(a) Notwithstanding any law or any public or private act to the contrary, it is unlawful for any person to hunt or take deer, bear or wild elk with any shotgun using ammunition loaded with more than one (1) solid ball or rifled slug, or with any rifle using rim-fire cartridges. Bows and arrows are prohibited except as prescribed by the fish and wildlife commission.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class C misdemeanorup to 30 daysup to $50
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
class B misdemeanorup to 6 monthsup to $500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 70-4-116

  • Agency: means the wildlife resources agency. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Commission: means the Tennessee fish and wildlife commission, and "commissioner" means a member of the fish and wildlife commission. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Executive director: means the executive director of the wildlife resources agency. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Fish: means all species of trout, salmon, walleye, northern pike, bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish, perch, sunfish, drum, carp, sucker, shad, minnow, and such other species of fish that are presently found in the state or may be introduced or transplanted into this state for consumptive or nonconsumptive use. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Fishing: means any effort made to take, kill, injure, capture, or catch any fish and every act of assistance in any effort. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Hunting: means chasing, driving, flushing, attracting, pursuing, worrying, following after or on the trail of, searching for, trapping, shooting at, stalking, or lying in wait for, any wildlife, whether or not such wildlife is then or subsequently captured, killed, taken, or wounded and every act of assistance to any other person, but "hunting" does not include stalking, attracting, searching for, or lying in wait for, wildlife by an unarmed person solely for the purpose of watching wildlife or taking pictures of wildlife. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • Person: means an individual, association, partnership, or corporation. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Possession: means both actual and constructive possession, and any control of the object or objects referred to. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Transport: means to carry or convey from one place to another, and includes an offer to transport, or receipt or possession for transportation. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Trapping: means taking, killing, and capturing wildlife by the use of any trap, snare, deadfall, or other device commonly used to capture wildlife, and the shooting or killing of wildlife lawfully trapped, and includes all lesser acts such as placing, setting, or staking such traps, snares, deadfalls, and other devices, whether or not such acts result in taking of wildlife, and every attempt to take and every act of assistance to any other person in taking or attempting to take wildlife with traps, snares, deadfalls, or other devices. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Wildlife: means wild vertebrates, mollusks, crustaceans, and fish. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) It is unlawful to hunt, pursue, capture, possess, transport or store any deer, wild turkey, bear or wild elk either male or female, in this state, at any time or in any area other than at times and within the area designated by the commission in its promulgation of open seasons, as provided by this title.
(c) Subsections (a)-(c) do not apply when such deer, wild turkey, bear or wild elk has been killed outside the boundaries of this state. Possession of such game in any closed season or boundary, except as provided in subsection (e), is prima facie evidence of guilt under this section. Any person found in possession of a deer, wild turkey, bear or wild elk and claiming that it was killed outside the state shall present to the executive director, or to any court hearing a cause pursuant to this title, sufficient proof to establish that the animal was so killed.
(d)

(1) Any person killing or possessing, or both, a deer, wild turkey, bear or wild elk shall tag the animal in accordance with procedures set out in the proclamation. Any deer, wild turkey, bear or wild elk that has not been tagged in accordance with this chapter or any proclamation promulgated in accordance with this title may be confiscated and disposed of as provided by law.
(2) The commission is authorized to issue special quota harvest tags for certain species, or sexes of species, requiring limited harvest. The commission is authorized to adopt rules and regulations that would permit granting to landowners special consideration in the issuance of special quota harvest tags.
(3) A violation of this subsection (d) is a Class C misdemeanor.
(e)

(1) A violation of subsections (a)-(c) is a Class B misdemeanor except that a violation of any of these subsections relative to wild elk shall be a Class A misdemeanor. It is mandatory upon the court to impose the prison sentence, upon conviction for a second or subsequent offense, and the prison sentence is not subject to suspension.
(2) In the prosecution of second or subsequent offenders, the indictment or presentment must allege the prior conviction for violating any of the provisions of subsections (a)-(c), setting forth the time and place of each such prior conviction. The court shall prohibit such convicted person, either a first or subsequent offender, from hunting, fishing or trapping in this state for a period of one (1) year.
(f)

(1) In addition to the punishments authorized by this title, any court that convicts a person of killing or possessing a white-tailed deer, wild turkey, bear, or wild elk in violation of this title may order that person to pay restitution for the animal to the agency in the following amount:

(A) Not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per animal, for each of the following that is illegally killed or possessed:

(i) Wild turkey;
(ii) White-tailed deer with no antlers; and
(iii) Antlered white-tailed deer with less than eight (8) antler points;
(B) Not less than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) per animal, for each of the following that is illegally killed or possessed:

(i) Wild elk with no antlers; and
(ii) Antlered wild elk with less than eight (8) antler points;
(C) Not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per animal plus five hundred dollars ($500) per antler point, for each antlered white-tailed deer with at least eight (8) but not more than ten (10) antler points that is illegally killed or possessed;
(D) Not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per animal plus seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) per antler point, for each antlered white-tailed deer with eleven (11) or more antler points that is illegally killed or possessed;
(E) Not less than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) per animal plus five hundred dollars ($500) per antler point, for each antlered wild elk with at least eight (8) but not more than ten (10) antler points that is illegally killed or possessed;
(F) Not less than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) per animal plus seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) per antler point, for each antlered wild elk with eleven (11) or more antler points that is illegally killed or possessed; and
(G) Not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per animal, for each bear that is illegally killed or possessed and for each bear cub that is orphaned by the illegal killing or possession of a bear.
(2)

(A) If the conviction is based on the killing or possession of a wild elk and the court orders restitution pursuant to subdivision (f)(1), in addition to any other relevant factors to consider when determining the amount of restitution, the court shall also include the costs associated with the reintroduction of a wild elk.
(B) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a farmland owner, lessee, or designee may take an elk found within a “no elk zone” when the owner, lessee, or designee reasonably believes the elk is causing or has caused damage to the owner’s property. In all other situations, the farmland owner, lessee, or designee shall first provide the agency an opportunity to relocate the elk. The “no elk zone” shall be defined by the commission.
(g) In addition to the punishments authorized by this title, any court that convicts a person of killing or possessing a white-tailed deer, wild turkey, bear, or wild elk in violation of this section shall revoke any license that was issued to the person under this title until the person has paid in full all restitution that the court ordered the person to pay.
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