Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
150.010,
150.092,
150.170,
150.175,
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
150.390(1) prohibits the
taking of bears in any manner contrary to any provisions of KRS Chapter 150 or
KAR Title 301. This administrative regulation establishes bear hunting and
chasing seasons, bear hunting areas, legal methods of take, and permitting,
checking, and recording requirements.
Section
1. Definitions.
(1) "Adult"
means an individual who is at least eighteen (18) years of age.
(2) "Archery equipment" means a long bow,
recurve bow, or compound bow incapable of holding an arrow at full or partial
draw without aid from the archer.
(3) "Arrow" means the projectile fired from a
bow or crossbow.
(4) "Baited area"
means an area where feed, grains, or other substances capable of luring black
bears have been placed.
(5) "Bear"
means the species Ursus americanus.
(6) "Bear chase permit" means a permit, which
in conjunction with appropriate licenses, seasons, and methods, allows the
holder to use dogs to chase a bear.
(7) "Bear permit" means a permit, which in
conjunction with appropriate licenses, seasons, and methods, allows the holder
to harvest one (1) black bear of either sex.
(8) "Bear Zone 1" means Bell, Harlan,
Letcher, and McCreary Counties.
(9)
"Bear Zone 2" means Adair, Bath, Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Casey, Clark, Clay,
Clinton, Cumberland, Elliot, Estill, Fleming, Floyd, Garrard, Greenup, Jackson,
Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison,
Magoffin, Martin, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Powell,
Pulaski, Rockcastle, Rowan, Russell, Wayne, Whitley, and Wolfe
Counties.
(10) "Chase-only season"
means a designated season when a person may use dogs to chase a bear, without
killing or intentionally injuring a bear.
(11) "Combination bear permit" means a
permit, which in conjunction with appropriate licenses, seasons, and methods,
allows the holder to harvest one (1) black bear of either sex and to use dogs
to chase a bear.
(12) "Crossbow"
means a bow designed or fitted with a device to hold an arrow at full or
partial draw without aid from the archer.
(13) "Firearm" means a breech- or
muzzle-loading rifle, shotgun, or handgun.
(14) "License year" means the period from
March 1 through the last day of February.
(15) "Modern gun" means a rifle, handgun, or
shotgun loaded from the rear of the barrel.
(16) "Muzzleloader" means a rifle, shotgun,
or handgun loaded from the discharging end of the barrel or discharging end of
the receiver.
(17) "Youth" means a
person under the age of sixteen (16) on the day of the hunt.
(18) "Youth bear chase permit" means a
permit, which in conjunction with appropriate licenses, seasons, and methods,
allows a youth to use dogs to chase a bear.
Section 2. Feeding Black Bears. A person
shall not engage in any direct or indirect feeding of black bears.
Section 3. Bear Chase Requirements.
(1) Unless exempted by
KRS
150.170, a person, while using dogs to chase
a bear, shall carry on his or her person any valid annual Kentucky hunting
license and a valid:
(a) Bear chase
permit;
(b) Youth bear chase
permit; or
(c) Combination bear
permit.
(2) A person
shall not:
(a) Kill or intentionally injure a
bear during a chase-only season;
(b) Chase a bear except during daylight hours
while a chase season is open;
(c)
Chase a bear from a baited area:
1. While bait
is present; or
2. For thirty (30)
days after the bait has been removed; or
(d) Disturb a bear in a den.
(3) A person shall only use a dog
to chase a bear on public hunting areas, or on private land with permission of
the landowner, in all bear zones, except that it shall be prohibited to chase
bears with dogs in the areas established in paragraphs (a) through (g) of this
subsection:
(a) Daniel Boone National
Forest;
(b) Miller-Welch Central
Kentucky Wildlife Management Area;
(c) Beaver Creek Wildlife Management
Area;
(d) Cane Creek Wildlife
Management Area;
(e) Mill Creek
Wildlife Management Area;
(f)
Pioneer Weapons Wildlife Management Area; and
(g) Redbird Wildlife Management
Area.
Section
4. Chasing Bears with Dogs. A person shall not use a dog to chase
a bear except during the seasons established in subsections (1) and (2) of this
section.
(1) The chase-only season shall be
from:
(a) June 1 through August 31;
and
(b) September 9 through
September 30; and
(2)
The bear hunt with dogs season shall be pursuant to Section 8(1) of this
administrative regulation and shall also be open as a chase-only
season.
Section 5. Bear
Permit Requirements.
(1) Unless exempted by
KRS
150.170, a person hunting a bear during the
archery, crossbow, or modern gun seasons shall carry on his or her person a
valid annual Kentucky hunting license and a valid bear permit or combination
bear permit while hunting.
(2)
Unless exempted by KRS 150.170, during the bear
hunt with dogs season:
(a) A person
attempting to harvest a bear shall carry on his or her person a valid annual
Kentucky hunting license and either a valid:
1. Bear permit and bear chase permit;
or
2. Combination bear permit;
and
(b) A person in a
bear hunt or bear chase party who does not intend to harvest a bear shall carry
on his or her person a valid annual Kentucky hunting license and either a
valid:
1. Bear chase permit; or
2. Combination bear permit.
(3) Unless exempted by
KRS
150.170, during a bear chase season, a person
in a hunt party engaged in the pursuit of bear with the use of dogs shall carry
on his or her person any valid annual Kentucky hunting license and either a
valid:
(a) Bear chase permit; or
(b) Combination bear permit.
Section 6. Hunter
Restrictions.
(1) A person shall not:
(a) Harvest a bear except during daylight
hours;
(b) Use a dog during the
modern gun, muzzleloader, or archery and crossbow season to hunt bear, except
leashed tracking dogs may be used to recover a wounded or dead bear;
(c) Hunt bear on a baited area:
1. While bait is present; or
2. For thirty (30) days after the bait has
been removed;
(d)
Harvest:
1. A female bear that has a cub;
or
2. A bear that weighs less than
seventy-five (75) pounds;
(e) Harvest a bear that is
swimming;
(f) Harvest a bear if the
person is in a vehicle, boat, or on horseback, except that a hunter in
possession of a disability hunting methods exemption permit issued by the
department as established in
301 KAR 3:027 may use a
stationary vehicle as a hunting platform;
(g) Harvest a bear in a den;
(h) Disturb a bear in a den for the purpose
of taking the bear if the bear exits the den; or
(i) Use radio telemetry equipment to locate a
bear that is equipped with a radio-tracking collar.
(2) An adult shall accompany and maintain
control of a youth who is hunting bear with a firearm.
Section 7. Equipment Restrictions.
(1) A person shall only use the equipment and
ammunition established in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this subsection to take
a bear:
(a) A crossbow or archery equipment
loaded with a broadhead of seven-eighths (7/8) inch or wider upon
expansion;
(b) A modern rifle:
1. With an action that fires a single round
of ammunition upon each manipulation of the trigger;
2. Loaded with:
a. Bullets of .264 caliber (6.5 mm) or
larger; and
b. Centerfire, single
projectile ammunition designed to expand upon impact;
(c) A muzzleloader of .45 caliber
or larger;
(d) A shotgun of twenty
(20) gauge or larger loaded with a shell containing a slug or a slug with a
sabot; or
(e) A handgun loaded
with:
1. Centerfire cartridges;
2. Bullets of .264 caliber (6.5 mm) designed
to expand upon impact; and
3.
Cartridges with a case length of 1.285 inches or larger.
(2) A crossbow shall contain a
working safety device.
(3) A bear
hunter using a modern gun shall not use a magazine capable of holding more than
ten (10) rounds.
(4) A bear hunter
may use archery, crossbow, or muzzleloader equipment to take a bear during bear
modern gun season.
Section
8. Bear Season Dates and Bag Limits.
(1) A legal bear hunter shall only kill a
bear in the open bear zones during the seasons established in paragraphs (a)
through (f) of this subsection:
(a) The
archery and crossbow season for bears in Bear Zone 1 shall be for three (3)
consecutive days beginning on the fourth Saturday in October;
(b) The archery and crossbow season for bears
in Bear Zone 2 shall be for five (5) consecutive days beginning on the fourth
Saturday in October;
(c) The modern
gun season for bears in Bear Zone 1 shall be for three (3) consecutive days
beginning on the second Saturday in December;
(d) The modern gun season for bears in Bear
Zone 2 shall be for five (5) consecutive days beginning on the second Saturday
in December;
(e) The bear hunt with
dogs season in Bear Zone 1 shall be for five (5) consecutive days beginning on
the Monday prior to the fourth Saturday in October; and
(f) The bear hunt with dogs season in Bear
Zone 2 shall be for five (5) consecutive days beginning on the Monday prior to
the fourth Saturday in October and for nine (9) consecutive days beginning the
Thursday following the fourth Saturday in October.
(2) A person shall not harvest more than one
(1) bear in a license year.
Section
9. Bear Hunt with Dogs Requirements.
(1) A person shall only harvest a bear using
legal equipment with the use of unleashed dogs that are actively pursuing,
chasing, baying, or treeing a bear prior to harvest.
(2) A dog used to harvest bears shall be a
purebred or a crossbreed of the recognized dog breeds established in paragraphs
(a) through (l) of this subsection.
(a)
Airedale;
(b) American black and
tan coonhound;
(c) Black mouth
cur;
(d) Bluetick
coonhound;
(e) English
coonhound;
(f) Leopard
cur;
(g) Majestic tree
hound;
(h) Mathis;
(i) Mountain cur;
(j) Plott hound;
(k) Redbone coonhound; or
(l) Treeing walker coonhound.
Section 10. Hunter
Orange Clothing Requirements.
(1) During any
modern gun or muzzleloader season for bears, a person hunting any species, and
any person accompanying a hunter, shall display solid, unbroken hunter orange
visible from all sides on the head, back, and chest, except these requirements
shall not apply to a person hunting:
(a)
Waterfowl; or
(b) Furbearers at
night during a legal furbearer season.
(2) The hunter orange portions of a garment
worn to fulfill the requirements of this section:
(a) May display a small section of another
color; and
(b) Shall not have mesh
weave openings exceeding one-fourth (1/4) inch by any measurement.
Section 11. Bear
Reserves. The areas established in subsections (1) through (3) of this section
shall be closed to all bear hunting and bear chase with dogs.
(1) Cumberland Gap National Historical
Park;
(2) Hensley-Pine Mountain
Wildlife Management Area; and
(3)
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
Section 12. Harvest Recording and Check-in
Requirements.
(1) Immediately after harvesting
a bear, and before moving the carcass, a person shall record on a hunter's log
the:
(a) Species taken;
(b) Date taken;
(c) County where taken; and
(d) Sex of the bear.
(2) A person who has harvested a bear shall:
(a) Retain a completed hunter's
log;
(b) Telecheck the bear by 8
p.m. Eastern Standard Time the day the bear was harvested by:
1. Calling 800-245-4263 and completing the
telecheck process or checking the bear on the department's Web site at
fw.ky.gov; and
2. Recording the
confirmation number on the hunter's log;
(c) Arrange for department personnel to
inspect the bear by:
1. Calling the department
at 800-858-1549 within twenty-four (24) hours of harvest and prior to removing
the harvested bear from the Bear Zone; and
2. Presenting to department personnel the
bear carcass or an intact hide that contains the skull and proof of sex by
including the attached:
a. Testicles, scrotum,
or penis for a male bear; or
b.
Udder or vulva for a female bear; and
(d) Attach to the carcass a department issued
tag after having the bear inspected by department personnel.