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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 | 2.33 as follows:
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| 6 | (520 ILCS 5/2.33) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.33)
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| 7 | Sec. 2.33. Prohibitions.
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| 8 | (a) It is unlawful to carry or possess any gun in any
State | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | refuge unless otherwise permitted by administrative rule.
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| 10 | (b) It is unlawful to use or possess any snare or | |||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | snare-like device,
deadfall, net, or pit trap to take any | |||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | species, except that snares not
powered by springs or other | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | mechanical devices may be used to trap
fur-bearing mammals, in | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | water sets only, if at least one-half of the snare
noose is | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | located underwater at all times.
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| 16 | (c) It is unlawful for any person at any time to take a | |||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | wild mammal
protected by this Act from its den by means of any | |||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | mechanical device,
spade, or digging device or to use smoke or | |||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | other gases to dislodge or
remove such mammal except as | |||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | provided in Section 2.37.
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| 21 | (d) It is unlawful to use a ferret or any other small | |||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | mammal which is
used in the same or similar manner for which | |||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | ferrets are used for the
purpose of frightening or driving any | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | mammals from their dens or hiding places.
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| 2 | (e) (Blank).
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| 3 | (f) It is unlawful to use spears, gigs, hooks or any like | ||||||
| 4 | device to
take any species protected by this Act.
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| 5 | (g) It is unlawful to use poisons, chemicals or explosives | ||||||
| 6 | for the
purpose of taking any species protected by this Act.
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| 7 | (h) It is unlawful to hunt adjacent to or near any peat, | ||||||
| 8 | grass,
brush or other inflammable substance when it is burning.
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| 9 | (i) It is unlawful to take, pursue, or intentionally harass | ||||||
| 10 | or disturb
in any manner any wild birds or mammals by use or | ||||||
| 11 | aid of any vehicle or
conveyance, except as permitted by the | ||||||
| 12 | Code of Federal Regulations for the
taking of waterfowl. It is | ||||||
| 13 | also unlawful to use the lights of any vehicle
or conveyance or | ||||||
| 14 | any light from or any light connected to the
vehicle or | ||||||
| 15 | conveyance in any area where wildlife may be found except in
| ||||||
| 16 | accordance with Section 2.37 of this Act; however, nothing in | ||||||
| 17 | this
Section shall prohibit the normal use of headlamps for the | ||||||
| 18 | purpose of driving
upon a roadway. Striped skunk, opossum, red | ||||||
| 19 | fox, gray
fox, raccoon and coyote may be taken during the open | ||||||
| 20 | season by use of a small
light which is worn on the body or | ||||||
| 21 | hand-held by a person on foot and not in any
vehicle. For the | ||||||
| 22 | purposes of this subsection (i), to "take" or "pursue" means | ||||||
| 23 | the actual pursuit or taking of game while in a vehicle or | ||||||
| 24 | conveyance, and shall not include a person traveling to or from | ||||||
| 25 | a blind, stand, or hunting area.
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| 26 | (j) It is unlawful to use any shotgun larger than 10 gauge | ||||||
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| 1 | while
taking or attempting to take any of the species protected | ||||||
| 2 | by this Act.
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| 3 | (k) It is unlawful to use or possess in the field any | ||||||
| 4 | shotgun shell loaded
with a shot size larger than lead BB or | ||||||
| 5 | steel T (.20 diameter) when taking or
attempting to take any | ||||||
| 6 | species of wild game mammals (excluding white-tailed
deer), | ||||||
| 7 | wild game birds, migratory waterfowl or migratory game birds | ||||||
| 8 | protected
by this Act, except white-tailed deer as provided for | ||||||
| 9 | in Section 2.26 and other
species as provided for by subsection | ||||||
| 10 | (l) or administrative rule.
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| 11 | (l) It is unlawful to take any species of wild game, except
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| 12 | white-tailed deer and fur-bearing mammals, with a shotgun | ||||||
| 13 | loaded with slugs unless otherwise
provided for by | ||||||
| 14 | administrative rule.
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| 15 | (m) It is unlawful to use any shotgun capable of holding | ||||||
| 16 | more than 3
shells in the magazine or chamber combined, except | ||||||
| 17 | on game breeding and
hunting preserve areas licensed under | ||||||
| 18 | Section 3.27 and except as permitted by
the Code of Federal | ||||||
| 19 | Regulations for the taking of waterfowl. If the shotgun
is | ||||||
| 20 | capable of holding more than 3 shells, it shall, while being | ||||||
| 21 | used on an
area other than a game breeding and shooting | ||||||
| 22 | preserve area licensed
pursuant to Section 3.27, be fitted with | ||||||
| 23 | a one piece plug that is
irremovable without dismantling the | ||||||
| 24 | shotgun or otherwise altered to
render it incapable of holding | ||||||
| 25 | more than 3 shells in the magazine and
chamber, combined.
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| 26 | (n) It is unlawful for any person, except persons who | ||||||
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| 1 | possess a permit, to
hunt from a vehicle as provided in this | ||||||
| 2 | Section and persons otherwise permitted
by law, to have or | ||||||
| 3 | carry any gun in or on any vehicle, conveyance or aircraft,
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| 4 | unless such gun is unloaded and enclosed in a case, except that | ||||||
| 5 | at field trials
authorized by Section 2.34 of this Act, | ||||||
| 6 | unloaded guns or guns loaded with blank
cartridges only, may be | ||||||
| 7 | carried on horseback while not contained in a case, or
to have | ||||||
| 8 | or carry any bow or arrow device in or on any vehicle unless | ||||||
| 9 | such bow
or arrow device is unstrung or enclosed in a case, or | ||||||
| 10 | otherwise made
inoperable. For the purposes of this subsection | ||||||
| 11 | (n), to "hunt" means the actual pursuit or taking of game while | ||||||
| 12 | in a vehicle, and shall not include a person traveling to or | ||||||
| 13 | from a blind, stand, or hunting area.
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| 14 | (o) It is unlawful to use any crossbow for the purpose of | ||||||
| 15 | taking any
wild birds or mammals, except as provided for in | ||||||
| 16 | Section 2.5.
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| 17 | (p) It is unlawful to take game birds, migratory game birds | ||||||
| 18 | or
migratory waterfowl with a rifle, pistol, revolver or | ||||||
| 19 | airgun.
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| 20 | (q) It is unlawful to fire a rifle, pistol, revolver or | ||||||
| 21 | airgun on,
over or into any waters of this State, including | ||||||
| 22 | frozen waters.
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| 23 | (r) It is unlawful to discharge any gun or bow and arrow | ||||||
| 24 | device
along, upon, across, or from any public right-of-way or | ||||||
| 25 | highway in this State.
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| 26 | (s) It is unlawful to use a silencer or other device to | ||||||
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| 1 | muffle or
mute the sound of the explosion or report resulting | ||||||
| 2 | from the firing of
any gun.
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| 3 | (t) It is unlawful for any person to take or attempt to | ||||||
| 4 | take any species of wildlife or parts thereof, intentionally or | ||||||
| 5 | wantonly allow a dog to
hunt, within or upon the land of | ||||||
| 6 | another, or upon waters flowing over or
standing on the land of | ||||||
| 7 | another, or to knowingly shoot a gun or bow and arrow device at | ||||||
| 8 | any wildlife physically on or flying over the property of | ||||||
| 9 | another without first obtaining permission from
the owner or | ||||||
| 10 | the owner's designee. For the purposes of this Section, the | ||||||
| 11 | owner's designee means anyone who the owner designates in a | ||||||
| 12 | written authorization and the authorization must contain (i) | ||||||
| 13 | the legal or common description of property for such authority | ||||||
| 14 | is given, (ii) the extent that the owner's designee is | ||||||
| 15 | authorized to make decisions regarding who is allowed to take | ||||||
| 16 | or attempt to take any species of wildlife or parts thereof, | ||||||
| 17 | and (iii) the owner's notarized signature. Before enforcing | ||||||
| 18 | this
Section the law enforcement officer must have received | ||||||
| 19 | notice from the
owner or the owner's designee of a violation of | ||||||
| 20 | this Section. Statements made to the
law enforcement officer | ||||||
| 21 | regarding this notice shall not be rendered
inadmissible by the | ||||||
| 22 | hearsay rule when offered for the purpose of showing the
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| 23 | required notice.
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| 24 | (u) It is unlawful for any person to discharge any firearm | ||||||
| 25 | for the purpose
of taking any of the species protected by this | ||||||
| 26 | Act, or hunt with gun or
dog, or intentionally or wantonly | ||||||
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| 1 | allow a dog to hunt, within 300 yards of an inhabited dwelling | ||||||
| 2 | without
first obtaining permission from the owner or tenant, | ||||||
| 3 | except that while
trapping, hunting with bow and arrow, hunting | ||||||
| 4 | with dog and shotgun using shot
shells only, or hunting with | ||||||
| 5 | shotgun using shot shells only, or
on licensed game breeding | ||||||
| 6 | and hunting preserve areas, as defined in Section
3.27, on | ||||||
| 7 | property operated under a Migratory Waterfowl Hunting Area | ||||||
| 8 | Permit, on
federally owned and managed lands and on Department | ||||||
| 9 | owned, managed, leased or
controlled lands, a 100 yard | ||||||
| 10 | restriction shall apply.
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| 11 | (v) It is unlawful for any person to remove fur-bearing | ||||||
| 12 | mammals from, or
to move or disturb in any manner, the traps | ||||||
| 13 | owned by another person without
written authorization of the | ||||||
| 14 | owner to do so.
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| 15 | (w) It is unlawful for any owner of a dog to knowingly or | ||||||
| 16 | wantonly allow
his or her dog to pursue, harass or kill deer, | ||||||
| 17 | except that nothing in this Section shall prohibit the tracking | ||||||
| 18 | of wounded deer with a dog in accordance with the provisions of | ||||||
| 19 | Section 2.26 of this Code.
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| 20 | (x) It is unlawful for any person to wantonly or carelessly | ||||||
| 21 | injure
or destroy, in any manner whatsoever, any real or | ||||||
| 22 | personal property on
the land of another while engaged in | ||||||
| 23 | hunting or trapping thereon.
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| 24 | (y) It is unlawful to hunt wild game protected by this Act | ||||||
| 25 | between one
half hour after sunset and one half hour before | ||||||
| 26 | sunrise, except that
hunting hours between one half hour after | ||||||
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| 1 | sunset and one half hour
before sunrise may be established by | ||||||
| 2 | administrative rule for fur-bearing
mammals.
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| 3 | (z) It is unlawful to take any game bird (excluding wild | ||||||
| 4 | turkeys and
crippled pheasants not capable of normal flight and | ||||||
| 5 | otherwise irretrievable)
protected by this Act when not flying. | ||||||
| 6 | Nothing in this Section shall prohibit
a person from carrying | ||||||
| 7 | an uncased, unloaded shotgun in a boat, while in pursuit
of a | ||||||
| 8 | crippled migratory waterfowl that is incapable of normal | ||||||
| 9 | flight, for the
purpose of attempting to reduce the migratory | ||||||
| 10 | waterfowl to possession, provided
that the attempt is made | ||||||
| 11 | immediately upon downing the migratory waterfowl and
is done | ||||||
| 12 | within 400 yards of the blind from which the migratory | ||||||
| 13 | waterfowl was
downed. This exception shall apply only to | ||||||
| 14 | migratory game birds that are not
capable of normal flight. | ||||||
| 15 | Migratory waterfowl that are crippled may be taken
only with a | ||||||
| 16 | shotgun as regulated by subsection (j) of this Section using
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| 17 | shotgun shells as regulated in subsection (k) of this Section.
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| 18 | (aa) It is unlawful to use or possess any device that may | ||||||
| 19 | be used for
tree climbing or cutting, while hunting fur-bearing | ||||||
| 20 | mammals, excluding coyotes.
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| 21 | (bb) It is unlawful for any person, except licensed game | ||||||
| 22 | breeders,
pursuant to Section 2.29 to import, carry into, or | ||||||
| 23 | possess alive in this
State any species of wildlife taken | ||||||
| 24 | outside of this State, without
obtaining permission to do so | ||||||
| 25 | from the Director.
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| 26 | (cc) It is unlawful for any person to have in his or her
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| 1 | possession any freshly killed species protected by this Act | ||||||
| 2 | during the season
closed for taking.
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| 3 | (dd) It is unlawful to take any species protected by this | ||||||
| 4 | Act and retain
it alive except as provided by administrative | ||||||
| 5 | rule.
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| 6 | (ee) It is unlawful to possess any rifle while in the field | ||||||
| 7 | during gun
deer season except as provided in Section 2.26 and | ||||||
| 8 | administrative rules.
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| 9 | (ff) It is unlawful for any person to take any species | ||||||
| 10 | protected by
this Act, except migratory waterfowl, during the | ||||||
| 11 | gun deer hunting season in
those counties open to gun deer | ||||||
| 12 | hunting, unless he or she wears, when in
the field, a cap and | ||||||
| 13 | upper outer garment of a solid blaze orange color, with
such | ||||||
| 14 | articles of clothing displaying a minimum of 400 square inches | ||||||
| 15 | of
blaze orange material.
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| 16 | (gg) It is unlawful during the upland game season for any | ||||||
| 17 | person to take
upland game with a firearm unless he or she | ||||||
| 18 | wears, while in the field, a
cap of solid blaze orange color. | ||||||
| 19 | For purposes of this Act, upland game is
defined as Bobwhite | ||||||
| 20 | Quail, Hungarian Partridge, Ring-necked Pheasant, Eastern
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| 21 | Cottontail and Swamp Rabbit.
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| 22 | (hh) It shall be unlawful to kill or cripple any species | ||||||
| 23 | protected by
this Act for which there is a bag limit without | ||||||
| 24 | making a reasonable
effort to retrieve such species and include | ||||||
| 25 | such in the bag limit. It shall be unlawful for any person | ||||||
| 26 | having control over harvested game mammals, game birds, or | ||||||
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| 1 | migratory game birds for which there is a bag limit to wantonly | ||||||
| 2 | waste or destroy the usable meat of the game, except this shall | ||||||
| 3 | not apply to wildlife taken under Sections 2.37 or 3.22 of this | ||||||
| 4 | Code. For purposes of this subsection, "usable meat" means the | ||||||
| 5 | breast meat of a game bird or migratory game bird and the hind | ||||||
| 6 | ham and front shoulders of a game mammal. It shall be unlawful | ||||||
| 7 | for any person to place, leave, dump, or abandon a wildlife | ||||||
| 8 | carcass or parts of it along or upon a public right-of-way or | ||||||
| 9 | highway or on public or private property, including a waterway | ||||||
| 10 | or stream, without the permission of the owner or tenant. It | ||||||
| 11 | shall not be unlawful to discard game meat that is determined | ||||||
| 12 | to be unfit for human consumption.
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| 13 | (ii) This Section shall apply only to those species | ||||||
| 14 | protected by this
Act taken within the State. Any species or | ||||||
| 15 | any parts thereof, legally taken
in and transported from other | ||||||
| 16 | states or countries, may be possessed
within the State, except | ||||||
| 17 | as provided in this Section and Sections 2.35, 2.36
and 3.21.
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| 18 | (jj) (Blank).
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| 19 | (kk) Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit the | ||||||
| 20 | Director
from issuing permits to paraplegics or to other | ||||||
| 21 | disabled persons who meet the
requirements set forth in | ||||||
| 22 | administrative rule to shoot or hunt from a vehicle
as provided | ||||||
| 23 | by that rule, provided that such is otherwise in accord with | ||||||
| 24 | this
Act.
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| 25 | (ll) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the | ||||||
| 26 | taking of aquatic
life protected by the Fish and Aquatic Life | ||||||
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| 1 | Code or birds and mammals
protected by this Act, except deer | ||||||
| 2 | and fur-bearing mammals, from a boat not
camouflaged or | ||||||
| 3 | disguised to alter its identity or to further provide a place
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| 4 | of concealment and not propelled by sail or mechanical power. | ||||||
| 5 | However, only
shotguns not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller | ||||||
| 6 | than .410 bore loaded with not
more than 3 shells of a shot | ||||||
| 7 | size no larger than lead BB or steel T (.20
diameter) may be | ||||||
| 8 | used to take species protected by this Act.
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| 9 | (mm) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the use | ||||||
| 10 | of a shotgun,
not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller than a 20 | ||||||
| 11 | gauge, with a rifled barrel.
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| 12 | (nn) It shall be unlawful to possess any species of | ||||||
| 13 | wildlife or wildlife parts taken unlawfully in Illinois, any | ||||||
| 14 | other state, or any other country, whether or not the wildlife | ||||||
| 15 | or wildlife parts is indigenous to Illinois. For the purposes | ||||||
| 16 | of this subsection, the statute of limitations for unlawful | ||||||
| 17 | possession of wildlife or wildlife parts shall not cease until | ||||||
| 18 | 2 years after the possession has permanently ended. | ||||||
| 19 | (Source: P.A. 97-645, eff. 12-30-11; 97-907, eff. 8-7-12; | ||||||
| 20 | 98-119, eff. 1-1-14; 98-181, eff. 8-5-13; 98-183, eff. 1-1-14; | ||||||
| 21 | 98-290, eff. 8-9-13; revised 9-24-13.)
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| 22 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 23 | becoming law.
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