98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB3467

 

Introduced 2/14/2014, by Sen. Wm. Sam McCann

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
520 ILCS 5/2.33  from Ch. 61, par. 2.33

    Amends the Wildlife Code. Changes the prohibition on hunting from vehicles. Provides that, for specified provisions concerning hunting from vehicles, to "take", "pursue", or "hunt" shall not include a person traveling to or from a blind, stand, or hunting area. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning wildlife.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing Section
52.33 as follows:
 
6    (520 ILCS 5/2.33)  (from Ch. 61, par. 2.33)
7    Sec. 2.33. Prohibitions.
8    (a) It is unlawful to carry or possess any gun in any State
9refuge unless otherwise permitted by administrative rule.
10    (b) It is unlawful to use or possess any snare or
11snare-like device, deadfall, net, or pit trap to take any
12species, except that snares not powered by springs or other
13mechanical devices may be used to trap fur-bearing mammals, in
14water sets only, if at least one-half of the snare noose is
15located underwater at all times.
16    (c) It is unlawful for any person at any time to take a
17wild mammal protected by this Act from its den by means of any
18mechanical device, spade, or digging device or to use smoke or
19other gases to dislodge or remove such mammal except as
20provided in Section 2.37.
21    (d) It is unlawful to use a ferret or any other small
22mammal which is used in the same or similar manner for which
23ferrets are used for the purpose of frightening or driving any

 

 

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1mammals from their dens or hiding places.
2    (e) (Blank).
3    (f) It is unlawful to use spears, gigs, hooks or any like
4device to take any species protected by this Act.
5    (g) It is unlawful to use poisons, chemicals or explosives
6for the purpose of taking any species protected by this Act.
7    (h) It is unlawful to hunt adjacent to or near any peat,
8grass, brush or other inflammable substance when it is burning.
9    (i) It is unlawful to take, pursue, or intentionally harass
10or disturb in any manner any wild birds or mammals by use or
11aid of any vehicle or conveyance, except as permitted by the
12Code of Federal Regulations for the taking of waterfowl. It is
13also unlawful to use the lights of any vehicle or conveyance or
14any light from or any light connected to the vehicle or
15conveyance in any area where wildlife may be found except in
16accordance with Section 2.37 of this Act; however, nothing in
17this Section shall prohibit the normal use of headlamps for the
18purpose of driving upon a roadway. Striped skunk, opossum, red
19fox, gray fox, raccoon and coyote may be taken during the open
20season by use of a small light which is worn on the body or
21hand-held by a person on foot and not in any vehicle. For the
22purposes of this subsection (i), to "take" or "pursue" means
23the actual pursuit or taking of game while in a vehicle or
24conveyance, and shall not include a person traveling to or from
25a blind, stand, or hunting area.
26    (j) It is unlawful to use any shotgun larger than 10 gauge

 

 

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1while taking or attempting to take any of the species protected
2by this Act.
3    (k) It is unlawful to use or possess in the field any
4shotgun shell loaded with a shot size larger than lead BB or
5steel T (.20 diameter) when taking or attempting to take any
6species of wild game mammals (excluding white-tailed deer),
7wild game birds, migratory waterfowl or migratory game birds
8protected by this Act, except white-tailed deer as provided for
9in Section 2.26 and other species as provided for by subsection
10(l) or administrative rule.
11    (l) It is unlawful to take any species of wild game, except
12white-tailed deer and fur-bearing mammals, with a shotgun
13loaded with slugs unless otherwise provided for by
14administrative rule.
15    (m) It is unlawful to use any shotgun capable of holding
16more than 3 shells in the magazine or chamber combined, except
17on game breeding and hunting preserve areas licensed under
18Section 3.27 and except as permitted by the Code of Federal
19Regulations for the taking of waterfowl. If the shotgun is
20capable of holding more than 3 shells, it shall, while being
21used on an area other than a game breeding and shooting
22preserve area licensed pursuant to Section 3.27, be fitted with
23a one piece plug that is irremovable without dismantling the
24shotgun or otherwise altered to render it incapable of holding
25more than 3 shells in the magazine and chamber, combined.
26    (n) It is unlawful for any person, except persons who

 

 

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1possess a permit, to hunt from a vehicle as provided in this
2Section and persons otherwise permitted by law, to have or
3carry any gun in or on any vehicle, conveyance or aircraft,
4unless such gun is unloaded and enclosed in a case, except that
5at field trials authorized by Section 2.34 of this Act,
6unloaded guns or guns loaded with blank cartridges only, may be
7carried on horseback while not contained in a case, or to have
8or carry any bow or arrow device in or on any vehicle unless
9such bow or arrow device is unstrung or enclosed in a case, or
10otherwise made inoperable. For the purposes of this subsection
11(n), to "hunt" means the actual pursuit or taking of game while
12in a vehicle, and shall not include a person traveling to or
13from a blind, stand, or hunting area.
14    (o) It is unlawful to use any crossbow for the purpose of
15taking any wild birds or mammals, except as provided for in
16Section 2.5.
17    (p) It is unlawful to take game birds, migratory game birds
18or migratory waterfowl with a rifle, pistol, revolver or
19airgun.
20    (q) It is unlawful to fire a rifle, pistol, revolver or
21airgun on, over or into any waters of this State, including
22frozen waters.
23    (r) It is unlawful to discharge any gun or bow and arrow
24device along, upon, across, or from any public right-of-way or
25highway in this State.
26    (s) It is unlawful to use a silencer or other device to

 

 

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1muffle or mute the sound of the explosion or report resulting
2from the firing of any gun.
3    (t) It is unlawful for any person to take or attempt to
4take any species of wildlife or parts thereof, intentionally or
5wantonly allow a dog to hunt, within or upon the land of
6another, or upon waters flowing over or standing on the land of
7another, or to knowingly shoot a gun or bow and arrow device at
8any wildlife physically on or flying over the property of
9another without first obtaining permission from the owner or
10the owner's designee. For the purposes of this Section, the
11owner's designee means anyone who the owner designates in a
12written authorization and the authorization must contain (i)
13the legal or common description of property for such authority
14is given, (ii) the extent that the owner's designee is
15authorized to make decisions regarding who is allowed to take
16or attempt to take any species of wildlife or parts thereof,
17and (iii) the owner's notarized signature. Before enforcing
18this Section the law enforcement officer must have received
19notice from the owner or the owner's designee of a violation of
20this Section. Statements made to the law enforcement officer
21regarding this notice shall not be rendered inadmissible by the
22hearsay rule when offered for the purpose of showing the
23required notice.
24    (u) It is unlawful for any person to discharge any firearm
25for the purpose of taking any of the species protected by this
26Act, or hunt with gun or dog, or intentionally or wantonly

 

 

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1allow a dog to hunt, within 300 yards of an inhabited dwelling
2without first obtaining permission from the owner or tenant,
3except that while trapping, hunting with bow and arrow, hunting
4with dog and shotgun using shot shells only, or hunting with
5shotgun using shot shells only, or on licensed game breeding
6and hunting preserve areas, as defined in Section 3.27, on
7property operated under a Migratory Waterfowl Hunting Area
8Permit, on federally owned and managed lands and on Department
9owned, managed, leased or controlled lands, a 100 yard
10restriction shall apply.
11    (v) It is unlawful for any person to remove fur-bearing
12mammals from, or to move or disturb in any manner, the traps
13owned by another person without written authorization of the
14owner to do so.
15    (w) It is unlawful for any owner of a dog to knowingly or
16wantonly allow his or her dog to pursue, harass or kill deer,
17except that nothing in this Section shall prohibit the tracking
18of wounded deer with a dog in accordance with the provisions of
19Section 2.26 of this Code.
20    (x) It is unlawful for any person to wantonly or carelessly
21injure or destroy, in any manner whatsoever, any real or
22personal property on the land of another while engaged in
23hunting or trapping thereon.
24    (y) It is unlawful to hunt wild game protected by this Act
25between one half hour after sunset and one half hour before
26sunrise, except that hunting hours between one half hour after

 

 

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1sunset and one half hour before sunrise may be established by
2administrative rule for fur-bearing mammals.
3    (z) It is unlawful to take any game bird (excluding wild
4turkeys and crippled pheasants not capable of normal flight and
5otherwise irretrievable) protected by this Act when not flying.
6Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a person from carrying
7an uncased, unloaded shotgun in a boat, while in pursuit of a
8crippled migratory waterfowl that is incapable of normal
9flight, for the purpose of attempting to reduce the migratory
10waterfowl to possession, provided that the attempt is made
11immediately upon downing the migratory waterfowl and is done
12within 400 yards of the blind from which the migratory
13waterfowl was downed. This exception shall apply only to
14migratory game birds that are not capable of normal flight.
15Migratory waterfowl that are crippled may be taken only with a
16shotgun as regulated by subsection (j) of this Section using
17shotgun shells as regulated in subsection (k) of this Section.
18    (aa) It is unlawful to use or possess any device that may
19be used for tree climbing or cutting, while hunting fur-bearing
20mammals, excluding coyotes.
21    (bb) It is unlawful for any person, except licensed game
22breeders, pursuant to Section 2.29 to import, carry into, or
23possess alive in this State any species of wildlife taken
24outside of this State, without obtaining permission to do so
25from the Director.
26    (cc) It is unlawful for any person to have in his or her

 

 

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1possession any freshly killed species protected by this Act
2during the season closed for taking.
3    (dd) It is unlawful to take any species protected by this
4Act and retain it alive except as provided by administrative
5rule.
6    (ee) It is unlawful to possess any rifle while in the field
7during gun deer season except as provided in Section 2.26 and
8administrative rules.
9    (ff) It is unlawful for any person to take any species
10protected by this Act, except migratory waterfowl, during the
11gun deer hunting season in those counties open to gun deer
12hunting, unless he or she wears, when in the field, a cap and
13upper outer garment of a solid blaze orange color, with such
14articles of clothing displaying a minimum of 400 square inches
15of blaze orange material.
16    (gg) It is unlawful during the upland game season for any
17person to take upland game with a firearm unless he or she
18wears, while in the field, a cap of solid blaze orange color.
19For purposes of this Act, upland game is defined as Bobwhite
20Quail, Hungarian Partridge, Ring-necked Pheasant, Eastern
21Cottontail and Swamp Rabbit.
22    (hh) It shall be unlawful to kill or cripple any species
23protected by this Act for which there is a bag limit without
24making a reasonable effort to retrieve such species and include
25such in the bag limit. It shall be unlawful for any person
26having control over harvested game mammals, game birds, or

 

 

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1migratory game birds for which there is a bag limit to wantonly
2waste or destroy the usable meat of the game, except this shall
3not apply to wildlife taken under Sections 2.37 or 3.22 of this
4Code. For purposes of this subsection, "usable meat" means the
5breast meat of a game bird or migratory game bird and the hind
6ham and front shoulders of a game mammal. It shall be unlawful
7for any person to place, leave, dump, or abandon a wildlife
8carcass or parts of it along or upon a public right-of-way or
9highway or on public or private property, including a waterway
10or stream, without the permission of the owner or tenant. It
11shall not be unlawful to discard game meat that is determined
12to be unfit for human consumption.
13    (ii) This Section shall apply only to those species
14protected by this Act taken within the State. Any species or
15any parts thereof, legally taken in and transported from other
16states or countries, may be possessed within the State, except
17as provided in this Section and Sections 2.35, 2.36 and 3.21.
18    (jj) (Blank).
19    (kk) Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit the
20Director from issuing permits to paraplegics or to other
21disabled persons who meet the requirements set forth in
22administrative rule to shoot or hunt from a vehicle as provided
23by that rule, provided that such is otherwise in accord with
24this Act.
25    (ll) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the
26taking of aquatic life protected by the Fish and Aquatic Life

 

 

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1Code or birds and mammals protected by this Act, except deer
2and fur-bearing mammals, from a boat not camouflaged or
3disguised to alter its identity or to further provide a place
4of concealment and not propelled by sail or mechanical power.
5However, only shotguns not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller
6than .410 bore loaded with not more than 3 shells of a shot
7size no larger than lead BB or steel T (.20 diameter) may be
8used to take species protected by this Act.
9    (mm) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the use
10of a shotgun, not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller than a 20
11gauge, with a rifled barrel.
12    (nn) It shall be unlawful to possess any species of
13wildlife or wildlife parts taken unlawfully in Illinois, any
14other state, or any other country, whether or not the wildlife
15or wildlife parts is indigenous to Illinois. For the purposes
16of this subsection, the statute of limitations for unlawful
17possession of wildlife or wildlife parts shall not cease until
182 years after the possession has permanently ended.
19(Source: P.A. 97-645, eff. 12-30-11; 97-907, eff. 8-7-12;
2098-119, eff. 1-1-14; 98-181, eff. 8-5-13; 98-183, eff. 1-1-14;
2198-290, eff. 8-9-13; revised 9-24-13.)
 
22    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
23becoming law.