SB1981sam001 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Don Harmon

Filed: 5/12/2017

10000SB1981sam001 LRB100 09746 SLF 26024 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1981

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1981 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing Section 2.30 as follows:

(520 ILCS 5/2.30) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.30)

Sec. 2.30. Except as provided in this Section, it It shall be unlawful for any person to trap or to hunt with gun, dog, dog and gun, or bow and arrow, gray fox, red fox, raccoon, weasel, mink, muskrat, badger, bobcat, and opossum except during the open season which will be set annually by the Director between 12:01 a.m., November 1 to 12:00 midnight, February 15, both inclusive.

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt or trap bobcat in this State on and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, except in the Southern Zone of this State and the counties of Adams, Brown, Carroll, Cass, Edgar, Fulton, Hancock, Jo Daviess, Pike, Schuyler, and Scott. A maximum of 500 permits to take bobcat shall be issued each year by the Department of Natural Resources. For purposes of this Section, the boundary between the Northern Zone and the Southern Zone of this State shall be U.S. Route 36. This paragraph (1), except for this sentence, is inoperative on and after June 30, 2019.

(2) It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt or trap bobcat at any time in the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will.

It is unlawful to pursue any fur-bearing mammal with a dog or dogs between the hours of sunset and sunrise during the 10 day period preceding the opening date of the raccoon hunting season and the 10 day period following the closing date of the raccoon hunting season except that the Department may issue field trial permits in accordance with Section 2.34 of this Act. A non-resident from a state with more restrictive fur-bearer pursuit regulations for any particular species than provided for that species in this Act may not pursue that species in Illinois except during the period of time that Illinois residents are allowed to pursue that species in the non-resident's state of residence. Hound running areas approved by the Department shall be exempt from the provisions of this Section.

It shall be unlawful to take beaver, river otter, weasel, mink, or muskrat except during the open season set annually by the Director, and then, only with traps, except that a firearm, pistol, or airgun of a caliber not larger than a .22 long rifle may be used to remove the animal from the trap.

It shall be unlawful for any person to trap beaver or river otter with traps except during the open season which will be set annually by the Director between 12:01 a.m., November 1st and 12:00 midnight, March 31, both inclusive.

Coyote may be taken by trapping methods only during the period from September 1 to March 1, both inclusive, and by hunting methods at any time.

Striped skunk may be taken by trapping methods only during the period from September 1 to March 1, both inclusive, and by hunting methods at any time.

Muskrat may be taken by trapping methods during an open season set annually by the Director.

For the purpose of taking fur-bearing mammals, the State may be divided into management zones by administrative rule.

It shall be unlawful to take or possess more than the season limit or possession limit of fur-bearing mammals that shall be set annually by the Director. The season limit for river otter shall not exceed 5 river otters per person per season. The season limit for bobcat shall not exceed one bobcat per permit. Possession limits shall not apply to fur buyers, tanners, manufacturers, and taxidermists, as defined by this Act, who possess fur-bearing mammals in accordance with laws governing such activities.

Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the taking or possessing of fur-bearing mammals found dead or unintentionally killed by a vehicle along a roadway during the open season provided the person who possesses such fur-bearing mammals has all appropriate licenses, stamps, or permits; the season for which the species possessed is open; and that such possession and disposal of such fur-bearing mammals is otherwise subject to the provisions of this Section.

The provisions of this Section are subject to modification by administrative rule.

(Source: P.A. 98-463, eff. 8-16-13; 98-924, eff. 8-15-14; 99-33, eff. 1-1-16.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2017.".