SB 444

This bill allows a person, under certain circumstances, to kill an animal shot

and wounded by another person while hunting.

Generally, current law prohibits a person from hunting unless the person holds

a license, permit, tag, or other approval issued by the Department of Natural

Resources. Current law also imposes various other restrictions on hunters,

including season restrictions and bag and possession limits, that vary depending on

the animal for which a hunting approval is issued.

This bill allows an adult to shoot to kill an animal lawfully shot by a youth but

not killed. The bill provides that if a youth mortally wounds an animal while lawfully

hunting, and if the youth requests that the adult shoot to kill the animal, the adult

may do so as long as the adult has any valid hunting approval. Under current law,

the hunting mentorship program allows a person with a valid hunting license to hunt

without obtaining a hunter safety certificate if he or she hunts with a qualified

mentor and meets certain other conditions. This bill allows a person serving as a

qualified mentor under the hunter mentorship program to shoot to kill an animal

mortally wounded but not killed by a person for whom he or she is serving as a

mentor. The mentor's authority to shoot to kill the animal applies only if the person

who wounded the animal requests that the mentor shoot to kill the animal.

Under the bill, a person who kills an animal for another person as authorized

under the bill is exempt from any bag or possession limits that would otherwise apply

to the hunting of the animal killed.