Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a)
Testing of deer for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) by DNR personnel will occur
so long as funding is available in:
1)
counties where deer have been documented with the disease;
2) counties considered high-risk for the
disease; and
3) counties in which
additional surveillance is warranted.
b) These counties shall be publicly announced
following the conclusion of the previous year's annual fall/winter CWD
surveillance, which will be used as a basis for decision making. For these
counties, hunters shall take their whole (or field dressed) deer to a
designated firearm deer check station by 8:00 p.m. on the day the deer was
killed. A permanent harvest tag will be attached to the leg of the deer upon
registration at the check station. If a hunter is not able to locate a
harvested deer in sufficient time to enable reporting the harvest by 8:00 p.m.,
the hunter must take the deer to the appropriate check station upon its opening
at 8:00 a.m. the following morning, or immediately upon retrieving it if that
occurs later than the opening of the check station. If this situation occurs on
a Sunday (e.g., the check station will not be open on Monday), the hunter must
contact the appropriate regional DNR Law Enforcement Office by 10:00 a.m.
Monday morning for instructions on checking in the deer. If the head/antlers
are delivered to a taxidermist for processing, the temporary harvest tag must
accompany the head/antlers and be kept with the head/antlers while at the
taxidermist. If the carcass is taken to a meat processor, the permanent harvest
tag must remain attached to the leg of the deer until it is processed, then
must remain with the processed deer until it is at the legal residence of the
person who legally took or possessed the deer. Persons delivering deer/parts of
deer to a tanner for processing must supply the tanner with their deer permit
number to verify lawful acquisition. In the absence of a permit number, the
tanner may rely on the written certification of the person from whom the deer
was received that the specimen was legally taken or obtained.
c) For counties in which Chronic Wasting
Disease surveillance is not occurring:
1)
Successful hunters during the firearm deer season must register their harvest
by 10:00 p.m. on the same calendar day the deer was taken by calling the
toll-free telephone check-in system at 1-866-ILCHECK or by accessing the
on-line check-in system at
www.dnr.illinois.gov. If a hunter is not
able to locate a harvested deer in sufficient time to enable reporting the
harvest by 10:00 p.m., the hunter must immediately report the harvest upon
retrieving it. The hunter will be provided with a confirmation number to verify
that he or she checked in the harvest. This number must be written by the
hunter onto the temporary harvest tag (leg tag). If the condition of the tag
precludes writing on the tag in the appropriate space (i.e., bloody, etc.), the
confirmation number shall be written elsewhere on the tag, or onto a piece of
paper and attached to the deer along with the temporary harvest tag. The deer
must remain whole (or field dressed) until it has been checked in. In instances
where deer are checked in while the hunter is still afield, the deer may not be
dismembered while afield beyond quartering the animal. If quartered, all parts
of the carcass (except the entrails removed during field dressing) must be
transported together and evidence of sex must remain naturally attached to one
quarter. Evidence of sex is:
A) For a buck:
head with antlers attached to carcass, or attached testicle, scrotum, or
penis.
B) For a doe: head attached
to carcass, or attached udder (mammary) or vulva.
2) The temporary harvest tag (leg tag) and
confirmation number must remain attached to the deer until it is at the legal
residence of the person who legally took or possessed the deer, the deer has
been checked in, and final processing is completed. If the head/antlers are
delivered to a taxidermist for processing, the confirmation number must be
recorded on the "head tag" portion of the permit and both must remain with the
deer while at the taxidermist. If the carcass is taken to a meat processor, the
temporary harvest tag with confirmation number must remain with the deer while
it is processed, and until it is at the legal residence of the person who
legally took or possessed the deer. Persons delivering deer/parts of deer to a
tanner for processing must supply the tanner with either their deer permit
number, their confirmation number, or a written certification by the person
from whom the deer was received that the specimen was legally taken or
obtained.
d) Site
specific reporting requirements must be followed in addition to this
Section.
