301 KAR 2:300. Black bears.

301 KAR 2:300. Black bears.

RELATES TO: KRS 150.010, 150.092, 150.170, 150.175

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 150.025(1) 150.390(1)

NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 150.025(1) authorizes the department to promulgate administrative regulations to set seasons, establish bag or creel limits, to regulate the buying, selling, or transporting of fish and wildlife, and to make these requirements apply to a limited area. KRS 150.390(1) restricts the possession, taking, or pursuit of bears in any manner contrary to the provisions of KRS Chapter 150 or its administrative regulations.

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) "Barbed broadhead" means a point or portion of a blade projecting backward from a broadhead designed to hold an arrow within an animal.

(6) "Bear" means the species Ursus americanus;

(7) "Bear permit" means a permit, which in conjunction with appropriate licenses, seasons, and methods, allows the holder to take one (1) black bear of either sex.

(8) "Bear zone" means the following Kentucky counties: Harlan, Letcher, and Pike.

(9) "Crossbow" means a bow designed or fitted with a device to hold an arrow at full or partial draw without aid from the archer.

(10) "Firearm" means a breech or muzzle-loading rifle, shotgun, or handgun.

(11) "Fully-automatic firearm" means a firearm which fires more than one (1) time with a single pull from the trigger.

(12) "License year" means the period from March 1 through the following last day of February.

(13) "Modern gun" means a rifle, handgun, or shotgun which is loaded from the rear of the barrel.

(14) "Muzzle-loading gun" means a rifle, shotgun, or handgun which is loaded from the discharging end of the barrel or discharging end of the receiver.

(15) "Shotshell" means ammunition discharged from a shotgun.

(16) "Youth" means a person under the age of sixteen (16) by the day of the hunt.

Section 2. Feeding and Pursuing Black Bears. A person shall not:

(1) Engage in any direct or indirect feeding of black bears; or

(2) Pursue or chase black bears with dogs.

Section 3. License and Bear Permit Requirements. (1) A bear permit may only be purchased by a resident of Kentucky; and

(2) Unless exempted by KRS 150.170, a person hunting bear shall have a valid Kentucky hunting license and valid bear permit while hunting.

Section 4. Hunter Restrictions. (1) A person shall not:

(a) Harvest a bear except during daylight hours;

(b) Use dogs, except leashed tracking dogs may be used to recover wounded bears;

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; and

(f) Harvest a bear if the person is in a vehicle, boat or on horseback, except that a hunter in possession of a disabled hunting exemption permit issued by the department may use a stationary vehicle as a hunting platform;

(g) Harvest a bear in a den; or

(h) Disturb a bear in a den for the purpose of taking the bear when it exits the dens.

(2) An adult shall accompany and maintain control of a youth who is hunting bear with a firearm.

Section 5. Weapon Restrictions. (1) A person shall not use the following to take a bear:

(a) A device capable of taking a bear other than a firearm, crossbow, or archery equipment;

(b) A modern firearm less than..270 caliber;

(d) A shotgun less than twenty gauge;

(e) Rimfire ammunition;

(f) A fully automatic weapon;

(g) A firearm with a magazine capacity greater than ten (10) rounds;

(h) Steel-jacketed ammunition;

(i) Tracer bullet ammunition;

(j) A shotshell containing more than one (1) projectile;

(k) A broadhead smaller than seven-eighths (7/8) inch wide;

(l) A barbed broadhead;

(m) A crossbow without a working safety device;

(n) A chemically treated arrow; and

(o) An arrow with a chemical attachment.

(2) A person shall not take a bear with a handgun that:

(a) Does not have a barrel length of at least six (6) inches;

(b) Does not have a bore diameter of at least 0.270 inches; and

Section 6. Hunter Orange Clothing Requirements. (1) During any modern gun or muzzle-loading 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 7. Bear Zone Season Dates and Bag Limits. (1) A person shall only harvest a bear in the Bear Zone.

(2) The bear season shall be for two (2) consecutive days beginning on the second Saturday in December.

(3) A person shall not take more than one (1) bear in a license year.

Section 8. Bear Quota and Season Closure. (1) The bear season shall close after daylight hours on the day when the following quota has been reached:

(a) Ten (10) bears; or

(b) Five (5) female bears.

(2) A bear hunter shall call 800-858-1549 after 9 p.m. each day of the legal bear season to determine if the annual quota has been reached.

Section 9. Bear Sanctuaries. (1) The following areas within the Bear Zone shall be closed to bear hunting:

(a) Hensley-Pine Mountain Wildlife Management Area; and

(b) The area surrounding Hensley-Pine Mountain Wildlife Management Area: starting at the intersection of Sand Hill Bottom Road and North US Hwy 119 in Cumberland, the boundary proceeds northeast along North US Hwy 119 to the intersection of US Hwy 119 and Kentucky Hwy 2035. The boundary then proceeds west along Kentucky Hwy 2035 to the intersection of Kentucky Hwy 2035 and Kentucky Hwy 931. The boundary continues southwest along Kentucky Hwy 931 to the intersection of Kentucky Hwy 931 and Kentucky Hwy 160, then proceeds southwest along Kentucky Hwy 160 to the intersection of Kentucky Hwy 160 and Kentucky Hwy 463 in Gordon. The boundary then proceeds south and east along Kentucky Hwy 160 to the intersection of Kentucky Hwy 160 and Sand Hill Bottom Road in Cumberland, then south along Sand Hill Bottom Road to the intersection with North US Hwy 119, completing the boundary.

(2) Kentucky resident landowners, their spouses, and dependent children may hunt bears on their own property within the closed area referenced in subsection (1)(b) of this section.

Section 10. 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;

(d) Sex of the bear.

(2) A person who has harvested a bear shall:

(a) Retain and possess a completed hunter’s log when the person is in the field during the season;

(b) Register a harvested bear at a department-operated check station immediately after leaving the field;

1. Calling 800-245-4263 and completing the telecheck process; and

2. Recording the confirmation number on the hunter’s log; and

(d) Attach to the carcass a department issued tag prior to leaving the check station. (29 Ky.R. 1433; 1766; eff. 1-16-2003; 35 Ky.R. 349; 1745; eff. 3-6-09; 37 Ky.R. 2683; 38 Ky.R. 16; 8-5-11.)