N.J. Admin. Code § 7:25-5.1 - General provisions

(a) Judicial Notice. 13:1B-34 provides in pertinent part, "(C)opies of the State Fish and Game Code, and its amendments, duly certified by the Chairman of the council shall be received in evidence in all court or other judicial proceedings in the State."

(b) Time: The hours listed in this Code are EST or EDT at date and are based on Trenton time. A copy of the official time table for Trenton is on file at the Office of Administrative Law and is available from that agency or the Division. Time tables for Trenton time are also published in the annual Summary of Game Regulations and Trenton time shall be the Statewide official time.

(c) This Code, when adopted and when effective, shall supersede the provisions of the 2006-2012 Game Code.

(d) The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1. "Air gun" means any shoulder-mounted firearm which by the force of a spring, air or other non-ignited compressed gas expels a missile or projectile and has a rifled or smooth barrel, using ammunition no smaller than .177 caliber and no larger than .22 caliber producing projectile velocities of not less than 600 feet per second measured at the muzzle. Noise reduction systems, which are included in the definition of "firearm silencer," at 2C:39-1.g, are prohibited at 2C:39-3.c.

2. "Antlered deer" means any deer with at least one antler measuring at least three inches in length.

3. "Antlered muzzleloader permit," "antlered shotgun permit," or "antlered bow permit" means the additional purchase to the regular muzzleloader, shotgun, or bow zone-specific antlerless permit that contains an antlered deer transportation tag and allows for the pursuit and harvest of an antlered deer only.

4. "Antlerless deer" means any deer which does not have any antler measuring at least three inches in length. For the purposes of this definition, shed antlered deer and deer with broken antlers which measure less than three inches are considered antlerless deer.

5. "Antler length" means the maximum length of a deer antler measured from the lowest outside edge of the antler burr along the outer curve to the most distant point of what is or appears to be the main antler beam. For the purposes of this definition, the antler length does not include the pedicel or portion of skull between the skull plate and base of the antler burr.

6. An "antler point" is defined as at least one inch long from its tip to its base line, and the length must exceed the width at some location at least one inch down from the tip.

7. "Apprentice license" means a resident or non-resident firearm or bow and arrow license issued to a person who is at least 18 years of age for firearms and at least 14 years of age for bow and arrow without meeting the requirement of a hunter safety education course. The apprentice license holder shall only hunt with an accompanying firearm or bow and arrow licensed hunter at least 21 years of age. A person may not serve as an accompanying firearm hunting license holder to more than one holder of an apprentice firearm hunting license at a time. A holder of an apprentice license may hunt in any open season, as defined by license type, except as provided at N.J.A.C. 7:25-5.6 and 5.19. The apprentice license shall be void after December 31 of the year of its issuance and may be issued to a person only twice during the person's lifetime.

8. "Automated Harvest Report System" or "AHRS" replaces live check stations for designated species and is the means by which a hunter registers a harvested animal via the Internet or telephone.

9. "Bag limit" means the amount of permitted take per person per season, except in a permit season the "bag limit" is the amount of permitted take per permit per season.

10. "Checking station" means the place or method of registering a harvest, as required by this subchapter, for any game animal with a legal hunting or trapping season. A checking station may be considered either a physical location or the Automated Harvest Report System (AHRS), as designated by the Division pursuant to 23:4-47.

11. "Conservation ID Number" means the lifetime identification number assigned to sportsmen and sportswomen when they initially obtain a license, permit, or child support certification through the electronic licensing system (ELS) beginning in 2006 and thereafter.

12. "Deer check station" means a physical location, as designated by the Division, where a hunter must bring his or her deer on the day of kill to be registered as a legally harvested deer; or an "Automated Harvest Report System" (AHRS) by which a hunter registers the harvested deer via the Internet or telephone as designated by the Division.

13. "Earn-a-buck" requirement means that deer hunters must harvest an antlerless deer from within a specified zone or zones before taking or attempting to take an antlered deer in the prescribed season or season period, and deer management zone.

14. "Electronic License System" or "ELS" means the integrated web-based and license agent-based automated electronic license purchasing system used by the Division of Fish and Wildlife to sell hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses and permits.

15. "Enclosed foothold trap" means a live-capture trap with a trigger which is activated by pulling, as enumerated in 7:25-5.12(g)1 through 5.

16. "Immediate family," for the purpose of determining eligibility for permits within the special farmer turkey, deer, and bear permit sections of this Code, means the spouse, child, stepchild, stepparent, legal guardian, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, great grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, stepsister, stepbrother, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law of the farm owner or lessee who resides thereon.

17. "Leftover permits" means those permits within the amount presented as the permit quota remaining after closure of the initial permit-granting process.

18. "Limited quota, special deer permits" means bow, muzzleloader, or shotgun special deer seasons permits for special management areas including military bases, National Wildlife Refuges, State and county parks, and other areas that require application or issuance of special deer permits through the Division issued by random drawing because demand for permits is expected to exceed the supply.

19. "Local time" means the time applicable in the State, reflecting either daylight saving or eastern standard time, on the date the rule is to be applied.

20. "New Jersey Supplemental Deer Transportation Tag" means the paper deer permit and transportation tag issued by mandatory deer check stations after registration of a deer taken on a regular license or special season permit. The "New Jersey Supplemental Deer Transportation Tag" will allow the hunter to continue hunting and take one additional deer subject to applicable sections of this Code. The transportation tag is completed and affixed to a deer immediately upon killing by the hunter.

21. "Permit quota" means the maximum amount of permits allocated for a given locality, season, or species category.

22. "Possession tag" means the tag or metal seal affixed to the animal by Division personnel or designated agent.

23. "Regulation Set" means a group of deer management zones, as designated by the Division, that all have the same season dates and bag limits.

24. "Relaxing lock" means that component of a live capture cable restraint intended to create and maintain a loop; and that stops tightening when the captured animal stops pulling against the cable restraint. Cam-locks and spring-assisted locking systems are prohibited for the purposes of this definition.

25. "Special Areas" are deer management zones where hunter access is controlled by a regulating authority, and may include, but are not limited to, Federal, State, county, and private lands, as designated by the Division.

26. "Traditional muzzleloader rifle" means a single shot, single barrel, side-lock percussion or flintlock firearm with iron or peep sights and a wooden stock. In-line ignition, center-hammer, and under-hammer muzzleloaders are not included in this definition. Scopes, Sabot slugs, and jacketed projectiles are prohibited for the purposes of this definition.

27. "Transportation tag" or "harvest report stub" means the tag portion of the hunting license or special permit that is removed and affixed to the animal immediately upon kill or removal from the trap. It is also a tag supplied by the Division with the beaver and otter trapping license.

(e) For the purpose of this subchapter, "Trenton Office" shall mean the Bureau of Wildlife Management, Division of Fish and Wildlife, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Mail Code 501-03, P.O. Box 420, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0420.

(f) Hunters may purchase no more than one All Around Sportsman License, or one Bow and Arrow Hunting License and one Firearm Hunting License for any calendar year.

(g) The Director, with the approval of the Fish and Game Council, may close any hunting or trapping season state-wide or in a designated area, when necessary to respond to emergencies or special circumstances when it is deemed necessary to protect wildlife or human health or safety. Such closure shall be announced by press, radio, Division website (www.njfishandwildlife.com) and listserve, found at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/lstsub.htm.

(h) All farmers, as defined in 7:25-5.7(i)1 or 5.28(i)1 and 2, and their immediate family who participate in deer hunting must obtain a free Conservation Identification number (CID) from the ELS by January 2012 to check in game animals harvested pursuant to 23:3-1e via the AHRS.

(i) In the event that a highly contagious or zoonotic disease of concern is discovered in New Jersey, or within 20 miles of the New Jersey State border, whether in a captive or wild animal, the Division may establish one or more disease surveillance areas within the State's borders. Notification of the establishment of any such area(s), including the boundaries of any such area(s), and the affected species, shall be made through a notice in the New Jersey Register, press releases, and the Division's website at www.njfishandwildlife.com. Once a disease surveillance area has been established, all provisions of this subsection shall be in effect.

1. No person shall remove from the disease surveillance area any carcass, or the parts or portions of parts, that may carry the contagion, except under permit issued by the Division, or as authorized by this subsection.

2. Special check stations within the surveillance area may be established by the Division. Any susceptible animal, as defined by the Division, taken within the disease surveillance area during an open hunting season shall be registered at a special designated Division check station within the surveillance area by 7:00 P.M. on the day harvested. If the animal is recovered too late to be brought to a check station by 7:00 P.M. on the day of harvest, the hunter who harvests the animal must notify a Division Law Enforcement Regional Office by phone immediately and present the animal at a special designated Division check station by no later than 5:00 P.M. on the day after it was taken. However, the animal carcass cannot be removed from within the surveillance area until properly checked and tagged. If necessary, unchecked animals may be left at the designated check station overnight, tagged with the hunter's CID and phone number, and date of harvest. The Division shall post on the Division website and publish in press releases information regarding special check station or head drop-off locations within the disease surveillance area including times of operation.

i. All animals taken within the disease surveillance area shall be kept intact prior to check-in at a special designated check stations. Viscera shall be disposed of at sites designated by the Division.

ii. Any person who harvests an animal within the disease surveillance area shall allow Division staff or Division-authorized staff to collect and retain tissue samples from the animal for disease testing. Hunters shall be contacted by the Division when positive lab results from tested animals are received; the Division shall post all lab results on the Division website at www.njfishandwildlife.com. If the disease test is positive, all meat and other parts determined to be potentially contaminated shall be confiscated by the Division or shall be disposed of in a manner specified by the Division.

3. Notwithstanding the provision at N.J.A.C. 7:25-17.3 to the contrary, no person may possess the carcass, or any part of the carcass, of any susceptible cervid killed as a result of a cervid-vehicle collision within the disease surveillance area, if applicable, or any susceptible animal collected pursuant to N.J.S.A. 23:4-1 et seq., or N.J.A.C. 7:25-5.35 taken from within the disease surveillance area.

4. The Director, in concurrence with the Council, may modify hunting or trapping regulations applicable to species identified as potentially impacted by the disease within the disease surveillance area, including, but not limited to, the relaxation of bag limits, the addition of season dates, the repeal of antler point restrictions, the relaxation of wanton waste regulations, and the ban of baiting and feeding in an attempt to reduce or contain the spread of disease. Notification of emergency regulation changes will be made through notice in the New Jersey Register, press releases, and on the Division's website at www.njfishandwildlife.com.

5. No person shall rehabilitate an animal belonging to a species specified as affected in the notice designating the disease surveillance area within the disease surveillance area. Additionally, no such animal that has been taken from the disease surveillance area shall be rehabilitated in any other part of the State. All susceptible animals already located at a wildlife rehabilitator that have been taken from a disease surveillance area or are being held at a wildlife rehabilitator within the disease surveillance area shall be surrendered to the Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:25-5.1

Amended by 47 N.J.R. 2264(a), effective 9/8/2015 Amended by 49 N.J.R. 2921(a), effective 9/5/2017 Amended by 53 N.J.R. 683(b), effective 5/3/2021 (operative May 8, 2021)