern
Cottontail , and Swamp Rabbit.
| ||||||
9 | (hh) It shall be unlawful to kill or cripple any species | ||||||
10 | protected by
this Act for which there is a bag limit without | ||||||
11 | making a reasonable
effort to retrieve such species and | ||||||
12 | include such in the bag limit. It shall be unlawful for any | ||||||
13 | person having control over harvested game mammals, game birds, | ||||||
14 | or migratory game birds for which there is a bag limit to | ||||||
15 | wantonly waste or destroy the usable meat of the game, except | ||||||
16 | this shall not apply to wildlife taken under Sections 2.37 or | ||||||
17 | 3.22 of this Code. For purposes of this subsection, "usable | ||||||
18 | meat" means the breast meat of a game bird or migratory game | ||||||
19 | bird and the hind ham and front shoulders of a game mammal. It | ||||||
20 | shall be unlawful for any person to place, leave, dump, or | ||||||
21 | abandon a wildlife carcass or parts of it along or upon a | ||||||
22 | public right-of-way or highway or on public or private | ||||||
23 | property, including a waterway or stream, without the | ||||||
24 | permission of the owner or tenant. It shall not be unlawful to | ||||||
25 | discard game meat that is determined to be unfit for human | ||||||
26 | consumption.
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1 | (ii) This Section shall apply only to those species | ||||||
2 | protected by this
Act taken within the State. Any species or | ||||||
3 | any parts thereof, legally taken
in and transported from other | ||||||
4 | states or countries, may be possessed
within the State, except | ||||||
5 | as provided in this Section and Sections 2.35, 2.36 ,
and 3.21.
| ||||||
6 | (jj) (Blank).
| ||||||
7 | (kk) Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit the | ||||||
8 | Director
from issuing permits to paraplegics or to other | ||||||
9 | persons with disabilities who meet the
requirements set forth | ||||||
10 | in administrative rule to shoot or hunt from a vehicle
as | ||||||
11 | provided by that rule, provided that such is otherwise in | ||||||
12 | accord with this
Act.
| ||||||
13 | (ll) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the | ||||||
14 | taking of aquatic
life protected by the Fish and Aquatic Life | ||||||
15 | Code or birds and mammals
protected by this Act, except deer | ||||||
16 | and fur-bearing mammals, from a boat not
camouflaged or | ||||||
17 | disguised to alter its identity or to further provide a place
| ||||||
18 | of concealment and not propelled by sail or mechanical power. | ||||||
19 | However, only
shotguns not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller | ||||||
20 | than .410 bore loaded with not
more than 3 shells of a shot | ||||||
21 | size no larger than lead BB or steel T (.20
diameter) may be | ||||||
22 | used to take species protected by this Act.
| ||||||
23 | (mm) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the use | ||||||
24 | of a shotgun,
not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller than a 20 | ||||||
25 | gauge, with a rifled barrel.
| ||||||
26 | (nn) It shall be unlawful to possess any species of |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | wildlife or wildlife parts taken unlawfully in Illinois, any | ||||||
2 | other state, or any other country, whether or not the wildlife | ||||||
3 | or wildlife parts are is indigenous to Illinois. For the | ||||||
4 | purposes of this subsection, the statute of limitations for | ||||||
5 | unlawful possession of wildlife or wildlife parts shall not | ||||||
6 | cease until 2 years after the possession has permanently | ||||||
7 | ended. | ||||||
8 | (oo) It is unlawful while deer hunting to possess or be in | ||||||
9 | close proximity to a rifle that is not a centerfire wildlife | ||||||
10 | rifle. : | ||||||
11 | (1) to possess or be in close proximity to a rifle that | ||||||
12 | is not centerfire; or | ||||||
13 | (2) be in possession of or in close proximity to a | ||||||
14 | magazine that is capable of making a rifle not a single | ||||||
15 | shot. | ||||||
16 | (Source: P.A. 102-237, eff. 1-1-22; 102-837, eff. 5-13-22; | ||||||
17 | 102-932, eff. 1-1-23; revised 12-14-22.)
| ||||||
18 | (520 ILCS 5/1.2bb rep.) | ||||||
19 | Section 10. The Wildlife Code is amended by repealing | ||||||
20 | Section 1.2bb.
|