House Bill 5079 is an initiative of the Illinois Trappers Association meant to assure that trappers meet state standards. It will require that anyone who has not held a valid trapping license within three years preceding the license application must provide evidence of trapping competency.
The upswing in fur prices in the last few years have led to an increase in people trapping for the first time. It has been found that many of these trappers have little or no real knowledge of how to trap, resulting in an increase in non-targeted animals (such as dogs and cats) being inadvertently captured.