Animals and Fish - Historical Notes

The following is a listing of acts that at one time affected, but no longer appear to have any effect on, hunting, fishing or animal control in Johnson County. They are included herein for reference purposes. Also referenced below are acts which repeal prior law without providing new substantive provisions.

1. Public Acts of 1893, Chapter 59, made it unlawful to hunt, kill or capture wild deer in Johnson County from December 1st to September 30th. Any person violating this act was guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than $50.
2. Public Acts of 1899, Chapter 396, made it lawful to fish in Johnson County by means of snare, hook or hands.
3. Private Acts of 1911, Chapter 31, was a fence law for Johnson County, making the owners of domestic animals liable for all damages done by their trespassing upon the cultivated lands or the enclosed uncultivated lands of another.
4. Private Acts of 1915, Chapter 593, made it unlawful for any person to shoot a fox, or to catch, destroy or injure any fox by means of any snare, trap or other device.
5. Private Acts of 1915, Chapter 611, made it lawful to catch fish from any of the streams in Johnson County with hook and line, snare, trot line, gig, or set net during any month except May. Private Acts of 1915, Chapter 666 is identical to Chapter 611.
6. Private Acts of 1921, Chapter 405, exempted Johnson County from the general law regulating the possession and ownership of dogs.
7. Private Acts of 1925, Chapter 305, made it lawful to catch fish by means of gig or fish basket in streams in Johnson County.
8. Private Acts of 1927, Chapter 257, exempted Johnson County from a state-wide law which made it lawful to hunt rabbits or hares in any and all seasons or time of the year and made it lawful to buy and sell, ship or transport rabbits or hares between points within the state.
9. Private Acts of 1929, Chapter 207, made it unlawful to take, kill, wound or chase any male or female deer or fawn in Johnson County, any person violating this act was subject to a fine of $50.
10. Private Acts of 1931, Chapter 265, made it lawful to kill pheasants, quail and doves from November 1st to January 15th in Johnson County. This act also forbade the killing or trapping of any fur-bearing animals in Johnson County for the next five years.
11. Private Acts of 1931, Chapter 717, was a general game law for Johnson County, setting the open season on pheasants from November 1st to January 1st and a bag limit of five on squirrels.
12. Private Acts of 1935, Chapter 317, set the open season on pheasants, quail and doves from November 25th to February 1st and also provided that landowners could trap fur-bearing animals when they were a menace to crops and poultry.
13. Private Acts of 1937, Chapter 825, regulated the practice of veterinary surgery and prescribed the qualifications for same, and permitted J. Louie Freeman to practice veterinary medicine and surgery in Johnson County.
14. Private Acts of 1939, Chapter 294, set the open season on squirrels in Carter and Johnson counties from September 1st to January 1st.
15. Private Acts of 1967-68, Chapter 266, regulated the hunting of deer in Johnson County and prescribed the penalty for the violation thereof. This was repealed by Private Acts of 1971, Chapter 122.