Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
150.010,
150.175,
150.360,
150.390,
150.990
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
150.025(1) authorizes the
department to promulgate administrative regulations to establish open seasons
for the taking of wildlife, to regulate bag limits and methods of take, and to
make these requirements apply to a limited area.
KRS
150.105 authorizes the commissioner with the
approval of the commission to destroy or bring under control wildlife causing
damage.
KRS
150.170(7) authorizes
landowners, their spouses or dependent children, or a designee to destroy
wildlife causing damage. It also authorizes the department to promulgate
administrative regulations that establish procedures for the designee
appointment process. This administrative regulation establishes the
requirements for the issuance of deer control tags and deer destruction permits
and establishes the requirements for the landowner designee appointment
process.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Deer control tag" means a tag issued by
the department that authorizes a hunter to take antlerless deer during an open
deer season pursuant to
301 KAR
2:172.
(2)
"Deer destruction permit" means written authorization from the department to
take deer outside the hunting season framework established in
301 KAR
2:172.
(3)
"Deer food plot" means a crop or cultivated plants grown to attract and feed
deer.
(4) "Department
representative" means a department employee who is qualified and authorized by
the commissioner to assess deer damage.
(5) "Designee" means a person who has been
designated by a landowner to remove wildlife causing damage on the landowner's
property.
(6) "Landowner" means the
person who has title to a particular property.
Section 2. Qualifying for Deer Control Tags.
(1) A landowner with fewer than 1,000
contiguous acres shall qualify for deer control tags if:
(a) Deer hunting occurred on the property
during the previous deer season;
(b) Standard deterrent measures recommended
by a department representative have proven ineffective or are impractical;
and
(c) A department representative
certifies deer damage to crops, gardens, property, or wildlife
habitat.
(2) A landowner
with 1,000 contiguous acres or more shall qualify for deer control tags if:
(a) Deer hunting occurred on the property
during the previous deer season; and
(b) Deer seasons and bag limits as
established in
301 KAR
2:172 are determined by a department representative to
be inadequate to control deer populations on the property.
(3) A department representative shall make an
on-site inspection of each property for which a request for deer control tags
has been made, unless the property:
(a) Has
been previously inspected by the department and the landowner affirms that deer
damage still exists; or
(b) Is
immediately adjacent to property assessed by a department representative as
having severe deer damage.
(4) A landowner whose property is immediately
adjacent to property assessed by a department representative as having severe
deer damage shall be issued deer control tags upon request of the
landowner.
(5) The department shall
not issue deer control tags to a landowner whose only damage is to a deer food
plot.
Section 3.
Applying for Deer Control Tags.
(1) A
landowner shall request deer control tags by contacting the department through:
(a) A conservation officer; or
(b) The private lands biologist for the
county in which the property is located.
(2) If required by Section 2 of this
administrative regulation, a department representative shall visit the property
and assess the nature and extent of deer damage.
(3) A request for an assessment shall be made
on or before September 30 to be eligible for current year deer control
tags.
(4) A request for an
assessment made after September 30 shall be considered for the following
year.
Section 4. Number
of Tags Issued.
(1) The department shall
determine the number of deer control tags to be issued for each property based
on the recommendation of the department representative.
(2) Except as established in Section 2(2) or
(4) of this administrative regulation, the department shall not issue a deer
control tag if:
(a) The county deer season is
adequate to achieve the desired reduction in deer numbers; or
(b) Crop or environmental damage is not
present.
Section
5. Transfer of Deer Control Tags.
(1) Deer control tags shall be issued in the
landowner's name.
(2) A landowner:
(a) May transfer a deer control tag to
another person; and
(b) Shall
require hunters to sign a deer control tag when an antlerless deer is
harvested.
Section
6. Use of Deer Control Tags.
(1)
A deer control tag shall not be valid except on the property for which it was
issued.
(2) A deer control tag
shall expire after the license year for which it was issued.
(3) A person who uses a deer control tag:
(a) Shall have in possession a valid:
1. Deer control tag; and
2. Hunting license and current deer permit,
unless exempt from license or permit requirements pursuant to
KRS
150.170;
(b) May use deer control tags during archery,
crossbow, modern gun, both youth deer seasons, or muzzle-loader seasons to take
antlerless deer; and
(c) Shall
comply with
301 KAR
2:172, except that:
1. Antlered deer shall not be taken;
and
2. The deer control tag shall
remain attached to the carcass until final processing or disposal.
(4) Deer taken with a
deer control tag shall not count toward the zone bag limit as established in
301 KAR
2:172.
Section 7. Deer Destruction Permits.
(1) The department may issue a deer
destruction permit:
(a) To a person
authorized by the commissioner to remove deer that are or may become a public
safety or environmental threat or that have entered a permitted captive cervid
facility;
(b) To a landowner or the
designee:
1. Who continues to experience
damage after using deer control tags; or
2. Whose property cannot be hunted legally
and deer are posing a public safety or environmental threat; or
(c) To a captive cervid facility
permit holder or applicant:
1. Whose fence
meets the fencing and holding requirements in
301
KAR 2:083; and
2. Who has attempted to remove wild deer
using nonlethal methods or statewide deer seasons as established in
301 KAR
2:172.
(2) A deer destruction permit shall specify
the:
(a) Number and sex of deer to be
destroyed;
(b) Method of
destruction;
(c) Name of the person
who will destroy the deer; and
(d)
Dates during which the destruction will take place.
(3) A deer destruction permit shall not be
issued without the recommendation of a department representative and the
approval of the commissioner.
(4) A
person who uses a deer destruction permit shall:
(a) Attach to each carcass a disposal permit
provided by the department;
(b) Not
remove the disposal permit until the carcass is processed or disposed of;
and
(c) If an antlered deer was
taken, relinquish the antlers to the department.
(5) A deer destruction permit shall not be
used except as specified on the permit.
(6) A person who receives a deer destruction
permit shall:
(a) Complete a Wildlife
Destruction Permit Reporting Form issued by the department; and
(b) Submit the completed form to the
department at # 1 Sportsman's Lane, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, ATTN: Wildlife
Destruction Permit Report, within fourteen (14) days after the expiration date
designated on the destruction permit.
Section 8. Designee Procedures and
Requirements.
(1) A landowner may appoint a
design-ee to kill wildlife causing damage on the landowner's land.
(2) The landowner and designee shall complete
and submit to the department a Wildlife Damage Designee Form.
(3) The department shall have thirty (30)
days upon receipt of the Wildlife Damage Design-ee Form to approve or deny a
designee.
Section 9.
Denial or Revocation or Deer Control Tags or Destruction Permits and Appeal
Procedures.
(1) The department shall revoke a
deer control tag or destruction permit or deny a future tag or permit to a
person who fails to comply with the requirements of this administrative
regulation.
(2) An individual whose
request for a permit has been denied or revoked may request an administrative
hearing pursuant to KRS Chapter 13B.
Section 10. Incorporation by Reference.
(1) The following material is incorporated by
reference:
(a) "Wildlife Damage Designee
Form", 2015 edition; and
(b)
"Wildlife Destruction Permit Reporting Form", 2016 edition.
(2) This material may be
inspected, copied, or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the
Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, #1 Sportsman's Lane, Frankfort,
Kentucky 40601, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern
Time.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
150.025(1),
150.105,
150.170(7)