CHAPTER 142
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1
CHAPTER 142
( SB 241 )
AN ACT relating to hunter education.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
ď˘Section 1. KRS 150.170 is amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as provided in the following subsections of this section, and subject to administrative regulations
promulgated under this chapter, no person, resident, or nonresident shall do any act authorized by any kind of
license or permit or assist in any way any person in doing any act provided for in this chapter with respect to
wildlife unless he or she holds the kind of license or permit, resident or nonresident, that authorizes the act. It
shall be the specific purpose of this chapter to prohibit the taking or pursuing of any wildlife, protected or
unprotected, or the fishing in any stream or body of water whether public or private, without first procuring the
license provided for in KRS 150.175, except to the extent as may be otherwise provided in this section.
(2) A person under sixteen (16) years of age may, without a sport fishing license, take fish by angling, or take
minnows by the use of a minnow seine, minnow trap, or dip net.
(3) A person under twelve (12) years of age shall be exempt from being required to obtain a sport hunting or sport
trapping license as required by this chapter.
(4) The resident owner of farmlands or his or her spouse or dependent children shall, without procuring any sport
hunting or sport fishing licenses, have the right to take fish or hunt during the open season, except trapping, on
the farmlands of which they are bona fide owners. Tenants or their dependent children residing upon these
farmlands shall have the same privilege.
(5) Residents or nonresidents observing and participating in field trials, training exercises, or other competitions as
authorized by the department may observe and participate without obtaining a hunting or guide's license so
long as game is not taken.
(6) Any resident serviceman on furlough of more than three (3) days in this state may, without any Kentucky sport
hunting or sport fishing licenses, do any act authorized by the licenses, but while so doing he or she shall carry
on his person proper identification and papers showing his or her furlough status.
(7) Landowners, their spouses or dependent children, or their designee who must be approved by the
commissioner, who kill or trap on their lands any wildlife causing damage to the lands or any personal
property situated thereon shall not be required to have a hunting or trapping license and may do so during
periods other than the open season for the particular species without a tag and dispose of the carcass on-site.
Tenants, their spouses, their dependent children, or other persons approved by the commissioner, shall also
have the same privilege. Upon destruction of any wildlife by the above-specified individuals, the act shall be
reported to a conservation officer within twenty-four (24) hours of the kill. Individuals wishing to transport the
carcass from the property upon which it was killed shall contact personnel of the department to request a
disposal tag or other authorization. Inedible parts from wildlife taken under the authorization of this section
shall not be utilized for any purpose and shall be destroyed or left afield. The department shall promulgate
administrative regulations establishing procedures for the designee appointment process, including request and
approval deadlines.
(8) If a reciprocal agreement is entered into by the commissioner, with the approval of the commission, and
promulgated as an administrative regulation by the department and similar action is taken by the appropriate
authority in Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, or Illinois, persons holding a resident
or nonresident fishing or a resident or nonresident hunting license issued in these states shall be permitted to
perform the acts authorized by the license upon certain contiguous waters and land areas adjacent to the
common boundaries of the above-mentioned states and the State of Kentucky. A resident of the State of
Kentucky shall purchase a proper Kentucky license to conform with the reciprocal agreement.
(9) Any member of the Kentucky Army or Air National Guard, active duty or Reserve Component, in any branch
in the United States Armed Forces that is based in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, shall have the right to take
fish or hunt on any military property belonging to the Commonwealth without procuring any sport hunting or
sport fishing license. ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2
(10) A person not otherwise exempted from hunter safety education or from procuring any sport hunting or
sport fishing license shall be exempt from the department-sanctioned live-fire exercise component of the
hunter education course requirement if he or she:
(a) Is a current member of the Armed Forces of the United States;
(b) Has served in the Armed Forces of the United States and was discharged or released therefrom
under conditions other than dishonorable; or
(c) Is a peace officer certified pursuant to KRS 15.380 to 15.404.
Signed by Governor April 8, 2022.