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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 | 2.30 as follows:
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| 6 | (520 ILCS 5/2.30) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.30)
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| 7 | Sec. 2.30. Except as provided in this Section, it It shall | ||||||
| 8 | be unlawful for any person to trap or to hunt
with gun, dog, | ||||||
| 9 | dog and gun, or bow and arrow, gray fox, red fox,
raccoon, | ||||||
| 10 | weasel, mink, muskrat, badger, bobcat, and opossum except | ||||||
| 11 | during
the open season which will be set annually by the | ||||||
| 12 | Director between 12:01
a.m., November 1 to 12:00 midnight, | ||||||
| 13 | February 15, both inclusive.
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| 14 | It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt or trap bobcat | ||||||
| 15 | in this State on and after the effective date of this | ||||||
| 16 | amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly in the counties of | ||||||
| 17 | Boone, Bureau, Champaign, Cook, DeKalb, DeWitt, DuPage, Ford, | ||||||
| 18 | Grundy, Henry, Iroquois, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, Lake, | ||||||
| 19 | LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Logan, Marshall, McHenry, McLean, | ||||||
| 20 | Ogle, Peoria, Piatt, Putnam, Stark, Stephenson, Vermilion, | ||||||
| 21 | Will, Winnebago, and Woodford and north of U.S. Route 36 in | ||||||
| 22 | Edgar and Douglas and north of U.S. Route 36 to the junction | ||||||
| 23 | with Illinois Route 121 and north or east of Illinois Route 121 | ||||||
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| 1 | in Macon. For the season beginning in 2017, a total number of | ||||||
| 2 | 350 bobcats may be hunted or trapped lawfully, or the | ||||||
| 3 | conclusion of the season occurs, whichever is earlier. For the | ||||||
| 4 | season beginning in 2018, a total number of 375 bobcats may be | ||||||
| 5 | hunted or trapped lawfully, or the conclusion of the season | ||||||
| 6 | occurs, whichever is earlier. The changes added to this Section | ||||||
| 7 | by this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, except | ||||||
| 8 | for this sentence, are inoperative on and after June 30, 2019. | ||||||
| 9 | It is unlawful to pursue any fur-bearing mammal with a dog | ||||||
| 10 | or dogs
between the hours of sunset and sunrise during the 10 | ||||||
| 11 | day period
preceding the opening date of the raccoon hunting | ||||||
| 12 | season and the 10 day
period following the closing date of the | ||||||
| 13 | raccoon hunting season except
that the Department may issue | ||||||
| 14 | field trial permits in accordance with Section
2.34 of this | ||||||
| 15 | Act. A non-resident from a state with more restrictive
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| 16 | fur-bearer pursuit regulations for any particular species than | ||||||
| 17 | provided for
that species in this Act may not pursue that | ||||||
| 18 | species in Illinois except
during the period of time that | ||||||
| 19 | Illinois residents are allowed to pursue
that species in the | ||||||
| 20 | non-resident's state of residence. Hound running areas | ||||||
| 21 | approved by the Department shall be exempt from the
provisions | ||||||
| 22 | of this Section.
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| 23 | It shall be unlawful to take beaver, river otter, weasel, | ||||||
| 24 | mink, or muskrat except during
the open season set annually by | ||||||
| 25 | the Director, and then, only with traps, except that a firearm, | ||||||
| 26 | pistol, or airgun of a caliber not larger than a .22 long rifle | ||||||
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| 1 | may be used to remove the animal from the trap.
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| 2 | It shall be unlawful for any person to trap beaver or river | ||||||
| 3 | otter with traps except during
the open season which will be | ||||||
| 4 | set annually by the Director between 12:01
a.m., November 1st | ||||||
| 5 | and 12:00 midnight, March 31, both inclusive.
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| 6 | Coyote may be taken by trapping methods only during the | ||||||
| 7 | period from
September 1 to March 1, both inclusive, and by | ||||||
| 8 | hunting methods at any time.
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| 9 | Striped skunk may be taken by trapping methods only during | ||||||
| 10 | the period
from September 1 to March 1, both inclusive, and by | ||||||
| 11 | hunting methods at
any time.
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| 12 | Muskrat may be taken by trapping methods during an open | ||||||
| 13 | season set annually by the Director. | ||||||
| 14 | For the purpose of taking fur-bearing mammals, the State | ||||||
| 15 | may be
divided into management zones by administrative rule.
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| 16 | It shall be unlawful to take or possess more than the | ||||||
| 17 | season limit or possession limit of fur-bearing mammals that | ||||||
| 18 | shall be set annually by the Director. The season limit for | ||||||
| 19 | river otter shall not exceed 5 river otters per person per | ||||||
| 20 | season. The season limit for bobcat shall not exceed one bobcat | ||||||
| 21 | per permit. Possession limits shall not apply to fur buyers, | ||||||
| 22 | tanners, manufacturers, and taxidermists, as defined by this | ||||||
| 23 | Act, who possess fur-bearing mammals in accordance with laws | ||||||
| 24 | governing such activities. | ||||||
| 25 | Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the taking or | ||||||
| 26 | possessing of fur-bearing mammals found dead or | ||||||
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| 1 | unintentionally killed by a vehicle along a roadway during the | ||||||
| 2 | open season provided the person who possesses such fur-bearing | ||||||
| 3 | mammals has all appropriate licenses, stamps, or permits; the | ||||||
| 4 | season for which the species possessed is open; and that such | ||||||
| 5 | possession and disposal of such fur-bearing mammals is | ||||||
| 6 | otherwise subject to the provisions of this Section. | ||||||
| 7 | The provisions of this Section are subject to modification | ||||||
| 8 | by administrative rule. | ||||||
| 9 | (Source: P.A. 98-463, eff. 8-16-13; 98-924, eff. 8-15-14; | ||||||
| 10 | 99-33, eff. 1-1-16.)
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