15a ncac 10B .0113      BIG GAME Harvest REPORTING

(a)  Definitions. The following definitions shall apply in this Rule:

(1)           "Authorization number" means the number or code issued by the Commission after big game harvest registration is completed, which shall serve as proof of registration and allow continued possession of the carcass.

(2)           "Big Game" means bear, wild turkey, and white-tailed deer, as defined in G.S. 113-129.

(3)           "Big Game Harvest Report Card" means the non-transferrable physical or electronic reporting card issued to an individual by the Commission as part of his or her big game license, where the hunter validates his or her big game harvest and records the authorization number.

(4)           "DMAP" means Deer Management Assistance Program as defined in G.S. 113-291.2(e).

(5)           "Field Dress" means the bleeding or removal of the digestive, respiratory, and circulatory organs.

(6)           "Validate" or "validation" means electronically recording a harvest on the mobile app, cutting or punching-out the day and month of the harvest on the Big Game Harvest Report Card or Bonus Antlerless Deer Harvest Report Card, or affixing a Commission-issued DMAP tag to a harvested animal.

(7)           "Register" or "Registration" means the process by which the big game harvest is reported to the Commission and an authorization number is issued by the Commission.

(8)           "Remote Area" means an area where cellular phone signal, internet access, and the mobile app are unavailable.

(9)           "Site of kill" or "site of harvest" means the location that a person takes possession of harvested big game.

(10)         "Successful hunter" means a person that has lawfully taken and reduced to possession a big game animal.

(11)         "Mobile app" means a unique Commission application that may be downloaded to a mobile device allowing successful hunters to validate and register a big game harvest.

(b)  An individual hunting big game animals, including license exempt individuals, shall have an electronic or paper version of the Big Game Harvest Report Card, Bonus Antlerless Deer Harvest Report Card, or DMAP tag pursuant to G.S. 113-291.2 on his or her person while hunting.

(c)  Validation. A successful hunter shall validate his or her Big Game Harvest Report Card or the Bonus Antlerless Deer Harvest Report Card or affix a Commission-issued DMAP tag before moving a big game animal from the site of kill.

(d)  Field Dressing. Harvested big game may be field dressed at the site of kill or before registration. Further processing that obscures the identification of the harvested animal's species, age, or sex shall be prohibited without a valid authorization number.

(e)  Registration. Harvested big game shall be registered via the Commission's mobile app, online at www.ncwildlife.org, by calling 1-800-446-8663, or as described in the DMAP license. Harvested big game shall be registered before the animal is:

(1)           skinned;

(2)           dismembered;

(3)           left unattended by the successful hunter; or

(4)           placed in the possession of another person.

Harvested big game animals that are not skinned, dismembered, left unattended by the successful hunter, or placed in the possession of another person shall be registered by 12:00 p.m. the day following the harvest.

(f)  Registration in Remote Areas. Big game harvested in remote areas shall be registered by 12:00 p.m. the day after leaving the remote area. Big game harvested in remote areas may:

(1)           be placed in the possession of another, if the person in possession of the big game has the successful hunter's name and date of kill on his or her person; and

(2)           be skinned and dismembered before registration, if the carcass cannot be transported intact.

(g)  Authorization number. Successful hunters using the paper Big Game Harvest Report Card or Bonus Antlerless Deer Harvest Report shall record the authorization number in the space provided for the harvested big game animal. Successful hunters using a Commission-issued DMAP tag shall record and maintain the authorization number as described in the DMAP license.

(h)  Unattended Harvests. Successful hunters that leave a harvested big game animal unattended or in the possession of another person shall identify the carcass by attaching the authorization number issued at the time of registration. Except as provided in Paragraph (f) of this Rule, a person that takes possession of a big game animal from a successful hunter shall retain the authorization number of that animal.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 113-134; 113-270.3; 113-276.1; 113-291;

Eff. February 1, 1976;

Amended Eff. July 1, 1998; July 1, 1997; July 1, 1995; July 1, 1994; July 1, 1993; July 1, 1989;

Temporary Amendment Eff. July 1, 1999;

Amended Eff. August 1, 2017; August 1, 2012; August 1, 2010; June 1, 2009; May 1, 2007; May 1, 2004; July 1, 2000;

Readopted Eff. August 1, 2020;

Amended Eff. September 1, 2023.