Request By:
Steve Yontz
Assistant Director
Division of Law Enforcement
Department of Fish and Wildlife
Resources
592 East Main Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Dale D. Brodkey, Assistant Attorney General
This opinion is in response to your letter of September 30, 1980 relating to deer hunting in Kentucky. Specifically your question is whether a resident of Illinois can hunt deer legally in Kentucky.
In order to hunt deer in Kentucky, a person must first obtain a hunting license. See KRS 150.170. A Kentucky resident would obtain a statewide resident hunting license, KRS 150.175(9), and a big game permit, KRS 150.175(19). The hunting license "authorizes the holder thereof to take or pursue wild animals, wild birds, frogs and turtles with gun, bow and arrow, dog or falcon, . . . according to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the department." KRS 150.175(9). The big game permit "in combination with a valid statewide hunting license or a valid junior statewide hunting license, authorizes the holder thereof to take or pursue deer, bear or wild turkey, in any designated open area of this state, during the open season and according to the provision of the laws and regulations governing such hunting. " KRS 150.175(19).
A nonresident would need to obtain a nonresident annual hunting license "which authorizes the holder thereof to perform any act authorized by a resident statewide hunting license, " KRS 150.175(17), or a special license for hunting only on licensed hunting preserves, KRS 150.175(18). The license requirement also is set out at KRS 150.235 which requires that the hunter shall carry the license on his or her person. Section (3) states, "No nonresident shall perform any act under this chapter without first procuring the proper nonresident license. "
In Kentucky there is a distinction between a hunting license and a permit. The license authorizes the hunter to take or pursue all permissible wild animals. In order to hunt deer, the hunter must also have a permit. The state does not appear to limit the number of deer permits issued each year (except in certain wildlife management areas), but it does limit the number of deer taken each year by setting the deer hunting season dates, 301 KAR 2:109. However, an individual hunter is limited in the number of deer permits he or she may obtain; this limits the number of deer an individual may take because each deer requires a separate permit, 301 KAR 2:109 § 5(6).
Kentucky has a reciprocity requirement for nonresident hunters. They will be able to obtain a hunting license only if their state allows Kentucky residents to do the same. KRS 150.176 states, "No hunting or fishing license authorized by this chapter shall be issued to the resident of any other state which does not grant to the citizens of this state the privilege to secure license to hunt and fish during any open season in such state." There is a more specific reciprocity requirement concerning deer hunting in the regulations. "Residents of any state which does not grant Kentucky residents the right to hunt deer may not hunt deer in Kentucky." 301 KAR 2:109 § 6(1). The question which arises is whether Illinois grants Kentucky residents the right to hunt deer in Illinois.
The Illinois laws on deer hunting differ somewhat from those in Kentucky. Illinois requires that prospective hunters obtain a hunting license before they may take or attempt to take certain specified species for which there is an open season. Illinois Revised Statutes (IRS) Chapter 61, § 3.1. A nonresident of Illinois must obtain a nonresident license. The only manner in which reciprocity with other states enters the picture for licenses is with respect to the fee charged. Id. at § 3.2. But in order to hunt deer, a hunter must also obtain a deer hunting permit. There are separate procedures for acquiring firearms permits and bow and arrow permits.
Nonresidents may apply for bow and arrow permits. The permit is for the whole state during the open season, and there are no county quotas. "The permit will authorize the holder to hunt in any of the counties of the State, on property where permission to hunt has been obtained from the property owner." Ill. Dept. of Conservation, Text of Adopted Rule, Art. 3, § B 1., effective October 2, 1980. (4 Illinois Register, issue 41, Oct. 10, 1980.) (Nonresident landowners of at least 40 acres of commercial agricultural land may obtain a nonresident deer archery permit for their own lands; these are not subject to any allocation. Id. at § B 5.) There does not appear to be any limit on the number of bow and arrow permits issued by Illinois; in addition, nonresidents appear to be treated in the same manner as residents for such permits.
Nonresidents also may apply for firearms deer permits, provided they pay the correct fees. Illinois Department of Conservation, Text of Adopted Rule, (supra) Art. 2, § B 1. However, the procedure differs from that for bow and arrow permits. First, a "permit is issued for one county and is valid only in the county stated on the permit." Id. There is a quota set for the number of permits that will be issued for each open county in Illinois. As a result, the state has established a mechanism for selecting who will receive such permits. There is a preference for resident applications. "All resident applications will be processed prior to processing nonresident applications." Id. The regulation continues, "A random drawing will be held in Springfield to allocate the permits. If all county quotas are not filled, the remaining counties will be filled later on a first-come, first served basis." Id. at § B 3.
(Landowners and tenants owning or renting at least 40 acres of commercial agricultural land may apply for a countywide permit to hunt in the county where the land is located. This includes out-of-state landowners, but not nonresident tenants. The landowner must also have a hunting license. These applications are not subject to the random drawing or the first-come, first-serve allocation. Id. at B 4 a.)
The result of the procedure for obtaining a firearms permit is that Illinois residents have first choice. If there are any permits left after the in-state drawing, then a drawing is held for nonresidents. If there are permits remaining, then there is a first-come, first-serve selection of resident and nonresident applications as they come in. These selections would be on a county-by-county basis. This procedure could very well mean that nonresidents would in fact be precluded from obtaining firearms permits if all are already taken; however, the results would probably vary from one county to another. Kentucky hunters would have to compete with other nonresidents for those permits which remain after Illinois hunters have been selected.
KRS 150.176 provides that hunting or fishing licenses will not be issued to residents of another state "which does not grant to the citizens of this state the privilege to secure license to hunt and fish" in that state. Although this statute specifically refers to Kentucky hunting and fishing licenses, the language "privilege to secure license" is not as clear. Rather than referring to a specific tangible license, this language appears to mean the actual opportunity to hunt and fish. It does not seem likely that the Kentucky legislature would have wanted nonresidents to be able to hunt deer in Kentucky while their states did not offer the same privilege to Kentucky hunters. Because the procedure for issuing licenses in Illinois differs from that in Kentucky, the fact that Kentucky hunters can obtain hunting licenses in Illinois does not mean that they have the actual opportunity to hunt deer there.
Although the statutory language may be ambiguous, the language of 301 KAR 2:109 § 6(1) clearly indicates that a reciprocal arrangement is contemplated. If Illinois does not allow Kentucky residents to hunt deer, then Kentucky will not offer a similar privilege to Illinois residents. Before a person can specifically hunt deer in Kentucky, he or she must have, in addition to the license, a hunting permit. Because Kentucky does not have an overall quota of permits issued each season, a hunter who has obtained a license could then obtain a permit; the only limit is on the number of deer an individual can kill each season. A similar situation follows for Illinois bow and arrow hunting permits. However, Illinois has a quota for firearms permits and a distribution system for such permits which makes it questionable whether nonresident hunters can actually hunt deer in Illinois by that method.
It is our opinion that the Illinois quota system is not reciprocal with Kentucky's procedure for granting deer hunting permits. Although Illinois does grant nonresidents the right to hunt deer, the right in effect is limited for firearms hunting permits. Even though the quotas established are by county, a nonresident still might be precluded from hunting throughout the state. Because not all residents of Kentucky who apply to hunt in Illinois would be issued firearms permits, Illinois does not offer to nonresidents the same privilege to hunt deer as does Kentucky. The fact that Illinois has no quota on bow and arrow permits is not sufficient.
In conclusion, because Illinois limits the number of deer hunting permits issued to nonresident hunters, Kentucky should not issue permits to Illinois hunters.