481A.93 Hunting by artificial light.
1. A person shall not throw or cast the rays of a spotlight, headlight, or other artificial light on a highway, or in a field, woodland, or forest for the purpose of spotting, locating, or taking or attempting to take or hunt a bird or animal, except raccoons or other fur-bearing animals when treed with the aid of dogs, while having in possession or control, either singly or as one of a group of persons, any firearm, bow, or other implement or device whereby a bird or animal could be killed or taken.
2. This section does not apply to any of the following:
a. Deer being taken by or under the control of a local governmental body within its corporate limits pursuant to an approved special deer population control plan.
b. A person who is totally blind using a laser sight on a bow or gun while hunting, if all of the following apply:
(1) The person’s total blindness is supported by medical evidence produced by an eye care professional who is an ophthalmologist, optometrist, or medical doctor. The eye care professional must certify that the person has no vision or light perception in either eye. The certification must be carried on the person of the totally blind person and made available for inspection by the department.
(2) The totally blind person is accompanied and aided by a person who is at least eighteen years of age and whose vision is not seriously impaired. The accompanying person must purchase a hunting license that includes the wildlife habitat fee as provided in rules adopted pursuant to section 483A.1 if applicable. If the accompanying person is not required to have a hunting license the person is not required to pay the wildlife habitat fee. During the hunt, the accompanying adult must be within arm’s reach of the totally blind person, and must be able to identify the target and the location of the laser sight beam on the target. A person other than the totally blind person shall not shoot the laser sight-equipped gun or bow.
c. A person using an infrared light source to hunt coyotes as long as the infrared light source is mounted to the method of take or to a scope mounted on the method of take. However, no person shall use an infrared light source to hunt coyotes during any established muzzleloader, bow, or shotgun deer hunting season.
[C62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §109.93]
88 Acts, ch 1216, §34
C93, §481A.93
98 Acts, ch 1203, §1; 2008 Acts, ch 1161, §20; 2012 Acts, ch 1096, §3, 23; 2018 Acts, ch 1159, §14, 28; 2020 Acts, ch 1021, §1
Referred to in §805.8B(3)(e)
For applicable scheduled fine, see §805.8B, subsection 3, paragraph e
Subsection 2, NEW paragraph c