50 Cfr 21

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Title 50 → Chapter I → Subchapter B → Part 21

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Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries
PART 21—MIGRATORY BIRD PERMITS
Contents
Subpart A—Introduction
§21.1
§21.2
§21.3
§21.4

Purpose of regulations.
Scope of regulations.
Definitions.
Information collection requirements.

Subpart B—General Requirements and Exceptions
§21.11
§21.12
§21.13
§21.14
§21.15

General permit requirements.
General exceptions to permit requirements.
Permit exceptions for captive-reared mallard ducks.
Permit exceptions for captive-bred migratory waterfowl other than mallard ducks.
Authorization of take incidental to military readiness activities.

Subpart C—Specific Permit Provisions
§21.21
§21.22
§21.23
§21.24
§21.25
§21.26
§21.27
§21.28
§21.29
§21.30
§21.31

Import and export permits.
Banding or marking permits.
Scientific collecting permits.
Taxidermist permits.
Waterfowl sale and disposal permits.
Special Canada goose permit.
Special purpose permits.
[Reserved]
Falconry standards and falconry permitting.
Raptor propagation permits.
Rehabilitation permits.

Subpart D—Control of Depredating and Otherwise Injurious Birds
§21.41 Depredation permits.
§21.42 [Reserved]
§21.43 Depredation order for blackbirds, cowbirds, crows, grackles, and magpies.
§21.44 Depredation order for horned larks, house finches, and white-crowned sparrows in California.
§21.45 [Reserved]
§21.46 Depredation order for depredating scrub jays and Steller's jays in Washington and Oregon.
§§21.47-21.48 [Reserved]
§21.49 Control order for resident Canada geese at airports and military airfields.
§21.50 Depredation order for resident Canada geese nests and eggs.
§21.51 Depredation order for resident Canada geese at agricultural facilities.
§21.52 Public health control order for resident Canada geese.
§21.53 Control order for purple swamphens.
§21.54 Control order for muscovy ducks in the United States.
§21.55 Control order for invasive migratory birds in Hawaii.

Subpart E—Control of Overabundant Migratory Bird Populations
§21.60 Conservation order for light geese.
§21.61 Population control of resident Canada geese.
A
S

: 16 U.S.C. 703-712.
: 39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, unless otherwise noted.

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Subpart A—Introduction
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§21.1 Purpose of regulations.
The regulations contained in this part supplement the general permit regulations of part 13 of this subchapter
with respect to permits for the taking, possession, transporation, sale, purchase, barter, importation, exportation, and
banding or marking of migratory birds. This part also provides certain exceptions to permit requirements for public,
scientific, or educational institutions, and establishes depredation orders which provide limited exceptions to the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712).
[54 FR 38150, Sept. 14, 1989]

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§21.2 Scope of regulations.
(a) Migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs, lawfully acquired prior to the effective date of Federal protection
under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712) may be possessed or transported without a permit, but may
not be imported, exported, purchased, sold, bartered, or offered for purchase, sale or barter, and all shipments of
such birds must be marked as provided by part 14 of this subchapter: Provide, no exemption from any statute or
regulation shall accrue to any offspring of such migratory birds.
(b) This part, except for §21.12(a), (c), and (d) (general permit exceptions); §21.22 (banding or marking); §21.29
(falconry); and §21.31 (rehabilitation), does not apply to the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) or the golden
eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), for which regulations are provided in part 22 of this subchapter.
(c) The provisions of this part are in addition to, and are not in lieu of other regulations of this subchapter B which
may require a permit or prescribe additional restrictions or conditions for the importation, exportation, and interstate
transportation of wildlife (see also part 13).
[39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 46 FR 42680, Aug. 24, 1981; 68 FR 61137, Oct. 27, 2003; 73 FR 59465, Oct. 8, 2008]

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§21.3 Definitions.
In addition to definitions contained in part 10 of this chapter, and unless the context requires otherwise, as used
in this part:
Armed Forces means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the National Guard of any
State.
Bred in captivity or captive-bred refers to raptors, including eggs, hatched in captivity from parents that mated or
otherwise transferred gametes in captivity.
Captivity means that a live raptor is held in a controlled environment that is intensively manipulated by man for
the purpose of producing raptors of selected species, and that has boundaries designed to prevent raptors, eggs or
gametes of the selected species from entering or leaving the controlled environment. General characteristics of
captivity may include, but are not limited to, artificial housing, waste removal, health care, protection from predators,
and artificially supplied food.

Conservation measures, as used in §21.15, means project design or mitigation activities that are reasonable
from a scientific, technological, and economic standpoint, and are necessary to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the take
of migratory birds or other adverse impacts. Conservation measures should be implemented in a reasonable period of
time.
Falconry is caring for and training raptors for pursuit of wild game, and hunting wild game with raptors. Falconry
includes the taking of raptors from the wild to use in the sport; and caring for, training, and transporting raptors held
for falconry.
Hacking is the temporary release of a raptor held for falconry to the wild so that it must survive on its own.
Hybrid means any bird that results from a cross of genetic material between two separate taxa when one or both
are listed at 50 CFR 10.13, and any progeny of those birds.
Imprint, for the purposes of falconry, means a bird that is hand-raised, from 2 weeks of age until it has fledged,
and has identified itself with humans rather than its own species. An imprinted bird is considered to be so for its entire
lifetime.
Livestock depredation area means a specific geographic location in which depredation by golden eagles has
been recognized. The boundaries and duration of a livestock depredation area are declared by U.S.D.A. Wildlife
Services or by a State governor.
Military readiness activity, as defined in Pub. L. 107-314, §315(f), 116 Stat. 2458 (Dec. 2, 2002) [Pub. L. §319 (c)
(1)], includes all training and operations of the Armed Forces that relate to combat, and the adequate and realistic
testing of military equipment, vehicles, weapons, and sensors for proper operation and suitability for combat use. It
does not include (a) routine operation of installation operating support functions, such as: administrative offices;
military exchanges; commissaries; water treatment facilities; storage facilities; schools; housing; motor pools;
laundries; morale, welfare, and recreation activities; shops; and mess halls, (b) operation of industrial activities, or (c)
construction or demolition of facilities listed above.
Population, as used in §21.15, means a group of distinct, coexisting, conspecific individuals, whose breeding site
fidelity, migration routes, and wintering areas are temporally and spatially stable, sufficiently distinct geographically (at
some time of the year), and adequately described so that the population can be effectively monitored to discern
changes in its status.
Raptor means a migratory bird of the Order Accipitriformes, the Order Falconiformes, or the Order Strigiformes
listed in §10.13 of this chapter, including the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and the golden eagle (Aquila
chrysaetos).
Resident Canada geese means Canada geese that nest within the lower 48 States and the District of Columbia
in the months of March, April, May, or June, or reside within the lower 48 States and the District of Columbia in the
months of April, May, June, July, or August.
Secretary of Defense means the Secretary of Defense or any other national defense official who has been
nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
Service or we means the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior.
Significant adverse effect on a population, as used in §21.15, means an effect that could, within a reasonable
period of time, diminish the capacity of a population of migratory bird species to sustain itself at a biologically viable
level. A population is “biologically viable” when its ability to maintain its genetic diversity, to reproduce, and to function
effectively in its native ecosystem is not significantly harmed. This effect may be characterized by increased risk to
the population from actions that cause direct mortality or a reduction in fecundity. Assessment of impacts should take
into account yearly variations and migratory movements of the impacted species. Due to the significant variability in
potential military readiness activities and the species that may be impacted, determinations of significant measurable
decline will be made on a case-by-case basis.
[48 FR 31607, July 8, 1983, as amended at 64 FR 32774, June 17, 1999; 71 FR 45986, Aug. 10, 2006; 72 FR 8949, Feb. 28, 2007; 72
FR 46408, Aug. 20, 2007; 73 FR 59465, Oct. 8, 2008; 75 FR 931, Jan. 7, 2010; 78 FR 65578, 65864, Nov. 1, 2013]

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§21.4 Information collection requirements.

(a) The Office of Management and Budget approved the information collection requirements contained in this
part 21 under 44 U.S.C. 3507 and assigned OMB Control Number 1018-0022. The Service may not conduct or
sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number. We are collecting this information to provide information necessary to evaluate permit applications.
We will use this information to review permit applications and make decisions, according to criteria established in the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 16 U.S.C. 703-712 and its regulations, on the issuance, suspension, revocation, or denial
of permits. You must respond to obtain or retain a permit.
(b) We estimate the public reporting burden for these reporting requirements to vary from 15 minutes to 4 hours
per response, with an average of 0.803 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and
maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the forms. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any
other aspect of these reporting requirements to the Service's Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address
provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b).
[63 FR 52637, Oct. 1, 1998, as amended at 79 FR 43965, July 29, 2014]

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Subpart B—General Requirements and Exceptions
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§21.11 General permit requirements.
No person may take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or
barter, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such bird except as may be permitted under the terms of a
valid permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this part and part 13 of this chapter, or as permitted by regulations in
this part, or part 20 of this subchapter (the hunting regulations), or part 92 of subchapter G of this chapter (the Alaska
subsistence harvest regulations). Birds taken or possessed under this part in “included areas” of Alaska as defined in
§92.5(a) are subject to this part and not to part 92 of subchapter G of this chapter.
[68 FR 43027, July 21, 2003]

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§21.12 General exceptions to permit requirements.
The following persons or entities under the following conditions are exempt from the permit requirements:
(a) Employees of the Department of the Interior (DOI): DOI employees authorized to enforce the provisions of the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of July 3, 1918, as amended (40 Stat. 755; 16 U.S.C. 703-(711), may, without a permit, take
or otherwise acquire, hold in custody, transport, and dispose of migratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs as
necessary in performing their official duties.
(b) Employees of certain public and private institutions:
(b)(1) State game departments, municipal game farms or parks, and public museums, public zoological parks,
accredited institutional members of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA) and public
scientific or educational institutions may acquire by gift or purchase, possess, transport, and by gift or sale dispose of
lawfully acquired migratory birds or their progeny, parts, nests, or eggs without a permit: Provided, That such birds
may be acquired only from persons authorized by this paragraph or by a permit issued pursuant to this part to
possess and dispose of such birds, or from Federal or State game authorities by the gift of seized, condemned, r sick
or injured birds. Any such birds, acquired without a permit, and any progeny therefrom may be disposed of only to
persons authorized by this paragraph to acquire such birds without a permit. Any person exercising a privilege
granted by this paragraph must keep accurate records of such operations showing the species and number of birds
acquired, possessed, and disposed of; the names and addresses of the persons from whom such birds were
acquired or to whom such birds were donated or sold; and the dates of such transactions. Records shall be
maintained or reproducible in English on a calendar year basis and shall be retained for a period of five (5) years
following the end of the calendar year covered by the records.
(b)(2) Employees of Federal, State, and local wildlife and land management agencies; employees of Federal,
State, and local public health agencies; and laboratories under contract to such agencies may in the course of official
business collect, possess, transport, and dispose of sick or dead migratory birds or their parts for analysis to confirm

the presence of infectious disease. Nothing in this paragraph authorizes the take of uninjured or healthy birds without
prior authorization from the Service. Additionally, nothing in this paragraph authorizes the taking, collection, or
possession of migratory birds when circumstances indicate reasonable probability that death, injury, or disability was
caused by factors other than infectious disease and/or natural toxins. These factors may include, but are not limited
to, oil or chemical contamination, electrocution, shooting, or pesticides. If the cause of death of a bird is determined to
be other than natural causes or disease, Service law enforcement officials must be contacted without delay.
(c) Licensed veterinarians: Licensed veterinarians are not required to obtain a Federal migratory bird permit to
temporarily possess, stabilize, or euthanize sick and injured migratory birds. However, a veterinarian without a
migratory bird rehabilitation permit must transfer any such bird to a federally permitted migratory bird rehabilitator
within 24 hours after the bird's condition is stabilized, unless the bird is euthanized. If a veterinarian is unable to locate
a permitted rehabilitator within that time, the veterinarian must contact his or her Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office
for assistance in locating a permitted migratory bird rehabilitator and/or to obtain authorization to continue to hold the
bird. In addition, veterinarians must:
(1) Notify the local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ecological Services Office immediately upon receiving a
threatened or endangered migratory bird species. Contact information for Ecological Services offices can be located
on the Internet at http://offices.fws.gov;
(2) Euthanize migratory birds as required by §21.31(e)(4)(iii) and §21.31(e)(4)(iv), and dispose of dead migratory
birds in accordance with §21.31(e)(4)(vi); and
(3) Keep records for 5 years of all migratory birds that die while in their care, including those they euthanize. The
records must include: the species of bird, the type of injury, the date of acquisition, the date of death, and whether the
bird was euthanized.
(d) General public: Any person may remove a migratory bird from the interior of a building or structure under
certain conditions.
(1) You may humanely remove a trapped migratory bird from the interior of a residence or a commercial or
government building without a Federal permit if the migratory bird:
(i) Poses a health threat (for example, through damage to foodstuffs);
(ii) Is attacking humans, or poses a threat to human safety because of its activities (such as opening and closing
automatic doors);
(iii) Poses a threat to commercial interests, such as through damage to products for sale; or
(iv) May injure itself because it is trapped.
(2) You must use a humane method to capture the bird or birds. You may not use adhesive traps to which birds
may adhere (such as glue traps) or any other method of capture likely to harm the bird.
(3) Unless you have a permit that allows you to conduct abatement activities with a raptor, you may not release a
raptor into a building to either frighten or capture another bird.
(4) You must immediately release a captured bird to the wild in habitat suitable for the species, unless it is
exhausted, ill, injured, or orphaned.
(5) If a bird is exhausted or ill, or is injured or orphaned during the removal, the property owner is responsible for
immediately transferring it to a federally permitted migratory bird rehabilitator.
(6) You may not lethally take a migratory bird for these purposes. If your actions to remove the trapped migratory
bird are likely to result in its lethal take, you must possess a Federal Migratory Bird Permit. However, if a bird you are
trying to remove dies, you must dispose of the carcass immediately unless you have reason to believe that a museum
or scientific institution might be able to use it. In that case, you should contact your nearest Fish and Wildlife Service
office or your State wildlife agency about donating the carcass.
(7) For birds of species on the Federal List of Threatened or Endangered Wildlife, provided at 50 CFR 17.11(h),
you may need a Federal threatened or endangered species permit before removing the birds (see 50 CFR 17.21 and
50 CFR 17.31).

(8) You must have a permit from your Regional migratory bird permits office to remove a bald eagle or a golden
eagle from a building (see 50 CFR Part 22).
(9) Your action must comply with State and local regulations and ordinances. You may need a State, Tribal, or
Territorial permit before you can legally remove the bird or birds.
(10) If an active nest with eggs or nestlings is present, you must seek the assistance of a federally permitted
migratory bird rehabilitator in removing the eggs or nestlings. The rehabilitator is then responsible for handling them
properly.
(11) If you need advice on dealing with a trapped bird, you should contact your closest Fish and Wildlife Service
office or your State wildlife agency.
[39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 50 FR 8638, Mar. 4, 1985; 54 FR 38151, Sept. 14, 1989; 68 FR 61137, Oct. 27, 2003; 72 FR
56928, Oct. 5, 2007]

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§21.13 Permit exceptions for captive-reared mallard ducks.
Captive-reared and properly marked mallard ducks, alive or dead, or their eggs may be acquired, possessed,
sold, traded, donated, transported, and disposed of by any person without a permit, subject to the following
conditions, restrictions, and requirements:
(a) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the taking of live mallard ducks or their eggs from the wild.
(b) All mallard ducks possessed in captivity, without a permit, shall have been physically marked by at least one
of the following methods prior to 6 weeks of age and all such ducks hatched, reared, and retained in captivity
thereafter shall be so marked prior to reaching 6 weeks of age.
(1) Removal of the hind toe from the right foot.
(2) Pinioning of a wing: Provided, That this method shall be the removal of the metacarpal bones of one wing or a
portion of the metacarpal bones which renders the bird permanently incapable of flight.
(3) Banding of one metatarsus with a seamless metal band.
(4) Tattooing of a readily discernible number or letter or combination thereof on the web of one foot.
(c) When so marked, such live birds may be disposed of to, or acquired from, any person and possessed and
transferred in any number at any time or place: Provided, That all such birds shall be physically marked prior to sale
or disposal regardless of whether or not they have attained 6 weeks of age.
(d) When so marked, such live birds may be killed, in any number, at any time or place, by any means except
shooting. Such birds may be killed by shooting only in accordance with all applicable hunting regulations governing
the taking of mallard ducks from the wild: Provided, That such birds may be killed by shooting, in any number, at any
time, within the confines of any premises operated as a shooting preserve under State license, permit, or
authorization; or they may be shot, in any number, at any time or place, by any person for bona fide dog training or
field trial purposes: Provided further, That the provisions:
(1) The hunting regulations (part 20 of this subchapter), with the exception of §20.108 (Nontoxic shot zones), and
(2) The Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (duck stamp requirement) shall not apply to shooting preserve
operations as provided for in this paragraph, or to bona fide dog training or field trial operations.
(e) At all times during possession, transportation, and storage until the raw carcasses of such birds are finally
processed immediately prior to cooking, smoking, or canning, the marked foot or wing must remain attached to each
carcass: Provided, That persons, who operate game farms or shooting preserves under a State license, permit, or
authorization for such activities, may remove the marked foot or wing when either the number of his State license,
permit, or authorization has first been legibly stamped in ink on the back of each carcass and on the container in
which each carcass is maintained, or each carcass is identified by a State band on leg or wing pursuant to
requirements of his State license, permit, or authorization. When properly marked, such carcasses may be disposed
of to, or acquired from, any person and possessed and transported in any number at any time or place.

[40 FR 28459, July 7, 1975, as amended at 46 FR 42680, Aug. 24, 1981; 54 FR 36798, Sept. 5, 1989]

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§21.14 Permit exceptions for captive-bred migratory waterfowl other than mallard ducks.
You may acquire captive-bred and properly marked migratory waterfowl of all species other than mallard ducks
(Anas platyrhynchos), alive or dead, or their eggs, and possess and transport such birds or eggs and any progeny or
eggs for your use without a permit, subject to the following conditions and restrictions. Additional restrictions on the
acquisition and transfer of muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) are in paragraph (g) of this section.
(a) You may acquire live waterfowl or their eggs only from a holder of a valid waterfowl sale and disposal permit
in the United States. You also may lawfully acquire them outside of the United States with appropriate permits
(see §21.21 of subpart C of this part).
(b) All progeny of captive-bred birds or eggs from captive-bred birds must be physically marked as set forth in
§21.13(b).
(c) You may not transfer or dispose of captive-bred birds or their eggs, whether alive or dead, to any other person
unless you have a waterfowl sale and disposal permit (see §21.25 of subpart C of this part).
(d) Lawfully possessed and properly marked birds may be killed, in any number, at any time or place, by any
means except shooting. Such birds may be killed by shooting only in accordance with all applicable hunting
regulations governing the taking of like species from the wild (see part 20 of this subchapter).
(e) At all times during possession, transportation, and storage until the raw carcasses of such birds are finally
processed immediately prior to cooking, smoking, or canning, you must leave the marked foot or wing attached to
each carcass, unless the carcass was marked as provided in §21.25(b)(6) and the foot or wing was removed prior to
your acquisition of the carcass.
(f) If you acquire captive-bred waterfowl or their eggs from a waterfowl sale and disposal permittee, you must
retain the FWS Form 3-186, Notice of Waterfowl Sale or Transfer, from the permittee for as long as you have the
birds, eggs, or progeny of them.
(g) You may not acquire or possess live muscovy ducks, their carcasses or parts, or their eggs, except to raise
them to be sold as food, and except that you may possess any live muscovy duck that you lawfully acquired prior to
March 31, 2010. If you possess muscovy ducks on that date, you may not propagate them or sell or transfer them to
anyone for any purpose, except to be used as food. You may not release them to the wild, sell them to be hunted or
released to the wild, or transfer them to anyone to be hunted or released to the wild.
(h) Dealers in meat and game, hotels, restaurants, and boarding houses may serve or sell to their customers the
carcass of any bird acquired from a holder of a valid waterfowl sale and disposal permit.
[75 FR 9320, Mar. 1, 2010]

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§21.15 Authorization of take incidental to military readiness activities.
(a) Take authorization and monitoring. (1) Except to the extent authorization is withdrawn or suspended pursuant
to paragraph (b) of this section, the Armed Forces may take migratory birds incidental to military readiness activities
provided that, for those ongoing or proposed activities that the Armed Forces determine may result in a significant
adverse effect on a population of a migratory bird species, the Armed Forces must confer and cooperate with the
Service to develop and implement appropriate conservation measures to minimize or mitigate such significant
adverse effects.
(2) When conservation measures implemented under paragraph (a)(1) of this section require monitoring, the
Armed Forces must retain records of any monitoring data for five years from the date the Armed Forces commence
their action. During Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan reviews, the Armed Forces will also report to the
Service migratory bird conservation measures implemented and the effectiveness of the conservation measures in
avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating take of migratory birds.

(b) Suspension or Withdrawal of take authorization. (1) If the Secretary determines, after seeking the views of the
Secretary of Defense and consulting with the Secretary of State, that incidental take of migratory birds during a
specific military readiness activity likely would not be compatible with one or more of the migratory bird treaties, the
Secretary will suspend authorization of the take associated with that activity.
(2) The Secretary may propose to withdraw, and may withdraw in accordance with the procedures provided in
paragraph (b)(4) of this section the authorization for any take incidental to a specific military readiness activity if the
Secretary determines that a proposed military readiness activity is likely to result in a significant adverse effect on the
population of a migratory bird species and one or more of the following circumstances exists:
(i) The Armed Forces have not implemented conservation measures that:
(A) Are directly related to protecting the migratory bird species affected by the proposed military readiness
activity;
(B) Would significantly reduce take of the migratory bird species affected by the military readiness activity;
(C) Are economically feasible; and
(D) Do not limit the effectiveness of the military readiness activity;
(ii) The Armed Forces fail to conduct mutually agreed upon monitoring to determine the effects of a military
readiness activity on migratory bird species and/or the efficacy of the conservation measures implemented by the
Armed Forces; or
(iii) The Armed Forces have not provided reasonably available information that the Secretary has determined is
necessary to evaluate whether withdrawal of take authorization for the specific military readiness activity is
appropriate.
(3) When the Secretary proposes to withdraw authorization with respect to a specific military readiness activity,
the Secretary will first provide written notice to the Secretary of Defense. Any such notice will include the basis for the
Secretary's determination that withdrawal is warranted in accordance with the criteria contained in paragraph (b)(2) of
this section, and will identify any conservation measures or other measures that would, if implemented by the Armed
Forces, permit the Secretary to cancel the proposed withdrawal of authorization.
(4) Within 15 days of receipt of the notice specified in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, the Secretary of Defense
may notify the Secretary in writing of the Armed Forces' objections, if any, to the proposed withdrawal, specifying the
reasons therefore. The Secretary will give due consideration to any objections raised by the Armed Forces. If the
Secretary continues to believe that withdrawal is appropriate, he or she will provide written notice to the Secretary of
Defense of the rationale for withdrawal and response to any objections to the withdrawal. If objections to the
withdrawal remain, the withdrawal will not become effective until the Secretary of Defense has had the opportunity to
meet with the Secretary within 30 days of the original notice from the Secretary proposing withdrawal. A final
determination regarding whether authorization will be withdrawn will occur within 45 days of the original notice.
(5) Any authorized take incidental to a military readiness activity subject to a proposed withdrawal of
authorization will continue to be authorized by this regulation until the Secretary makes a final determination on the
withdrawal.
(6) The Secretary may, at his or her discretion, cancel a suspension or withdrawal of authorization at any time. A
suspension may be cancelled in the event new information is provided that the proposed activity would be compatible
with the migratory bird treaties. A proposed withdrawal may be cancelled if the Armed Forces modify the proposed
activity to alleviate significant adverse effects on the population of a migratory bird species or the circumstances in
paragraphs (b)(2)(i) through (iii) of this section no longer exist. Cancellation of suspension or withdrawal of
authorization becomes effective upon delivery of written notice from the Secretary to the Department of Defense.
(7) The responsibilities of the Secretary under paragraph (b) of this section may be fulfilled by his/her delegatee
who must be an official nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
[72 FR 8949, Feb. 28, 2007]

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Subpart C—Specific Permit Provisions

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§21.21 Import and export permits.
(a) Permit requirement. Except as provided in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section, you must have a permit
to import or export migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs. You must meet the applicable permit requirements of
the following parts of this subchapter B, even if the activity is exempt from a migratory bird import or export permit:
(1) 13 (General Permit Procedures);
(2) 14 (Importation, Exportation, and Transportation of Wildlife);
(3) 15 (Wild Bird Conservation Act);
(4) 17 (Taking, Possession, Transportation, Sale, Purchase, Barter, Exportation, and Importation of Wildlife and
Plants);
(5) 20 (Migratory Bird Hunting);
(6) 21 (Migratory Bird Permits);
(7) 22 (Eagle Permits); and
(8) 23 (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)).
(b) Exception to the import permit requirements. If you comply with the requirements of parts 14, 20, and 23 of
this subchapter B, you do not need a migratory bird permit to import or possess migratory birds in the families
Anatidae, Columbidae, Gruidae, Rallidae, and Scolopacidae for personal use that were lawfully hunted by you in a
foreign country. The birds may be carcasses, skins, or mounts. You must provide evidence that you lawfully took the
bird or birds in, and exported them from, the country of origin. This evidence must include a hunting license and any
export documentation required by the country of origin. You must keep these documents with the imported bird or
birds permanently.
(c) General exceptions to the export permit requirements. You do not need a migratory bird export permit to:
(1) Export live, captive-bred migratory game birds (see §20.11 of this subpart) to Canada or Mexico if they are
marked by one of the following methods:
(i) Removal of the hind toe from the right foot;
(ii) Pinioning of a wing by removal of all or some of the metacarpal bones of one wing, which renders the bird
permanently incapable of flight;
(iii) Banding of one metatarsus with a seamless metal band; or
(iv) A readily discernible tattoo of numbers and/or letters on the web of one foot.
(2) Export live, lawfully-acquired, captive-bred raptors provided you hold a valid raptor propagation permit issued
under §21.30 and you obtain a CITES permit or certificate issued under part 23 to do so. You must have full
documentation of the lawful origin of each raptor, and each must be identifiable with a seamless band issued by the
Service, including any raptor with an implanted microchip for identification.
(d) Falconry birds covered under a CITES “pet passport.” You do not need a migratory bird import or export
permit to temporarily export and subsequently import a raptor or raptors you lawfully possess for falconry to and from
another country for use in falconry when the following conditions are met:
(1) You must meet applicable requirements in part 14 (Importation, Exportation, and Transportation of Wildlife) of
this subchapter B.
(2) You may need one or more additional permits to take a bird from the United States or to return home with it
(see 50 CFR part 15 (Wild Bird Conservation Act), part 17 (Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants), and part
23 (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)).

(3) Each raptor must be covered by a CITES certificate of ownership issued under part 23 of this chapter. You
must have full documentation of the lawful origin of each raptor (a copy of a propagation report with band number or a
3-186A report), and each must be identifiable with a seamless band or a permanent, nonreusable, numbered Fish
and Wildlife Service leg band issued by the Service, including any raptor with an implanted microchip for
identification. We may exempt a raptor from banding because of health concerns, but you must provide proof of the
exemption from your falconry permitting authority.
(4) You must bring any raptor that you export out of the country for falconry under a CITES “pet passport” back to
the United States when you return.
(5) If the raptor dies or is lost, you are not required to bring it back, but you must report the loss immediately upon
your return to the United States in the manner required by the falconry regulations of your State, and according to any
conditions on your CITES certificate.
(e) Inspection of imported or exported migratory birds. All migratory birds imported into, or exported from, the
United States, and any associated documentation, may be inspected by the Service. You must comply with the import
and export regulations in Part 14 of this chapter.
(f) Applying for a migratory bird import or export permit. You must apply to the appropriate Regional Director—
Attention Migratory Bird Permit Office. You can find the address for your Regional Director in §2.2 of subchapter A of
this chapter. Your application package must include a completed application (form 3-200-6, or 3-200-7 if the import or
export is associated with an application for a scientific collecting permit), and a check or money order made payable
to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the amount of the application fee for permits issued under this section, as
listed in §13.11 of this chapter.
(g) Criteria we will consider before issuing a permit. After we receive a completed import or export application,
the Regional Director will decide whether to issue you a permit based on the general criteria of §13.21 of this chapter,
and whether you meet the following requirements:
(1) You are at least 18 years of age;
(2) The bird was lawfully acquired; and
(3) The purpose of the import or export is consistent with the conservation of the species; and
(4) For an import permit, whether you are authorized to lawfully possess the migratory bird after it is imported.
(h) Are there standard conditions for the permit? Yes, standard conditions for your permit are set forth in part 13
of this subchapter B. You must also comply with the regulations in part 14 (Importation, Exportation, and
Transportation of Wildlife). We may place additional requirements or restrictions on your permit as appropriate.
(i) Term of a migratory bird import and export permit. Your migratory bird import or export permit will be valid for
not more than 5 years. It will expire on the date designated on its face unless it is amended or revoked.
[73 FR 47097, Aug. 13, 2008, as amended at 73 FR 55451, Sept. 25, 2008]

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§21.22 Banding or marking permits.
(a) Permit requirement. A banding or marking permit is required before any person may capture migratory birds
for banding or marking purposes or use official bands issued by the Service for banding or marking any migratory
bird.
(b) Application procedures. Applications for banding or marking permits shall be submitted by letter of application
addressed to the Bird Banding Laboratory, Office of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Laurel, Maryland 20708. Each such application shall contain the general information and certification set forth by
§13.12(a) of this subchapter plus the following additional information:
(1) Species and numbers proposed to be banded or marked;
(2) Purpose of banding or marking;

(3) State or States in which authorization is requested; and
(4) Name and address of the public, scientific, or educational institution to which any specimens will be donated
that are salvaged pursuant to paragraphs (c) (3) and (4) of this section.
(c) Additional permit conditions. In addition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B,
banding or marking permits shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1) The banding of migratory birds shall only be by official numbered leg bands issued by the Service. The use of
any other band, clip, dye, or other method of marking is prohibited unless specifically authorized in the permit.
(2) All traps or nets used to capture migratory birds for banding or marking purposes shall have attached thereto
a tag or label clearly showing the name and address of the permittee and his permit number, or the area in which
such traps or nets are located must be posted with notice of banding operations posters (Form 3-1155, available upon
request from the Bird Banding Laboratory, Office of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Laurel, Md. 20708) which shall bear the name and address of the permittee and the number of his permit.
(3) The holder of a banding or marking permit may salvage, for the purpose of donating to a public scientific or
educational institution, birds killed or found dead as a result of the permittee's normal banding operations, and
casualties from other causes. All dead birds salvaged under authority of a migratory bird banding or marking permit
must be donated and transferred to a public scientific or educational institution at least every 6 months or within 60
days of the time such permit expires or is revoked, unless the permittee has been issued a special permit authorizing
possession for a longer period of time.
(4) Permittees must keep accurate records of their operations and file reports as set forth in the North American
Bird Banding Manual, or supplements thereto, in accordance with instructions contained therein.
(d) Term of permit. A banding or marking permit issued or renewed under this part expires on the date
designated on the face of the permit unless amended or revoked, but the term of the permit shall not exceed three (3)
years from the date of issuance or renewal.
[39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 54 FR 38151, Sept. 14, 1989]

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§21.23 Scientific collecting permits.
(a) Permit requirement. A scientific collecting permit is required before any person may take, transport, or
possess migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs for scientific research or educational purposes.
(b) Application procedures. Submit applications for scientific permits to the appropriate Regional Director
(Attention: Migratory bird permit office). You can find addresses for the Regional Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Each
application must contain the general information and certification required in §13.12(a) of this subchapter, and the
following additional information:
(1) Species and numbers of migratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs to be taken or acquired when it is
possible to determine same in advance;
(2) Location or locations where such scientific collecting is proposed;
(3) Statement of the purpose and justification for granting such a permit, including an outline of any research
project involved;
(4) Name and address of the public, scientific, or educational institution to which all specimens ultimately will be
donated; and
(5) If a State permit is required by State law, a statement as to whether or not the applicant possesses such State
permit, giving its number and expiration date.
(c) Additional permit conditions. In addition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B,
scientific collecting permits shall be subject to the following conditions:

(1) All specimens taken and possessed under authority of a scientific collecting permit must be donated and
transferred to the public scientific, or educational institution designated in the permit application within 60 days
following the date such permit expires or is revoked, unless the permittee has been issued a special purpose permit
(See §21.27) authorizing possession for a longer period of time.
(2) Unless otherwise provided on the permit, all migratory game birds taken pursuant to a scientific collecting
permit during the open hunting season for such birds must be in conformance with part 20 of this subchapter;
(3) Unless specifically stated on the permit, a scientific collecting permit does not authorize the taking of live
migratory birds from the wild.
(4) In addition to any reporting requirement set forth in the permit, a report of the scientific collecting activities
conducted under authority of such permit shall be submitted to the issuing officer on or before January 10 of each
calendar year following the year of issue unless a different date is stated in the permit.
(d) Term of permit. A scientific collecting permit issued or renewed under this part expires on the date designated
on the face of the permit unless amended or revoked, but the term of the permit shall not exceed three (3) years from
the date of issuance or renewal.
[39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 54 FR 38151, Sept. 14, 1989; 63 FR 52637, Oct. 1, 1998]

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§21.24 Taxidermist permits.
(a) Permit requirement. A taxidermist permit is required before any person may perform taxidermy services on
migratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs for any person other than himself.
(b) Application procedures. Submit application for taxidermist permits to the appropriate Regional Director
(Attention: Migratory bird permit office). You can find addresses for the Regional Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Each
application must contain the general information and certification required in §13.12(a) of this subchapter, and the
following additional information:
(1) The address of premises where taxidermist services will be provided;
(2) A statement of the applicant's qualifications and experience as a taxidermist; and
(3) If a State permit is required by State law, a statement as to whether or not the applicant possesses such State
permit, giving its number and expiration date.
(c) Permit authorizations. A permit authorizes a taxidermist to:
(1) Receive, transport, hold in custody or possession, mount or otherwise prepare, migratory birds, and their
parts, nests, or eggs, and return them to another.
(2) Sell properly marked, captive reared migratory waterfowl which he has lawfully acquired and mounted. Such
mounted birds may be placed on consignment for sale and may be possessed by such consignee for the purpose of
sale.
(d) Additional permit conditions. In addition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B,
taxidermist permits shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1) Permittees must keep accurate records of operations, on a calendar year basis, showing the names and
addresses of persons from and to whom migratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs were received or delivered, the
number and species of such, and the dates of receipt and delivery. In addition to the other records required by this
paragraph, the permittee must maintain in his files, the original of the completed Form 3-186, Notice of Waterfowl
Sale or Transfer, confirming his acquisition of captive reared, properly marked migratory waterfowl from the holder of
a current waterfowl sale and disposal permit.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (c) of this section, the receipt, possession, and storage by a
taxidermist of any migratory game birds taken by another by hunting is not authorized unless they are tagged as
required by §20.36 of this subchapter. The required tags may be removed during the taxidermy operations but must

be retained by the taxidermist with the other records required to be kept and must be reattached to the mounted
specimen after mounting. The tag must then remain attached until the mounted specimen is delivered to the owner.
(e) Term of permit. A taxidermist permit issued or renewed under this part expires on the date designated on the
face of the permit unless amended or revoked, but the term of the permit will not exceed five (5) years from the date
of issuance or renewal.
[39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 54 FR 38151, Sept. 14, 1989; 63 FR 52637, Oct. 1, 1998; 70 FR 18320, Apr. 11, 2005]

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§21.25 Waterfowl sale and disposal permits.
(a) Permit requirement. You must have a waterfowl sale and disposal permit before you may lawfully sell, trade,
donate, or otherwise dispose of, most species of captive-reared and properly marked migratory waterfowl or their
eggs. You do not need a permit to sell or dispose of properly marked captive-reared mallard ducks (Anas
platyrhynchos) or their eggs.
(b) Permit conditions. In addition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B, waterfowl sale
and disposal permits are subject to the following conditions:
(1) You may not take migratory waterfowl or their eggs from the wild, unless take is provided for elsewhere in this
subchapter.
(2) You may not acquire migratory waterfowl or their eggs from any person who does not have a valid waterfowl
propagation permit.
(3) Before they are 6 weeks of age, all live captive migratory waterfowl possessed under authority of a valid
waterfowl sale and disposal permit must be physically marked as defined in §21.13(b).
(4) All offspring of birds hatched, reared, and retained in captivity also must be marked before they are 6 weeks
of age in accordance with §21.13(b), unless they are held in captivity at a public zoological park, or a public scientific
or educational institution.
(5) Properly marked captive-bred birds may be killed, in any number, at any time or place, by any means except
shooting. They may be killed by shooting only in accordance with all the applicable hunting regulations governing the
taking of like species from the wild.
(6) At all times during possession, transportation, and storage, until the raw carcasses of such birds are finally
processed immediately prior to cooking, smoking, or canning, the marked foot or wing must remain attached to each
carcass. However, if you have a State license, permit, or authorization that allows you to sell game, you may remove
the marked foot or wing from the raw carcasses if the number of your State license, permit, or authorization has been
legibly stamped in ink on the back of each carcass and on the wrapping or container in which each carcass is
maintained, or if each carcass is identified by a State band on a leg or wing pursuant to requirements of your State
license, permit, or authorization.
(7) You may dispose of properly marked live or dead birds or their eggs (except muscovy ducks and their eggs)
in any number at any time or place, or transfer them to any person, if the birds are physically marked prior to sale or
disposal, regardless of whether or not they have attained 6 weeks of age.
(8) You may propagate muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) only for sale for food.
(i) You may not release muscovy ducks to the wild or transfer them for release to the wild.
(ii) You may not sell or transfer muscovy ducks to be killed by shooting.
(9) If you transfer captive-bred birds or their eggs to another person, you must complete FWS Form 3-186,
Notice of Waterfowl Sale or Transfer, and provide all information required on the form, plus the method or methods by
which individual birds are marked as required by §21.13(b).
(i) Give the original of the completed form to the person acquiring the birds or eggs.
(ii) Retain one copy in your files.

(iii) Attach one copy to the shipping container for the birds or eggs, or include it with shipping documents that
accompany the shipment.
(iv) By the end of the month in which you complete the transfer, mail two copies to the Fish and Wildlife Service
Regional Office that issued your permit.
(c) Reporting requirements. You must submit an annual report by January 10th of each year to the Fish and
Wildlife Service Regional Office that issued your permit. You must report the number of waterfowl of each species you
possess on that date, and the method or methods by which each is marked.
(d) Applying for a waterfowl propagation permit. Submit your application for a waterfowl sale and disposal permit
to the appropriate Regional Director (Attention: Migratory Bird Permit Office). You can find addresses for the Regional
Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Your application must contain the general information and certification required in §13.12(a)
of subchapter A of this chapter, and the following additional information:
(1) A description of the area where you will keep waterfowl in your possession;
(2) The species and numbers of waterfowl you possess and a statement showing from whom the birds were
obtained;
(3) A statement indicating the method by which birds you hold will be marked as required by the provisions of this
part 21; and
(4) The number and expiration of your State permit if you are required to have one.
(e) Term of permit. A waterfowl sale and disposal permit issued or renewed under this part expires on the date
designated on the face of the permit unless amended or revoked, but the term of the permit will not exceed five (5)
years from the date of issuance or renewal.
[75 FR 9320, Mar. 1, 2010]

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§21.26 Special Canada goose permit.
(a) What is the special Canada goose permit and what is its purpose? The special Canada goose permit is a
permit issued by us to a State wildlife agency authorizing certain resident Canada goose management and control
activities that are normally prohibited. We will only issue such a permit when it will contribute to human health and
safety, protect personal property, or allow resolution or prevention of injury to people or property. The management
and control activities conducted under the permit are intended to relieve or prevent injurious situations only. No
person should construe the permit as opening, reopening, or extending any hunting season contrary to any
regulations established under Section 3 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
(b) Who may receive a permit? Only State wildlife agencies (State) are eligible to receive a permit to undertake
the various goose management and control activities. Additionally, only employees or designated agents of a
permitted State wildlife agency may undertake activities for injurious resident Canada geese in accordance with the
conditions specified in the permit, conditions contained in 50 CFR part 13, and conditions specified in paragraph (d)
of this section.
(c) How does a State apply for a permit? Any State wildlife agency wishing to obtain a permit must submit an
application to the appropriate Regional Director (see §13.11(b) of this subchapter) containing the general information
and certification required by §13.12(a) of this subchapter plus the following information:
(1) A detailed statement showing that the goose management and control activities will either provide for human
health and safety, protect personal property, or allow resolution of other injury to people or property;
(2) An estimate of the size of the resident Canada goose breeding population in the State;
(3) The requested annual take of resident Canada geese, including eggs and nests;
(4) A statement indicating that the State will inform and brief all employees and designated agents of the
requirements of these regulations and permit conditions.

(d) What are the conditions of the permit? The special Canada goose permits are subject to the general
conditions in 50 CFR part 13, the conditions elsewhere in this section, and, unless otherwise specifically authorized
on the permit, the conditions outlined below:
(1) What are the limitations on management and control activities? (i) Take of resident Canada geese as a
management tool under this section may not exceed the number authorized by the permit. States should utilize nonlethal goose management tools to the extent they deem appropriate in an effort to minimize lethal take.
(ii) Methods of take for the control of injurious resident Canada geese are at the State's discretion. Methods
include, but are not limited to, firearms, alpha-chloralose, traps, egg and nest manipulation and other damage control
techniques consistent with accepted wildlife damage-management programs.
(2) When may a State conduct management and control activities? States and their employees and agents may
conduct management and control activities, including the take of resident Canada geese, under this section between
March 11 and August 31. In California, Oregon and Washington, in areas where the threatened Aleutian Canada
goose (B. c. leucoperia) has been present during the previous 10 years, lethal control activities are restricted to May 1
through August 31, inclusive.
(3) How must the States dispose or utilize geese taken under this permit? States and their employees and
agents may possess, transport, and otherwise dispose of Canada geese taken under this section. States must utilize
such birds by donation to public museums or public institutions for scientific or educational purposes, by processing
them for human consumption and distributing them free of charge to charitable organizations, or by burying or
incinerating them. States, their employees, and designated agents may not sell, offer for sale, barter, or ship for the
purpose of sale or barter any Canada geese taken under this section, nor their plumage or eggs.
(4) How does the permit relate to existing State law? No person conducting management and control activities
under this section should construe the permit to authorize the killing of injurious resident Canada geese contrary to
any State law or regulation, nor on any Federal land without specific authorization by the responsible management
agency. No person may exercise the privileges granted under this section unless they possess any permits required
for such activities by any State or Federal land manager.
(5) When conducting management and control activities, are there any special inspection requirements? Any
State employee or designated agent authorized to carry out management and control activities must have a copy of
the permit and designation in their possession when carrying out any activities. The State must also require the
property owner or occupant on whose premises the State is conducting activities to allow, at all reasonable times,
including during actual operations, free and unrestricted access to any Service special agent or refuge officer, State
wildlife or deputy wildlife agent, warden, protector, or other wildlife law enforcement officer (wildlife officer) on the
premises where they are, or were, conducting activities. Furthermore, any State employee or designated agent
conducting such activities must promptly furnish whatever information is required concerning such activities to any
such wildlife officer.
(6) What are the reporting requirements of the permit? Any State employee or designated agent exercising the
privileges granted by this section must keep records of all activities carried out under the authority of this permit,
including the number of Canada geese killed and their disposition. The State must submit an annual report detailing
activities, including the time, numbers and location of birds, eggs, and nests taken and non-lethal techniques utilized,
before December 31 of each year. The State should submit the annual report to the appropriate Assistant Regional
Director—Refuges and Wildlife (see §10.22 of this subchapter).
(7) What are the limitations of the special permit? The following limitations apply:
(i) Nothing in this section applies to any Federal land within a State's boundaries without written permission of the
Federal Agency with jurisdiction.
(ii) States may not undertake any actions under any permit issued under this section if the activities adversely
affect other migratory birds or species designated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the
Endangered Species Act.
(iii) We will only issue permits to State wildlife agencies in the conterminous United States.
(iv) States may designate agents who must operate under the conditions of the permit.
(v) How long is the special permit valid? A special Canada goose permit issued or renewed under this section
expires on the date designated on the face of the permit unless it is amended or revoked or such time that we

determine that the State's population of resident Canada geese no longer poses a threat to human health or safety,
personal property, or injury to other interests. In all cases, the term of the permit may not exceed five (5) years from
the date of issuance or renewal.
(vi) Can we revoke the special permit? We reserve the right to suspend or revoke any permit, as specified in
§§13.27 and 13.28 of this subchapter.
(e) What are the OMB information collection requirements of the permit program? OMB has approved the
information collection requirements of the permit and assigned clearance number 1018-0099. Federal agencies may
not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number. We will use the information collection requirements to administer this program
and in the issuance and monitoring of these special permits. We will require the information from State wildlife
agencies responsible for migratory bird management in order to obtain a special Canada goose permit, and to
determine if the applicant meets all the permit issuance criteria, and to protect migratory birds. We estimate the public
reporting burden for this collection of information to average 8 hours per response for 45 respondents (States),
including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data needed, and completing and reviewing
the collection of information. Thus, we estimate the total annual reporting and record-keeping for this collection to be
360 hours. States may send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of
information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Service's Information Collection Clearance Officer
at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b).
[64 FR 32774, June 17, 1999, as amended at 79 FR 43965, July 29, 2014]

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§21.27 Special purpose permits.
Permits may be issued for special purpose activities related to migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs, which
are otherwise outside the scope of the standard form permits of this part. A special purpose permit for migratory bird
related activities not otherwise provided for in this part may be issued to an applicant who submits a written
application containing the general information and certification required by part 13 and makes a sufficient showing of
benefit to the migratory bird resource, important research reasons, reasons of human concern for individual birds, or
other compelling justification.
(a) Permit requirement. A special purpose permit is required before any person may lawfully take, salvage,
otherwise acquire, transport, or possess migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs for any purpose not covered by
the standard form permits of this part. In addition, a special purpose permit is required before any person may sell,
purchase, or barter captive-bred, migratory game birds, other than waterfowl, that are marked in compliance with
§21.13(b) of this part.
(b) Application procedures. Submit application for special purpose permits to the appropriate Regional Director
(Attention: Migratory bird permit office). You can find addresses for the Regional Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Each
application must contain the general information and certification required in §13.12(a) of this subchapter, and the
following additional information:
(1) A detailed statement describing the project or activity which requires issuance of a permit, purpose of such
project or activity, and a delineation of the area in which it will be conducted. (Copies of supporting documents,
research proposals, and any necessary State permits should accompany the application);
(2) Numbers and species of migratory birds involved where same can reasonably be determined in advance; and
(3) Statement of disposition which will be made of migratory birds involved in the permit activity.
(c) Additional permit conditions. Inaddition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B,
special purpose permits shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1) Permittees shall maintain adequate records describing the conduct of the permitted activity, the numbers and
species of migratory birds acquired and disposed of under the permit, and inventorying and identifying all migratory
birds held on December 31 of each calendar year. Records shall be maintained at the address listed on the permit;
shall be in, or reproducible in English; and shall be available for inspection by Service personnel during regular
business hours. A permittee may be required by the conditions of the permit to file with the issuing office an annual
report of operation. Annual reports, if required, shall be filed no later than January 31 of the calendar year following
the year for which the report is required. Reports, if required, shall describe permitted activities, numbers and species

of migratory birds acquired and disposed of, and shall inventory and describe all migratory birds possessed under the
special purpose permit on December 31 of the reporting year.
(2) Permittees shall make such other reports as may be requested by the issuing officer.
(3) All live, captive-bred, migratory game birds possessed under authority of a valid special purpose permit shall
be physically marked as defined in §21.13(b) of this part.
(4) No captive-bred migratory game bird may be sold or bartered unless marked in accordance with §21.13(b) of
this part.
(5) No permittee may take, purchase, receive or otherwise acquire, sell, barter, transfer, or otherwise dispose of
any captive-bred migratory game bird unless such permittee submits a Service form 3-186A (Migratory Bird
Acquisition/Disposition Report), completed in accordance with the instructions on the form, to the issuing office within
five (5) days of such transaction.
(6) No permittee, who is authorized to sell or barter migratory game birds pursuant to a permit issued under this
section, may sell or barter such birds to any person unless that person is authorized to purchase and possess such
migratory game birds under a permit issued pursuant to this part and part 13, or as permitted by regulations in this
part.
(d) Term of permit. A special purpose permit issued or renewed under this part expires on the date designated on
the face of the permit unless amended or revoked, but the term of the permit shall not exceed three (3) years from the
date of issuance or renewal.
[39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 54 FR 38152, Sept. 14, 1989; 63 FR 52637, Oct. 1, 1998]

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§21.28 [Reserved]
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§21.29 Falconry standards and falconry permitting.
(a) Background—(1) The legal basis for regulating falconry. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits any person
from taking, possessing, purchasing, bartering, selling, or offering to purchase, barter, or sell, among other things,
raptors (birds of prey) listed in §10.13 of this subchapter unless the activities are allowed by Federal permit issued
under this part and part 13 of this chapter, or as permitted by regulations in this part.
(i) This section covers all Falconiformes (vultures, kites, eagles, hawks, caracaras, and falcons) and all
Strigiformes (owls) listed in §10.13 of this subchapter (“native” raptors), and applies to any person who possesses
one or more wild-caught, captive-bred, or hybrid raptors protected under the MBTA to use in falconry.
(ii) The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d, 54 Stat. 250) provides for the taking of
golden eagles from the wild to use in falconry. It specifies that the only golden eagles that may be taken from the wild
for falconry are those that would be taken because of depredations on livestock or wildlife (16 U.S.C. 668a).
(2) “Possession” and short-term handling of a falconry raptor. We do not consider short-term handling, such as
letting any other person hold or practice flying a raptor you possess under your permit, to be possession for the
purposes of this section if you are present and the person is under your supervision.
(3) Regulatory year for governing falconry. For determining possession and take of raptors for falconry, a year is
any 12-month period for take defined by the State, tribe, or territory.
(b) Federal approval of State, tribal, and territorial falconry programs—(1) General. (i) A State (including the
District of Columbia), tribe, or territory under the jurisdiction of the United States that wishes to allow falconry must
establish laws and regulations (hereafter referred to as laws) that meet the standards established in this section. To
allow the practice of falconry on tribal lands by tribal members or residents, a tribe may either certify that it has
adopted Service-approved State laws if those laws are fully enforceable on tribal lands, or issue its own laws and
request our approval.

(ii) State, tribal, or territorial laws may be more restrictive than these Federal standards but may not be less
restrictive. For instance, a State, tribe, or territory may choose not to allow possession of some species of raptors
otherwise allowed in this section. State, tribal, and territorial laws must be consistent with the terms contained in any
convention between the United States and any foreign country for the protection of raptors and the Migratory Bird
Treaty Act.
(2) Reporting. (i) The State, tribe, or territory must work with us to ensure that the electronic 3-186A reporting
system (http://permits.fws.gov/186A) for reporting take, transfers, and loss of falconry birds is fully operational for
residents of that jurisdiction.
(ii) If you are required to submit a report or other information under this section, you must either enter the
required information in the electronic database at http://permits.fws.gov/186A, or
at http://www.wildlife.ca.gov/FalconryReporting if you are a resident of California, or submit a paper form 3-186A to
your State, tribal, or territorial agency that governs falconry.
(3) Federal approval and terms. If we concur that the regulations and the examination meet the requirements of
this section, we will publish a rule in the F
R
adding the State, tribe, or territory to the list of those
approved for allowing the practice of falconry. We will terminate Federal falconry permitting in any State certified
under these regulations on January 1st of the calendar year following publication of the rule.
(4) Review of a State, tribal, or territorial falconry program. We may review the administration of an approved
State's, tribe's, or territory's falconry program if complaints from the public or law enforcement investigations indicate
the need for a review or for revisions to the State's, tribe's, or territory's laws, or falconry examination. The review may
involve, but is not limited to:
(i) Inspecting falconers' facilities to ensure that the facilities standards in this section are met;
(ii) Processing time of applications;
(iii) Reviewing approved applications for completeness;
(iv) Determining that permits issued are appropriate for the experience of the applicants;
(v) Determining the adequacy of the State's, tribe's, or territory's recordkeeping for the needs of State, tribal, or
territorial and Federal law enforcement;
(vi) Reviewing laws to determine if they meet the requirements of this section; and
(vii) Reviewing a revised falconry examination to determine if it meets the requirements of this section.
(5) Suspension of a State's, tribe's, or territory's certification. (i) We may propose to suspend, and may suspend,
the approval of a State, tribal, or territorial falconry program in accordance with the procedures in paragraph (b)(5)(ii)
of this section if we determine that the State, tribe, or territory has deficiencies in one or more items in paragraph (b)
(4) of this section.
(ii) When we propose to suspend approval of a State, tribal, or territorial falconry program, we will first provide
written notice to the State, tribe, or territory. Any such notice will include the basis for our determination that
suspension is warranted. We will identify the actions that would, if implemented by the State, tribe, or territory, allow
us to cancel the proposed suspension of approval.
(iii) The State, tribe, or territory will have 2 years from the date of our notification to correct the deficiencies. The
State, tribe, or territory must respond in writing within that time to the proposed suspension, specifying the reasons
why the certification should not be suspended. We will give due consideration to any objections and evidence raised
by the State, tribe, or territory.
(iv) If we continue to believe that suspension is warranted, we will provide written notice of suspension, including
the rationale for suspension, and respond to any objections to the suspension.
(A) The suspension of approval of the State's, tribe's, or territory's falconry program will be effective 180 days
from the date of the Service's final notification of suspension.
(B) The State, tribe, or territory must then inform all falconry applicants and permittees of the impending
cancellation of permitting.

(v) We will honor all falconry permits in that jurisdiction for 2 years from the date of our final notification of
suspension of certification. At the end of the 2 years, you must transfer all raptors (including captive-bred raptors)
held under permits from the State, tribal, or territorial falconry program to other falconry permittees in other States or
territories, or to Federal raptor propagation or education permittees, institutions exempt from the Federal permit
requirements, or permanently released to the wild (if it is allowed by the State, tribe, or territory and by this section),
or euthanized. However, you may not permanently release hybrid raptors to the wild.
(6) Appeal of a decision to suspend State, tribal, or territorial certification. The State, tribe, or territory may appeal
a decision to suspend certification to the Director within 180 days of the date of the Director's decision. The Director
will then respond to the State, tribe, or territory within 180 days of receipt of the appeal. The State, tribe, or territory
certification will remain effective until the Director makes a final decision on the appeal.
(7) Recertification of compliance with this section if a State's, tribe's, or territory's falconry permitting authority has
been suspended. If a State, tribe, or territory has had its falconry permitting authority suspended but has corrected its
problems, it must submit a request for approval of its permitting activities. We will then either recertify the program, or
report in writing why we do not believe that earlier permitting problems have been rectified.
(8) Authority to suspend or revoke a falconry permit issued by a State, tribe, or territory. Suspension or revocation
of a falconry permit is the responsibility of the State, tribe, or territory. However, compliance with all provisions of
these regulations remains under the purview of the Fish and Wildlife Service.
(9) Standards in effect in your place of residence. If you live in any State except Hawaii, you may practice
falconry as permitted in these regulations if you have a falconry permit from your State, tribe, or territory.
(c) Practicing falconry—(1) Permits and inspections to practice falconry. You must have a valid falconry permit
from the State, tribe, or territory in which you reside (or the tribe on whose land you wish to practice falconry if you
reside on tribal land or are a tribal member), to take, possess, or transport raptors for falconry, or to hunt with them.
Depending on the game you hunt as a falconer and where you hunt, you also may need a Federal Migratory Bird
Hunting and Conservation Stamp (a “Duck Stamp”), and State, tribal, or territorial hunting permits or stamps to hunt
with a raptor.
(i) Some State, tribal, territorial, or local governments may require you to have additional permits or licenses to
practice falconry or to take a raptor from the wild.
(ii) You must comply with all regulations governing migratory bird permitting.
(iii) If you reside for more than 120 consecutive days in a State or territory or on tribal lands other than the
location of your primary residence, your falconry facilities in the second location must meet the standards in
paragraph (d) of this section and of the corresponding State, tribal, or territorial lands, and your facilities must be
listed on your falconry permit.
(2) Classes of permit to practice falconry. We recognize Apprentice, General, and Master Falconer levels. Each
State, tribe, or territory may have any number of permit levels, but the standards for them must be at least as
restrictive as these Federal standards. Your State, tribe, or territory may have more restrictive laws or regulations
governing falconry.
(i) Requirements and possession options for an Apprentice Falconer.
(A) You must be at least 12 years of age.
(B) If you are under 18 years of age, a parent or legal guardian must sign your application and is legally
responsible for your activities.
(C) You must have a letter from a Master Falconer or a General Falconer with a valid State, tribal, or territorial
falconry permit who is at least 18 years old and has at least 2 years experience at the General Falconer level, stating
that he or she will assist you, as necessary, in:
(1) Learning about the husbandry and training of raptors held for falconry;
(2) Learning and about relevant wildlife laws and regulations, and
(3) Deciding what species of raptor is appropriate for you to possess while an Apprentice.

(D) Regardless of the number of State, tribal, or territorial falconry permits you have, you may possess no more
than one raptor for use in falconry.
(E) You may take raptors less than 1 year old, except nestlings, from the wild during any period or periods
specified by the State, tribe, or territory. You may take any raptor species from the wild except a federally listed
threatened or endangered species or the following species: Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), white-tailed eagle
(Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller's sea-eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), American swallowtailed kite (Elanoides forficatus), Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus),
flammulated owl (Otus flammeolus), elf owl (Micrathene whitneyi), and short-eared owl (Asio flammeus).
(F) You may possess a raptor of any Falconiform or Strigiform species, including wild, captive-bred, or hybrid
individuals, except a federally listed threatened or endangered species, a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), a
white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), a Steller's sea-eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), or a golden eagle (Aquila
chrysaetos).
(G) You do not need to capture a wild raptor yourself; it can be transferred to you by another falconry permittee.
(H) You may not possess a raptor taken from the wild as a nestling.
(I) You may not possess a bird that is imprinted on humans.
(J) Your raptor facilities must pass inspection by your State, tribe, or territory before you may be granted a permit.
(ii) Requirements and possession options for a General Falconer.
(A) You must be at least 16 years of age.
(B) If you are 16 or 17 years of age, a parent or legal guardian must sign your application and must be legally
responsible for your activities.
(C) You must submit a document from a General Falconer or Master Falconer (preferably your sponsor) to your
State, tribal, or territorial wildlife agency stating that you have practiced falconry with raptor(s) at the Apprentice
Falconer level or equivalent for at least 2 years, including maintaining, training, flying, and hunting the raptor(s) for
least 4 months in each year. That practice may include capture and release of falconry raptors.
(D) You may not substitute any falconry school program or education to shorten the period of 2 years at the
Apprentice level.
(E) You may take and possess any species of Falconiform or Strigiform except a golden eagle, a bald eagle, a
white-tailed eagle, or a Steller's sea-eagle. You may use captive-bred individuals and hybrids of the species you are
allowed to possess.
(F) Regardless of the number of State, tribal, or territorial falconry permits you have, you may possess no more
than 3 raptors.
(iii) Requirements and possession options for a Master Falconer.
(A) You must have practiced falconry with your own raptor(s) at the General Falconer level for at least 5 years.
(B) You may take and possess any species of Falconiform or Strigiform except a bald eagle. However, you may
take and possess a golden eagle, a white-tailed eagle, or a Steller's sea eagle only if you meet the qualifications set
forth under paragraph (c)(2)(iv).
(C) You may possess any captive-bred individuals or hybrids of species your State, tribe, or territory allows you to
possess for use in falconry.
(D) Regardless of the number of State, tribal, or territorial falconry permits you have, you may possess no more
than 5 wild raptors, including golden eagles.
(E) You may possess any number of captive-bred raptors. However, you must train them in the pursuit of wild
game and use them in hunting.
(iv) If you meet the requirements in paragraph (c) of this section for falconry you may possess up to 3 eagles of
the following species: golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, or Steller's sea eagle.

(A) Your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry must document the following before approving
your request to possess an eagle to use in falconry:
(1) Your experience in handling large raptors, including information about the species you have handled and the
type and duration of the activity in which you gained the experience.
(2) At least two letters of reference from people with experience handling and/or flying large raptors such as
eagles, ferruginous hawks, goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), or great horned owls (Bubo virginianus). Each must contain
a concise history of the author's experience with large raptors, which can include, but is not limited to, handling of
raptors held by zoos, rehabilitating large raptors, or scientific studies involving large raptors. Each letter must also
assess your ability to care for eagles and fly them in falconry.
(B) A golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, or Steller's sea-eagle you hold will count as one of the raptors you are
allowed to possess for use in falconry.
(3) Taking a test to qualify for a falconry permit. Before you are issued an Apprentice permit you must correctly
answer at least 80 percent of the questions on an examination administered by the State, tribe, or territory under
which you wish to obtain a falconry permit. The examination must cover care and handling of falconry raptors,
Federal, State or territorial, and tribal (if applicable) laws and regulations relevant to falconry, and other appropriate
subject matter. Contact your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry for information about permits and
taking the test.
(4) Reinstatement of a lapsed falconry permit if your State, tribe, or territory allows it. (i) If your permit has lapsed
for fewer than 5 years, it may be reinstated at the level you held previously if you have proof of your certification at
that level.
(ii) If your permit has lapsed for 5 years or longer, you must correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions
on an examination administered by the State, tribe, or territory in which you wish to obtain a falconry permit. If you
pass the exam, your permit may be reinstated at the level you previously held. Your facilities must pass State, tribal,
or territorial inspection before you may possess a falconry bird.
(5) Permit to practice falconry at an appropriate level if you have experience in falconry but are a new resident in
the United States. You may qualify for the falconry permit appropriate for your experience. To demonstrate your
knowledge of U.S. falconry laws and regulations, you must correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions on
the supervised examination for falconers administered by the State, tribe, or territory under which you wish to obtain a
falconry permit. If you pass the test, the State, tribe, or territory will decide for which level of falconry permit you are
qualified, consistent with the class requirements in paragraph (c)(2) of this section. To do so, the State, tribe, or
territory should base its decision on your documentation of your experience. Your falconry facilities must meet the
standards in paragraph (d)(1) of this section before you may keep a raptor to use in falconry.
(6) Banding or tagging raptors used in falconry. (i) If you take a goshawk, Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus),
peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), or gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) from the wild or acquire one from another falconer
or a rehabilitator, and if the raptor is not already banded, you must band it with a permanent, nonreusable, numbered
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service leg band that your State, tribal, or territorial agency will supply. If you wish, you may
purchase and implant an ISO (International Organization for Standardization)-compliant (134.2 kHz) microchip in
addition to the band. You must report the band number when you report your acquisition of the bird. Contact your
State, tribal, or territorial agency for information on obtaining and disposing of bands. Within 10 days from the day on
which you take the raptor from the wild, you must report take of the bird by submitting the required information
(including the band number) using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section. You may request
an appropriate band from your State, tribal, or territorial agency in advance of any effort to capture a raptor. Your
State, tribe, or territory may require that you band other species taken from the wild.
(ii) A raptor bred in captivity must be banded with a seamless metal band (see §21.30). If you must remove a
seamless band or if it is lost, within 10 days from the day you remove or note the loss of the band, you must report it
and request a replacement U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service nonreusable band from your State, tribe, or territory. You
must submit the required information using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section. You must
replace a seamless band that is removed or lost. You may implant an ISO-compliant (134.2 kHz) microchip in a
falconry raptor in addition to the seamless band.
(iii) If the band must be removed or is lost from a raptor in your possession, you must report the loss of the band
within 5 days, and you must then do at least one of the following:

(A) Request a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service nonreusable band from your State, tribal, or territorial agency that
regulates falconry. You must submit the required information within 10 days of rebanding the raptor using one of the
methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section.
(B) Purchase and implant an ISO-compliant (134.2 kHz) microchip in the bird and report the microchip
information using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section.
(iv) You must not alter, deface, or counterfeit a band. You may remove the rear tab on a band on a raptor you
take from the wild, and you may smooth any imperfect surface if you do not affect the integrity of the band or the
numbering on it.
(v) If you document health or injury problems for a raptor you possess that are caused by the band, the State,
tribe, or territory may provide an exemption to the requirement for that raptor. In that case, you must keep a copy of
the exemption paperwork with you when transporting or flying the raptor. If your bird is a wild goshawk, Harris's hawk,
peregrine falcon, or gyrfalcon, you must replace the band with an ISO-compliant microchip that we will supply to your
State, tribe, or territory. We will not provide a microchip for a wild goshawk, Harris's hawk, peregrine falcon, or
gyrfalcon unless you have demonstrated that a band causes an injury or a health problem for the bird.
(vi) You may not band a raptor removed from the wild with a seamless numbered band.
(7) Carrying your permit(s) when conducting falconry activities. You must have your permit(s) or legible copies of
them in your immediate possession if you are not at the location of your falconry facilities and you are trapping,
transporting, working with, or flying your falconry raptor(s).
(8) Transporting a falconry raptor or raptors to other States or territories. If you have a valid falconry permit, you
may possess and transport for falconry purposes a lawfully possessed raptor through other States or territories.
However, any State, tribe, or territory may further regulate such transport.
(d) Facilities and care requirements—(1) Facilities you must have and maintain. You must keep all raptors you
hold under your falconry permit in humane and healthful conditions.
(i) Whether they are indoors (a “mews”) or outdoors (a “weathering area”), your raptor facilities must protect
raptors in them from the environment, predators, and domestic animals. You are responsible for the maintenance and
security (protection from predators) of raptors you possess under your permit.
(ii) You must have raptor housing facilities approved by your State, tribe, or territory before you may obtain a bird
to use in falconry. Your State, tribe, or territory may require that you have both indoor and outdoor facilities. A
representative of your agency that regulates falconry, or its designee, must certify that your facilities and equipment
meet the following standards:
(A) For housing raptors indoors or outdoors, the facility must protect raptors from predators and domestic
animals.
(1) The facility must have a suitable perch for each raptor, at least one opening for sunlight, and must provide a
healthy environment for raptors inside.
(2) You may house untethered raptors together if they are compatible with each other.
(3) Each raptor must have an area large enough to allow it to fly if it is untethered or, if tethered, to fully extend its
wings or bate (attempt to fly while tethered) without damaging its feathers or contacting other raptors.
(4) Each falconry bird must have access to a pan of clean water unless weather conditions, the perch type used,
or some other factor makes access to a water pan unsafe for the raptor.
(B) An indoor facility must be large enough to allow easy access for the care and feeding of raptors kept there.
(1) If raptors you house in this indoor facility are not tethered, all walls that are not solid must be protected on the
inside. Suitable materials may include vertical bars spaced narrower than the width of the body of the smallest raptor
you house in the enclosure. However, heavy-duty netting or other such materials may be used to cover the walls or
roof of the enclosure.
(2) Acceptable indoor facilities include shelf perch enclosures where raptors are tethered side by side. Other
innovative housing systems are acceptable if they provide the enclosed raptors with protection and allow them to

maintain healthy feathers.
(3) An eyas raptor may be kept in any suitable container or enclosure until it is capable of flight.
(C) You may keep a falconry raptor or raptors inside your place of residence if you provide a suitable perch or
perches. If you house your raptor(s) inside your home, you do not need to modify windows or other openings of the
structure. Raptors kept in your home must be tethered when they are not being moved into or out of the location in
which they are kept.
(D) An outdoor facility must be totally enclosed, and may be made of heavy-gauge wire, heavy-duty plastic mesh,
slats, pipe, wood, or other suitable material.
(1) The facility must be covered and have at least a covered perch to protect a raptor held in it from predators
and weather.
(2) The facility must be large enough to insure that the birds cannot strike the enclosure when flying from the
perch.
(3) New types of housing facilities and/or husbandry practices may be used if they satisfy the requirements
above and are approved by the State, tribal, or territorial authority regulating falconry.
(iii) You may keep falconry raptors outside in the open if they are under watch, such as by you or a family
member at any location or, for example, by a designated individual in a weathering yard at a falconry meet.
(iv) You must inform your State, tribal, or territorial agency within 5 business days if you change the location of
your facilities.
(2) Falconry facilities on property you do not own—(i) Your falconry facilities may be on property owned by
another person where you reside, or at a different location. Regardless of location, the facilities must meet the
standards in paragraph (d)(1) of this section and those of the State, tribe, or territory from which you have a falconry
permit.
(ii) You must submit to your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry a signed and dated
statement showing that you agree that the falconry facilities and raptors may be inspected without advance notice by
State, tribal (if applicable), or territorial authorities at any reasonable time of day, but you must be present. If your
facilities are not on property that you own, you must submit a signed and dated statement showing that the property
owner agrees that the falconry facilities and raptors may be inspected by State, tribal (if applicable), or territorial
authorities at any reasonable time of day in the presence of the property owner; except that the authorities may not
enter the facilities or disturb the raptors unless you are present.
(3) Equipment you must have and maintain. You must have jesses or the materials and equipment to make them,
leash and swivel, bath container, and appropriate scales or balances for weighing raptor(s) you possess.
(4) Facilities you must have for a raptor when you are transporting it, using it for hunting, or are away from your
home with it. You must be sure that the bird has a suitable perch and is protected from extreme temperatures, wind,
and excessive disturbance. A “giant hood” or similar container is acceptable for transporting or housing a raptor when
you are away from the permanent facility where it is housed.
(5) Temporarily housing a raptor outside of your permanent facilities when you are not transporting it or using it
for hunting. You may house a raptor in temporary facilities for no more than 120 consecutive calendar days if the bird
has a suitable perch and is protected from predators, domestic animals, extreme temperatures, wind, and excessive
disturbance.
(6) Care of falconry raptors by another falconry permittee. Another falconry permittee may care for a raptor or
raptors for you at your facilities or at that person's facilities for up to 120 consecutive calendar days. The other person
must have a signed and dated statement from you authorizing the temporary possession, plus a copy of FWS form 3186A that shows that you are the possessor of each of the raptors. The statement must include information about the
time period for which he or she will keep the raptor(s), and about what he or she is allowed to do with it or them.
(i) Your raptor(s) will remain on your falconry permit, and will not be counted against the possession limit of the
person caring for your raptors.

(ii) If the person caring for your raptor(s) holds the appropriate level falconry permit, he or she may fly your
raptor(s) in whatever way you authorize, including hunting.
(iii) This care of your raptors may be extended indefinitely in extenuating circumstances, such as illness, military
service, or for a family emergency. The State, tribe, or territory may consider such instances on a case-by-case basis.
(7) Care of falconry raptors by someone who does not have a falconry permit. Another person may care for
falconry birds you possess at your facilities for up to 45 consecutive calendar days.
(i) The raptor(s) will remain on your falconry permit.
(ii) The raptors must remain in your facilities.
(iii) This care may be extended indefinitely in extenuating circumstances, such as illness, military service, or for a
family emergency.
(iv) The person(s) caring for your raptors may not fly them for any reason.
(8) Residence part of the year in another jurisdiction. (i) The State, tribe, or territory in which you live part-time
may require that you obtain its falconry permit. You must contact the State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates
falconry to determine whether you need a permit.
(ii) If you live for more than 120 consecutive days in a State or territory or on tribal lands other than where you
maintain your primary residence, your falconry facilities in the second State must meet the standards in this section.
(9) Inspections. Falconry equipment and records may be inspected in the presence of the permittee during
business hours on any day of the week by State, tribal, or territorial officials.
(e) Taking, possessing, and transporting raptors for falconry—(1) Raptor species you may take from the wild to
use for falconry. (i) You may not intentionally capture a raptor species that your classification as a falconer does not
allow you to possess for falconry. If you capture a bird you are not allowed to possess, you must release it
immediately.
(ii) On some tribal lands and in some States there may be State, tribal, or Federal restrictions on the take or use
of these species, and you may need a tribal or State permit or permits to capture a bird.
(iii) State, tribal, or territorial regulations on take may be more restrictive than those in this section.
(iv) Take of any species must be in compliance with these regulations.
(v) If you are a Master Falconer and your State, tribe, or territory allows you to possess golden eagles, in any
year you may take up to two golden eagles from the wild and only in a livestock depredation area during the time the
depredation area and associated depredation permit or depredation control order are in effect. A livestock
depredation area is declared by USDA Wildlife Services and permitted under §22.23, or upon the request of a State
governor and authorized by the Service Director pursuant to §§22.31 and 22.32.
(2) How and when you may take raptors from the wild to use in falconry. You may take no more than two raptors
from the wild each year to use in falconry.
(i) If you transfer a bird you take from the wild to another permittee in the same year in which you capture it, the
bird will count as one of the raptors you are allowed to take from the wild that year; it will not count as a capture by
the recipient, though it will always be considered a wild bird.
(ii) If you are a General or Master Falconer, you may remove nestlings from a nest or aerie in accordance with
tribal (if applicable), State, territorial, and Federal restrictions.
(iii) You may not take raptors at any time or in any manner that violates any law of the State, tribe, or territory on
whose land you are trapping.
(iv) If you are responsible for reporting take of a raptor from the wild, use one of the methods listed in paragraph
(b)(2)(ii) of this section. You must do this at your first opportunity to do so, but no later than 10 days after the capture
of the bird.

(v) If you are present at the capture site, even if another person captures the bird for you, you are considered the
person who removes the bird from the wild. You are responsible for filing a 3-186A form reporting take of the bird from
the wild. This would occur, for example, if another person climbs a tree or rappells down a cliff and takes a nestling for
you and gives it to you at the tree or cliff.
(vi) If you are not at the immediate location where the bird is taken from the wild, the person who removes the
bird from the wild must be a General or Master Falconer, and must report take of the bird. If that person then transfers
the bird to you, you must both file 3-186A forms reporting the transaction at your first opportunity to do so, but no later
than 10 days after the transfer. The bird will count as one of the two raptors the person who took it from the wild is
allowed to capture in any year. The bird will not count as a bird you took from the wild. The person who takes the bird
from the wild must report the take even if he or she promptly transfers the bird to you.
(vii) If you have a long-term or permanent physical impairment that prevents you from attending the capture of a
species you can use for falconry, a General or Master Falconer may capture a bird for you. You are then responsible
for filing a 3-186A form reporting take of the bird from the wild, and the bird will count against the take of wild raptors
that you are allowed in any year.
(viii) You must promptly release any bird you capture unintentionally.
(3) Other restrictions on taking raptors from the wild for falconry. (i) If you are a General or Master Falconer, you
may take only raptors less than 1 year of age from the wild during any period or periods specified by the State, tribe,
or territory. However, you may take an American kestrel or great horned owl of any age from the wild during any
period or periods specified by the State, tribe, or territory.
(ii) If you are a Master Falconer authorized to possess golden eagles for use in falconry, you may capture a
golden eagle in a livestock or wildlife depredation area during the time the depredation area and associated
depredation permit or depredation control order are in effect.
(A) You may capture an immature or subadult golden eagle.
(B) You may take a nestling from its nest in a livestock depredation area if a biologist representing the agency
responsible for declaring the depredation area has determined that the adult eagle is preying on livestock or wildlif
(C) You may take a nesting adult golden eagle only if a biologist representing the agency responsible for
declaring the depredation area has determined that the adult eagle is preying on livestock or wildlife and that any
nestling of the adult will be taken by a falconer authorized to possess it or by the biologist and transferred to an
individual authorized to possess it.
(D) You must determine the locations of the livestock or wildlife depredation areas declared by USDA Wildlife
Services, or published in the F
R
by the Service in response to a State governor's request. We will not
notify you about them.
(E) Before you begin any trapping activities, you must inform our regional Law Enforcement office of your capture
plans. You must notify the office in person, in writing, or via facsimile or email at least 3 business days before you
start trapping. You may send an email with your trapping plans to [email protected], or you may deliver your
trapping plans in person or by mail to the Law Enforcement office in your region at the applicable street address
provided at 50 CFR 2.2. Telephone and fax numbers are as follows:

Region
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Law enforcement office telephone number
503-231-6125
505-248-7889
612-713-5320
404-679-7057
413-253-8274
303-236-7540
907-786-3311
916-414-6660

Law enforcement office fax number
503-231-2193
505-248-7899
612-713-5283
404-679-7065
413-253-8459
303-236-7901
907-786-3313
916-414-6715

(F) You also must meet all requirements of the State or territory in which you plan to trap, or the tribe on whose
lands you plan to trap.

(G) You must have permission from the landowner to capture an eagle; or if you wish to capture one on public
land, the responsible agency must allow it.
(iii) You may recapture a falconry bird you have lost at any time. We do not consider recapture of a wild bird to be
taking a bird from the wild.
(iv) You may recapture a raptor wearing falconry equipment or a captive-bred bird at any time - even if you are
not allowed to possess the species. The bird will not count against your possession limit, nor will its take from the wild
count against your limit. You must report your recapture of the bird to your State, tribal, or territorial agency that
regulates falconry no more than 5 working days after the recapture. You must return a recaptured falconry bird to the
person who lost it, if that person may legally possess it. Disposition of a bird whose legal possession cannot be
determined will be at the discretion of the State, tribe, or territory.
(v) You may take any raptor that you are authorized to possess from the wild if the bird is banded with a Federal
Bird Banding Laboratory aluminum bandexcept that you may not take a banded peregrine falcon from the wild.
(A) If a raptor (including a peregrine falcon) you capture is marked with a seamless metal band, a transmitter, or
any other item identifying it as a falconry bird, you must report your capture of the bird to your State, tribal, or
territorial agency that regulates falconry no more than 5 working days after the capture. You must return a recaptured
falconry bird to the person who lost it. If that person cannot possess the bird or does not wish to possess it, you may
keep it. Otherwise, disposition of a bird whose legal possession cannot be determined will be at the discretion of the
State, tribe, or territory. While you keep a bird for return to the person who lost it, the bird will not count against your
possession limit or your limit on take of raptors from the wild if you have reported possessing the bird to your State,
tribal, or territorial falconry permit office.
(B) If you capture a peregrine falcon that has a research band (such as a colored band with alphanumeric codes)
or a research marking attached to it, you must immediately release the bird, except that if the falcon has a transmitter
attached to it, you are authorized to possess the bird up to 30 days if you wish to contact the researcher to determine
if he or she wishes to replace the transmitter or its batteries. If the researcher wishes to do so, or to have the
transmitter removed, the researcher or his or her designee can make the change or allow you to do so before you
release the bird. If the researcher does not wish to keep the transmitter on the falcon, you may keep the bird if you
captured it in circumstances in which capture of wild peregrines is allowed.
(C) If a raptor you capture has any other band, research marking, or transmitter attached to it, you must promptly
report the band numbers and all other relevant information to the Federal Bird Banding Laboratory at 1-800-3272263.
(1) You may contact the researcher and determine if he or she wishes to replace a transmitter attached to a bird
you capture. If so, you are authorized to possess the bird up to 30 days until the researcher or his or her designee
does so, or until you can replace it yourself. Disposition of the bird will be at the discretion of the researcher and your
State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry.
(2) If you possess such a bird temporarily, it will not count against your possession limit for falconry raptors.
(vi) You must leave at least one young from any nest or aerie from which you take a nestling.
(vii) If you are an Apprentice Falconer, you may not take a nestling from the wild.
(viii) If you are a Master Falconer with a permit to do so, you may take, transport, or possess up to three eagles,
including golden eagles, white-tailed eagles, or Steller's sea-eagles, subject to the requirements in paragraph (c)(2)
(iv) of this section and §22.24 of this part. A golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, or Steller's sea-eagle you possess
counts as a bird to be included under your possession limit.
(ix) If you are a General or Master Falconer, you may take no more than one bird of a threatened species from
the wild each year if the regulations in part 17 of this subchapter allow it and if you obtain a Federal endangered
species permit to do so before you take the bird. You also may need a State, tribal, or territorial endangered species
permit to take a listed species.
(4) Take of a species or subspecies that was recently removed from the Federal List of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife to use in falconry. We must first publish a management plan for the species. If take is allowed in
the management plan, you may do so in accordance with the provisions for take in the plan.

(5) Raptors injured due to falconer trapping efforts. You have two options for dealing with a bird injured by your
trapping efforts. In either case, you are responsible for the costs of care and rehabilitation of the bird.
(i) You may put the bird on your falconry permit. You must report take of the bird using one of the methods listed
in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section at your first opportunity to do so, but no more than 10 days after capture of the
bird. You must then have the bird treated by a veterinarian or a permitted wildlife rehabilitator. The bird will count
against your possession limit.
(ii) You may give the bird directly to a veterinarian, or a permitted wildlife rehabilitator, or an appropriate wildlife
agency employee. If you do so, it will not count against your allowed take or the number of raptors you may possess.
(6) Acquisition, transfer, loss, or rebanding of a raptor. (i) If you acquire a raptor; transfer, reband, or microchip a
raptor; if a raptor you possess is stolen; if you lose a raptor to the wild and you do not recover it within 30 days; or if a
bird you possess for falconry dies; you must report the change within 10 days using one of the methods listed in
paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section.
(ii) If a raptor you possess is stolen, you must report the theft to your State, tribal, or territorial agency that
regulates falconry and to your Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Law Enforcement office (see paragraph (e)(3)(ii)(E)
of this section) within 10 days of the theft of the bird.
(iii) You must keep copies of all electronic database submissions documenting take, transfer, loss, rebanding or
microchipping of each falconry raptor until 5 years after you have transferred or lost the bird, or it has died.
(7) Acquiring a bird for falconry from a permitted rehabilitator. You may acquire a raptor of any age of a species
that you are permitted to possess directly from a rehabilitator. Transfer to you is at the discretion of the rehabilitator.
(i) If you acquire a bird from a rehabilitator, within 10 days of the transaction you must report it using one of the
methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section.
(ii) If you acquire a bird from a rehabilitator, it will count as one of the raptors you are allowed to take from the
wild that year.
(8) Flying a hybrid raptor in falconry. When flown free, a hybrid raptor must have attached at least two functioning
radio transmitters to help you to locate the bird.
(9) Releasing a falconry bird to the wild. You must follow all applicable State or territorial and Federal laws and
regulations before releasing a falconry bird to the wild.
(i) If the raptor you wish to release is not native to the State or territory, or is a hybrid of any kind, you may not
permanently release the bird to the wild. You may transfer it to another falconry permittee.
(ii) If the species you wish to release is native to the State or territory and is captive-bred, you may not release
the bird to the wild unless you have permission from the State, tribe, or territory to release the bird. If you are
permitted to do so, you must hack the bird (allow it to adjust) to the wild at an appropriate time of year and an
appropriate location. You must remove its falconry band (if it has one) and report release of the bird by submitting the
required information using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section.
(iii) If the species you wish to release is native to the State and was taken from the wild, you may release the bird
only at an appropriate time of year and an appropriate location. You must remove its falconry band and report release
of the bird by submitting the required information using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section.
(10) Restrictions on transfers of falconry raptors from other falconers. We do not restrict the number of wildcaught or captive-bred raptors transferred to you, but you may not exceed your possession limit.
(f) Additional information on the practice of falconry—(1) Raptors removed from the wild for falconry are always
considered “wild” raptors. No matter how long such a bird is held in captivity or whether it is transferred to another
permittee or permit type, it is always considered a “wild” bird. However, it is considered to be taken from the wild only
by the person who originally captured it. We do not consider the raptor to be taken from the wild by any subsequent
permittee to whom it is legally transferred.
(2) “Hacking” of falconry raptors. Hacking (temporary release to the wild) is an approved method for falconers to
condition raptors for falconry. If you are a General Falconer or a Master Falconer, you may hack a falconry raptor or
raptors.

(i) You may need permission from your State, tribal, or territorial wildlife agency to hack a bird you possess for
falconry. Check with your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry to determine if hacking is allowed.
(ii) Any bird you are hacking counts against your possession limit and must be a species you are authorized to
possess.
(iii) Any hybrid you hack must have two attached functioning radio transmitters during hacking.
(iv) You may not hack a falconry bird near a nesting area of a Federally threatened or endangered bird species or
in any other location where the raptor is likely to harm a Federally listed threatened or endangered animal species
that might be disturbed or taken by your falconry bird. You should contact your State or territorial wildlife agency
before hacking a falconry bird to ensure that this does not occur. You can contact the State Fish and Wildlife Service
office in your State or territory for information on Federally-listed species.
(3) Use of other falconry training or conditioning techniques. You may use other acceptable falconry practices,
such as, but not limited to, the use of creance (tethered) flying, lures, balloons, or kites in training or conditioning
falconry raptors. You also may fly falconry birds at bird species not protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act or at
pen-raised animals.
(4) Selling or trading raptors under a falconry permit. (i) If allowed by your State, tribe or territory, you may sell,
purchase, or barter, or offer to sell, purchase, or barter captive-bred raptors marked with seamless bands to other
permittees who are authorized to possess them.
(ii) You may not purchase, sell, trade, or barter wild raptors. You may only transfer them.
(5) Transfer of wild-caught raptors captured for falconry to another type of permit. Under some circumstances you
may transfer a raptor to another permit type if the recipient of the bird (which could be you) possesses the necessary
permits for the other activity.
(i) If your State, tribe, or territory allows you to do so, you may transfer a wild-caught falconry bird to a raptor
propagation permit after the bird has been used in falconry for at least 2 years (1 year for a sharp-shinned hawk, a
Cooper's hawk, a merlin, or an American kestrel). When you transfer the bird, you must provide a copy of the 3-186A
form documenting acquisition of the bird by the propagator to the Federal migratory bird permit office that administers
the propagation permit.
(ii) You may transfer a wild-caught bird to another permit type in less than 2 years (1 year for a sharp-shinned
hawk, a Cooper's hawk, a merlin, or an American kestrel) if the bird has been injured and a veterinarian or permitted
wildlife rehabilitator has determined that the bird can no longer be flown for falconry.
(A) Within 10 days of transferring the bird , you must provide a copy of the 3-186A form documenting acquisition
of the bird to the Federal migratory bird permit office that administers the other permit type.
(B) When you transfer the bird, you must provide a copy of the certification from the veterinarian or rehabilitator
that the bird is not useable in falconry to the Federal migratory bird permits office that administers the other permit
type.
(6) Transfer of captive-bred falconry raptors to another type of permit. You may transfer captive-bred falconry
raptors if the holder of the other permit type is authorized to possess the bird(s). Within 10 days, you must report the
transfer by submitting the required information using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section.
(7) Use of raptors held under a falconry permit in captive propagation. You may use raptors you possess for
falconry in captive propagation if you or the person overseeing the propagation has the necessary permit(s) (see
§21.30). You do not need to transfer a bird from your falconry permit if you use it for fewer than 8 months in a year in
captive propagation, but you must do so if you permanently transfer the bird for propagation. The bird must then be
banded as required in §21.30.
(8) Use of falconry raptors in conservation education programs. If you are a General or Master Falconer, you may
use a bird you possess in conservation education programs presented in public venues.
(i) You do not need a Federal education permit to conduct conservation education activities using a falconry
raptor held under a State, tribal, or territorial falconry permit.

(ii) You may present conservation programs as an Apprentice Falconer if you are under the supervision of a
General or Master Falconer when you do so.
(iii) You must use the bird primarily for falconry.
(iv) You may charge a fee for presentation of a conservation education program. The fee may not exceed the
amount required to recoup your costs.
(v) In conservation education programs, you must provide information about the biology, ecological roles, and
conservation needs of raptors and other migratory birds, although not all of these topics must be addressed in every
presentation. You may not give presentations that do not address falconry and conservation education.
(vi) You are responsible for all liability associated with conservation education activities you undertake (see50
CFR 13.50).
(9) Other educational uses of falconry raptors. You may allow photography, filming, or other such uses of falconry
raptors to make movies or other sources of information on the practice of falconry or on the biology, ecological roles,
and conservation needs of raptors and other migratory birds, though you may not be paid for doing so.
(i) You may not use falconry raptors to make movies, commercials, or in other commercial ventures that are not
related to falconry.
(ii) You may not use falconry raptors for commercial entertainment; for advertisements; as a representation of
any business, company, corporation, or other organization; or for promotion or endorsement of any products,
merchandise, goods, services, meetings, or fairs, with the following exceptions:
(A) You may use a falconry raptor to promote or endorse a nonprofit falconry organization or association.
(B) You may use a falconry raptor to promote or endorse products or endeavors related to falconry, including, but
not limited to items such as hoods, telemetry equipment, giant hoods, perches, materials for raptor facilities, falconry
training and education materials, and scientific research and publication.
(10) Assisting in rehabilitation of raptors to prepare them for release. If your State, tribe, or territory allows you to
do so, and if you are a General or Master Falconer, you may assist a permitted migratory bird rehabilitator to
condition raptors in preparation for their release to the wild. You may keep a bird you are helping to rehabilitate in
your facilities.
(i) The rehabilitator must provide you with a letter or form that identifies the bird and explains that you are
assisting in its rehabilitation.
(ii) You do not need to meet the rehabilitator facility standards. You need only meet the facility standards in this
section; your facilities are not subject to inspection for compliance with the standards in §21.31.
(iii) You do not have to add any raptor you possess for this purpose to your falconry permit; it will remain under
the permit of the rehabilitator.
(iv) You must return any such bird that cannot be permanently released to the wild to the rehabilitator for
placement within the 180-day timeframe in which the rehabilitator is authorized to possess the bird, unless the issuing
office authorizes you to retain the bird for longer than 180 days.
(v) Upon coordination with the rehabilitator, you must release all releaseable raptors to the wild or return them to
the rehabilitator for release within the 180-day timeframe in which the rehabilitator is authorized to possess the birds,
unless the issuing office authorizes you to retain and condition a bird for longer than 180 days, or unless the
rehabilitator transfers the bird to you to hold under your falconry permit.
(11) Using a falconry bird in abatement activities. (i) If you are a Master Falconer, you may conduct abatement
activities with a bird or birds you possess for falconry. If you are a General Falconer, you may conduct abatement
activities only as a subpermittee of the holder of the abatement permit.
(ii) You may receive payment for providing abatement services if you have a Special Purpose Abatement permit.
(12) Feathers that a falconry bird or birds molts. (i) For imping (replacing a damaged feather with a molted
feather), you may possess tail feathers and primary and secondary wing feathers for each species of raptor you

possess or previously held for as long as you have a valid falconry permit. You may receive feathers for imping from
other permitted falconers, wildlife rehabilitators, or propagators in the United States, and you may give feathers to
them. You may not buy, sell, or barter such feathers.
(ii) You may donate feathers from a falconry bird, except golden eagle feathers, to any person or institution with a
valid permit to have them, or to anyone exempt from the permit requirement under §21.12.
(iii) Except for primary or secondary flight feathers or retrices from a golden eagle, you are not required to gather
feathers that are molted or otherwise lost by a falconry bird. You may leave the feathers where they fall, store them
for imping, or destroy them. However, you must collect molted flight feathers and retrices from a golden eagle. If you
choose not to keep them for imping, you must send them to the National Eagle Repository.
(iv) We request that you send all feathers (including body feathers) that you collect from any falconry golden
eagle and that you do not need for imping, to the National Eagle Repository at the following address: U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, National Eagle Repository, Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Building 128, Commerce City, Colorado 80022.
The telephone number at the Repository is 303-287-2110.
(v) If your permit expires or is revoked, you must donate the feathers of any species of falconry raptor except a
golden eagle to any person or any institution exempt from the permit requirement under §21.12 or authorized by
permit to acquire and possess the feathers. If you do not donate the feathers, you must burn, bury, or otherwise
destroy them.
(13) Disposition of carcasses of falconry birds that die. (i) You must send the entire body of a golden eagle you
held for falconry, including all feathers, talons, and other parts, to the National Eagle Repository.
(ii) You may donate the body or feathers of any other species of falconry raptor to any person or institution
exempt under §21.12 or authorized by permit to acquire and possess such parts or feathers.
(iii) If the bird was banded or microchipped prior to its death, you may keep the body of any falconry raptor
except that of a golden eagle. You may keep the body so that the feathers are available for imping, or you may have
the body mounted by a taxidermist. You may use the mount in giving conservation education programs. If the bird
was banded, you must leave the band on the body. If the bird has an implanted microchip, you must leave the
microchip in place.
(iv) If you do not wish to donate the bird body or feathers or keep it yourself, you must burn, bury, or otherwise
destroy it or them within 10 days of the death of the bird or after final examination by a veterinarian to determine
cause of death. Carcasses of euthanized raptors could pose a risk of secondary poisoning of eagles and other
scavengers. You must take appropriate precautions to avoid such poisonings.
(v) If you do not donate the bird body or feathers or have the body mounted by a taxidermist, you may possess
the flight feathers for as long as you have a valid falconry permit. However, you may not buy, sell, or barter the
feathers. You must keep the paperwork documenting your acquisition of the bird.
(14) Visitors practicing falconry in the United States. (i) A visitor to the United States may qualify for a temporary
falconry permit appropriate for his or her experience.
(A) The permit may be valid for any period specified by the State, tribe, or territory.
(B) To demonstrate knowledge of U.S. falconry laws and regulations, the visitor must correctly answer at least 80
percent of the questions on the supervised examination for falconers administered by the tribe, State, or territory from
which he or she wishes to obtain a temporary falconry permit. If the visitor passes the test, the tribe, State, or territory
will decide for what level of temporary permit the person is qualified. The decision should be based on the individual's
documentation of his or her experience.
(C) If you hold a temporary falconry permit, you may possess raptors for falconry if you have approved falconry
facilities.
(D) A holder of a temporary falconry permit may fly raptors held for falconry by a permitted falconer.
(E) A holder of a temporary falconry permit may not take a bird from the wild to use in falconry.
(ii) For the duration of a permit from a State, tribe, or territory, a visitor may use any bird for falconry that he or
she possess legally in his or her country of residence for that purpose, provided that import of that species to the

United States is not prohibited, and provided that he or she has met all permitting requirements of his or her country
of residence.
(A) A visitor must comply with the provisions in this section, those of the State, tribe or territory where he or she
wishes to conduct falconry, and all States through which he or she will travel with the bird.
(B) The visitor may transport registered raptors. He or she may need one or more additional permits to bring a
raptor into the United States or to return home with it (see 50 CFR part 14 (importation, exportation, and
transportation of wildlife), part 15 (Wild Bird Conservation Act), part 17 (endangered and threatened species), part 21
(migratory bird import and export permits), and part 23 (endangered species convention)).
(C) Unless the visitor has the necessary permit(s) to bring a raptor into the United States and leave it here, he or
she must take raptors brought into the country for falconry out of the country when he or she leaves. If a raptor
brought into the United States dies or is lost while in this country, the visitor must document the loss before leaving
the United States by reporting the loss to the State, tribal, or territorial agency that governs falconry where the bird
was lost.
(D) When flown free, any bird brought to this country temporarily must have two attached radio transmitters that
will allow the falconer to locate it.
(E)There also may be tribal or State restrictions on nonresidents practicing falconry or importing a raptor or
raptors held for falconry.
(15) Taking falconry raptors to another country to use in falconry activities. A permit issued under this section
authorizes you to export and then import raptors you legally possess for falconry to another country to use in falconry
without an additional migratory bird import/export permit issued under §21.21.
(i) You must meet any requirements in 50 CFR 14 subpart B.
(ii) You may need one or more additional permits to take a bird from the United States or to return home with it
(see 50 CFR part 15 (Wild Bird Conservation Act), part 17 (endangered and threatened species), and part 23
(endangered species convention)).
(iii) Unless you have the necessary permit(s) to permanently export a raptor from the United States, you must
bring any raptor you take out of the country for falconry back to the United States when you return. Each raptor must
be covered by a CITES certificate of ownership issued under part 23 of this chapter. You must have full
documentation of the lawful origin of each raptor (a copy of a propagation report with band number or a 3-186A
report), and each must be identifiable with a seamless band or a permanent, nonreusable, numbered Fish and
Wildlife Service leg band issued by the Service or an implanted microchip for identification.
(iv) If the raptor dies or is lost, you are not required to bring it back but must report the loss immediately upon
your return to the United States in the manner required by the falconry regulations of your State, and any conditions
on your CITES certificate.
(16) Permission to capture, fly, or release a falconry bird at any location. You do not need special or written
permission for any of these activities on public lands if it is authorized. However, you must comply with all applicable
Federal, State, tribal, or territorial laws regarding falconry activities, including hunting. Your falconry permit does not
authorize you to capture or release raptors or practice falconry on public lands if it is prohibited on those lands, or on
private property, without permission from the landowner or custodian.
(17) Practicing falconry in the vicinity of a Federally listed threatened or endangered animal species. In practicing
falconry you must ensure that your activities do not cause the take of Federally listed threatened or endangered
wildlife. “Take” under the Endangered Species Act means “to harass, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture,
or collect or attempt to engage in any such conduct” (Endangered Species Act §3(18)). Within this definition, “harass”
means any act that may injure wildlife by disrupting normal behavior, including breeding, feeding, or sheltering, and
harm” means an act that actually kills or injures wildlife (50 CFR 17.3). To obtain information about threatened or
endangered species that may occur in your State or on tribal lands where you wish to practice falconry, contact your
State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry. You can contact your State Fish and Wildlife Service office for
information on Federally-listed species.
(18) Trapping a bird for use in falconry in areas used by the northern aplomado falcon. Capture of a northern
aplomado falcon (Falco femoralis septentrionalis) is not authorized because it is a violation of the Endangered

Species Act. To avoid trapping northern aplomado falcons, you must comply with the following conditions when
trapping a bird for use in falconry in the following counties.

If you
You may trap a bird for falconry in the following counties if you comply with the
trap in
conditions below.
(i)
Cochise, Graham, Pima, Pinal, or Santa Cruz.
Arizona,
(ii) New Doa Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lea, Luna, Otero, Sierra, or Socorro.
Mexico,
(iii)
Aransas, Brewster, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Culberson, Duval, Ector, El Paso, Hidalgo,
Texas, Hudspeth, Jackson, Jeff Davis, Kenedy, Kinney, Kleberg, Matagorda, Maverick, Midland,
Nueces, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Terrell, Val Verde, Victoria,
Webb, Willacy, or Zapata.
(iv) If you are an Apprentice Falconer, you must be accompanied by a General or Master Falconer when trapping
in one of these counties.
(v) You may not begin trapping if you observe a northern aplomado falcon in the vicinity of your intended trapping
effort.
(vi) You must suspend trapping if a northern aplomado falcon arrives in the vicinity of your trapping effort.
(19) Prey item killed by a falconry bird without your intent, including an animal taken outside of a regular hunting
season. (i) You may allow your falconry bird to feed on the animal, but you may not take the animal into your
possession.
(ii) You must report take of any federally listed threatened or endangered species to our Ecological Services Field
Office for the location in which the take occurred.
(20) Take of bird species for which a depredation order is in place. With a falconry bird, you may take any
species listed in parts 21.43, 44, 45, or 46 of this subchapter at any time in accordance with the conditions of the
applicable depredation order, as long as you are not paid for doing so.
(21) Transfer of falconry raptors if a permittee dies. A surviving spouse, executor, administrator, or other legal
representative of a deceased falconry permittee may transfer any bird held by the permittee to another authorized
permittee within 90 days of the death of the falconry permittee. After 90 days, disposition of a bird held under the
permit is at the discretion of the authority that issued it.
(g) Applying for a falconry permit. If you apply for a falconry permit, you must include the following information
plus any other information required by your State, tribe, or territory.
(1) The completed application form from your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry permits.
(2) Proof that you have passed the falconry test administered by the State, tribe, or territory where you maintain
your legal residence, or proof that you have previously held a falconry permit at the level you seek.
(3) For an Apprentice permit, you must provide the following:
(i) A letter from a General or Master Falconer stating that he or she has agreed to assist you in learning about the
husbandry and training of raptors held for falconry and about relevant wildlife laws and regulations, and in deciding
what species of raptor is appropriate for you to possess while an Apprentice.
(ii) An original, signed certification that you are particularly familiar with §10.13 of this subchapter, the list of
migratory bird species to which the Migratory Bird Treaty Act applies; part 13 of this subchapter, general permit
regulations; part 21 of this subchapter, migratory bird permits; and part 22 of this subchapter, eagle permits. The
certification can be incorporated into tribal and State application forms, and must be worded as follows:
I certify that I have read and am familiar with the regulations in title 50, part 13, of the Code of Federal Regulations and the other
applicable parts in subchapter B of chapter I of title 50, and that the information I have submitted is complete and accurate to the best of
my knowledge and belief. I understand that any false statement herein may subject me to the criminal penalties of 18 U.S.C. 1001.

(4) For an Apprentice or General Falconry permit, a parent or legal guardian must co-sign your application if you
are under 18.
(5) For a General Falconer permit:
(i) Information documenting your experience maintaining falconry raptors, including a summary of what species
you held as an Apprentice Falconer and how long you possessed each bird, and
(ii) A letter from a General Falconer or Master Falconer (preferably your sponsor) attesting that you have
practiced falconry with raptor(s) at the Apprentice Falconer level for at least 2 years, including maintaining, training,
flying, and hunting the raptor(s) for at least 4 months in each year.
(6) For a Master Falconer permit, you must attest that you have practiced falconry at the General Falconer level
for at least 5 years.
(h) Updating a falconry permit after a move. If you move to a new State or outside the jurisdiction of your tribe or
territory and take falconry birds with you, within 30 days you must inform both your former State, tribe, or territory and
the permitting authority for your new place of residence of your address change. To obtain a new falconry permit, you
must follow the permit application procedures of the authority under which you wish to acquire a new permit. You may
keep falconry birds you hold while you apply for a new falconry permit. However, the State, tribe, or territory into
which you move may place restrictions on your possession of falconry birds until you meet the residency
requirements there.
(i) Restoration of revoked permits. Upon request of the person whose permit has been revoked, the State, tribe,
or territory may restore the person's falconry permit at the end of the revocation period.
(j) Information collection requirements. The information collection required for falconry applications and for
falconry bird disposition on FWS Form 3-186A is approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control
number 1018-0022. The information is necessary to determine take of raptors from the wild for falconry.
(k) Database required of States, tribes, and territories. Each State, tribe, or territory that permits falconry must
maintain information in a database. The information will enable enforcement of this section.
(1) The State, tribal, or territorial database must be compatible with the database that we maintain. The State,
tribal, or territorial database must contain the following information:
(i) The current address of each person with a falconry permit.
(ii) The classification of each person with a falconry permit - Apprentice Falconer, General Falconer, or Master
Falconer.
(iii) The address of the falconry facilities of each person with a falconry permit.
(iv) The Federal falconry identifier number assigned via the 3-186A system to each person with a falconry permit.
(v) Whether each permittee is authorized to possess eagles.
(vi) Information on the status of each person's permit: whether it is active, suspended, or revoked.
(2) Information on each permit granted, including changes in status from Apprentice Falconer to General
Falconer or General Falconer to Master Falconer, and moves of falconers or their facilities must be entered into the
State's, tribe's, or territory's database within 30 days of the granting of the permit or a falconer's change in status.
New additions to the State, tribal, or territorial database must be forwarded to us monthly.
[73 FR 59465, Oct. 8, 2008, as amended at 74 FR 64640, Dec. 8, 2009; 75 FR 931, Jan. 7, 2010; 75 FR 3395, Jan. 21, 2010; 75 FR
81141, Dec. 27, 2010; 76 FR 71912, Nov. 21, 2011; 77 FR 66408, Nov. 5, 2012; 78 FR 35152, June 12, 2013; 78 FR 72832, Dec. 4,
2013; 80 FR 38015, July 2, 2015]

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§21.30 Raptor propagation permits.
(a) Legal basis for regulating raptor propagation. (1) Among other actions, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)
(16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.) prohibits any person from capturing from the wild, possessing, purchasing, bartering, selling,

or offering to purchase, barter, or sell raptors (vultures, kites, eagles, hawks, caracaras, falcons, and owls) listed in
§10.13 of this chapter unless the activities are allowed by Federal permit issued pursuant to this part and part 13 of
this chapter, or as permitted by regulations in this part.
(i) This section covers all “native” raptors (accipitriformes, falconiformes, and strigiformes listed in §10.13 of this
chapter), and applies to any person who possesses one or more wild-caught, captive-bred, or hybrid raptors
protected under the MBTA to use in raptor propagation, except that neither bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
nor golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) may be propagated under these regulations or any other permit regulation
listed in part 21 of this chapter.
(ii) You must have a Federal raptor propagation permit before you may capture from the wild, possess, transport,
import, purchase, barter, or offer to sell, purchase, or barter any raptor, raptor egg, or raptor semen for propagation
purposes. Your State may require that you also have a State permit.
(2) Other regulations, such as those for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora, the Wild Bird Conservation Act, and State regulations, may affect propagation-related activities. In
cases in which more than one set of regulations affect raptor propagation, the most restrictive requirements affecting
the activity will apply.
(b) Species available for raptor propagation. If you have a raptor propagation permit, you may attempt to
propagate any species of raptor listed in §10.13 of this chapter, with the following exceptions:
(1) You may not propagate bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) or golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) under a
raptor propagation permit or any other permit regulation listed in part 21 of this chapter.
(2) If you are authorized by your Regional Migratory Bird Permit office to do so, you may possess and attempt to
propagate threatened or endangered raptor species. See paragraphs (f) and (u) of this section.
(c) Facilities used for raptor propagation. In addition to the general conditions found in part 13 of this chapter,
raptor propagation permits are subject to the following additional conditions:
(1) You must maintain any tethered raptor you possess under this permit in accordance with the facilities and
standards requirements in §21.29, unless you obtain a written exception to this requirement from your Regional
Migratory Bird Permit Office.
(2) For untethered raptors, your breeding facilities must be soundly constructed and entirely enclosed with wood,
wire netting, or other suitable material that provides a safe, healthy environment.
(i) Your facilities must minimize the risk of injury by providing protection from predators, pets, and extreme
weather conditions.
(ii) Your facilities must minimize the risk of raptor injuries due to collision with interior or perimeter construction
materials and equipment, such as support poles, windows, wire netting, perches, or lights.
(iii) Your facilities must have suitable perches and nesting sites, fresh air ventilation, a source of light, a welldrained floor, and ready access for cleaning. Each bird must have access to a pan of clean water unless weather
conditions, the perch type used, or some other factor makes access to a water pan unsafe for the raptor.
(iv) You do not need to house your propagation raptors separately from other raptors you hold. However, you
must keep raptors that you are not authorized to propagate separated from those you use in propagation.
(d) Inspection. In the presence of the permittee, Federal or State officials may inspect propagation raptors,
facilities, equipment, and records during business hours on any day of the week.
(e) Banding of raptors used for propagation. —(1) Certain species. You must band a goshawk (Accipiter gentilis),
Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), or gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) that you take
from the wild to use in captive propagation.
(i) You must use a nonreusable band that we provide.
(ii) You may purchase and implant an ISO (International Organization for Standardization)-compliant 134.2 kHz
microchip in the raptor in addition to banding it.

(iii) You must report the information on the raptor (including information identifying the microchip, if you implant
one, and where it is located) at http://permits.fws.gov/186A or by submitting a paper FWS Form 3-186A form to your
State or tribal agency that governs propagation, if applicable, and to us.
(2) Banding nestlings. Unless a particular nestling is specifically exempted, you must band every captive-bred
raptor within 2 weeks of hatching.
(i) You must use a numbered, seamless band that we will provide.
(ii) You must use a band with an inside diameter that is small enough to prevent loss or removal of the band
when the raptor is grown without causing serious injury to the raptor or damaging the band's integrity or one-piece
construction.
(iii) You may band a nestling with more than one band of different sizes if you cannot determine the proper size
when you band the nestling. You must then remove and destroy all but the correctly sized band before the nestling is
5 weeks old.
(iv) You may submit a letter requesting an exemption from the banding requirement for any nestling or fledgling
for which the band causes a problem. If you demonstrate that the band itself or the behavior of the raptor in response
to the band poses a hazard to the raptor, we may exempt that raptor from the banding requirement. You must destroy
the band after you remove it.
(3) You may purchase and implant an ISO-compliant 134.2 kHz microchip in the raptor in addition to a band. You
must report information to identify the microchip and where on the raptor the chip is implanted when you report your
acquisition of the raptor.
(4) If a captive-bred raptor is not banded with a seamless band, or if you must remove the seamless band from a
captive-bred raptor, you must band the bird with a nonreusable band that we provide.
(f) Taking and transferring raptors or raptor eggs from the wild to use in propagation. You may take no more than
two raptors or raptor eggs from the wild each year to use in propagation.
(1) The State must authorize you to take the raptor(s) or egg(s) from the wild.
(2) You must comply with all State laws in taking raptor(s) or egg(s) from the wild.
(3) You may take a raptor listed in §17.11(h) of this chapter as “endangered” or “threatened” from the wild only if
you have a permit under part 17 of this chapter (See paragraph (u) of this section.).
(4) You may transfer a raptor taken from the wild for propagation to any other person authorized to possess it,
except that you must comply with the prohibitions in §21.29 on a transfer to a falconer.
(g) Transfer, purchase, sale, or barter of captive-bred raptors, eggs, or semen. (1) You may transfer, sell, or
barter a lawfully possessed captive-bred raptor to another person authorized to possess captive-bred raptors if the
raptor is marked on the metatarsus by a seamless, numbered band that we provide.
(2) You may transfer, sell, or barter a lawfully possessed raptor egg or raptor semen produced by a raptor held
under your captive propagation permit (including a raptor taken from the wild) to another raptor propagation
permittee.
(3) You may not purchase, sell, or barter any raptor eggs or any raptors taken from the wild in the United States
or its territories or possessions, any semen collected from a raptor in the wild in the United States or its territories or
possessions, or any raptor hatched from eggs taken from the wild in the United States or its territories or
possessions.
(h) Required paperwork. You must have a copy of a properly completed FWS Form 3-186A (Migratory Bird
Acquisition and Disposition Report) for each raptor you acquire or that is transferred to you.
(1) You do not have to submit or have a copy of an FWS Form 3-186A for raptors you produce by captive
propagation if you keep the raptors in your possession under your propagation permit.
(2) If you sell, trade, barter, or transfer a raptor held under your captive propagation permit, even if the transfer is
to a falconry permit you hold, you must complete an FWS Form 3-186A and send it to us within 5 calendar days of

the transfer.
(i) Care of a propagation raptor by another person—
(1) Care of a propagation raptor by another permittee. The regulations in this paragraph pertain to care of
propagation raptors by persons other than the permittee. Another person who can legally possess raptors may care
for a propagation raptor for you for up to 120 calendar days.
(i) The person must have a letter from you authorizing him or her to care for the birds, beginning on the date of
your letter.
(ii) The raptor will remain on your raptor propagation permit. If the person who temporarily holds it for you is a
falconer or a captive propagator, the raptor will not be counted against his or her possession limit on raptors held for
falconry or propagation. However, the other person may not use the raptor in falconry or in propagation.
(iii) If you wish to have someone else care for a propagation raptor for more than 120 days, or if you wish to let
another person use the raptor in falconry or captive propagation, you must transfer the raptor to that person and
report the transfer by submitting a completed FWS Form 3-186A.
(2) Care of a propagation raptor by an individual who does not have a propagation or falconry permit.Another
person may care for propagation raptors you possess for up to 120 consecutive calendar days.
(i) The raptor(s) will remain on your propagation permit.
(ii) The raptors must remain in your facilities.
(iii) This care may be extended indefinitely in extenuating circumstances, such as illness, military service, or for a
family emergency. The person(s) caring for your raptors may not fly them for any reason.
(j) Care of nestlings by an individual who does not hold a migratory bird permit. Another person may temporarily
care for and band nestlings you hold from the time they are hatched until they are fully feathered. You may allow the
other person to keep the nestlings at another location. You must give the individual a letter authorizing him or her to
care for the nestlings, beginning on the date of your letter. The care might be part of each day during the nestling
period so that the nestlings can be fed, or it might be a series of full days if transport to and from the breeding facility
is not practical or needed.
(k) Disposition of molted feathers from a live raptor or carcasses of raptors held under your permit. (1) You may
donate the body or feathers of any species you possess under your propagation permit to any person or institution
exempt under §21.12 or authorized by permit to acquire and possess such parts or feathers.
(2) For any raptor you hold under your propagation permit, if the bird was banded or microchipped prior to its
death, you may keep the body to have the feathers available for imping or to have the body mounted by a taxidermist.
You may use the mount in propagation activities or in giving conservation education programs. If the bird was banded,
you must leave the band on the body. If the bird has an implanted microchip, the microchip must be placed inside the
mounted bird.
(3) If you do not wish to donate the bird body or feathers or keep it or them yourself, you must burn, bury, or
otherwise destroy it or them within 10 days of the death of the bird or after final examination by a veterinarian to
determine cause of death. Carcasses of euthanized raptors could pose a risk of secondary poisoning of eagles and
other scavengers. You must take appropriate precautions to avoid such poisonings.
(4) If you do not donate the bird body or feathers or have the body mounted by a taxidermist, you may possess
the flight feathers for as long as you have a valid raptor propagation or falconry permit. However, you may not buy,
sell, or barter the feathers. You must keep the paperwork documenting your acquisition of the bird.
(l) Raptor products. You may possess addled or blown eggs, nests, and feathers from raptors held under permit,
and may transfer any of these items to any other person authorized to possess them.
(m) Release to the wild. You may release a captive-bred raptor to the wild if it is allowed by the State or territory
in which you wish to release the raptor, except that you may not release a hybrid raptor to the wild. You must leave
the captive-bred band on any raptor you release to the wild.

(n) Conservation education programs. You may use a raptor you possess for raptor propagation in conservation
education programs presented in public venues.
(1) You do not need a Federal education permit to conduct conservation education activities using a propagation
raptor.
(2) You must use the raptor primarily for propagation.
(3) You may charge a fee for presentation of a conservation education program. The fee may not exceed the
amount required to recoup your costs.
(4) In conservation education programs, you must provide information about the biology, ecological roles, and
conservation needs of raptors and other migratory birds, although not all of these topics must be addressed in every
presentation. You may not give presentations that do not address falconry and conservation education.
(5) You are responsible for all liability associated with conservation education activities you undertake (see
§13.50 of this chapter).
(o) Permit restrictions. With limited exceptions, you may use raptors held under your captive propagation permit
only for propagation or keep them to transfer or sell. You must transfer a raptor used in captive propagation to a
falconry permit before you or another person may use it in falconry. If you transfer a raptor used in captive
propagation to another permit, you and the recipient of the raptor (which might be you) must complete an FWS Form
3-186A and report the transfer. You do not need to transfer a bird from your falconry permit (if you hold one) if you use
the bird for fewer than 8 months in a year in captive propagation, but you must do so if you permanently transfer the
bird for propagation. The bird must then be banded as required in paragraph (e).
(p) Training propagation raptors. You may use falconry training or conditioning practices such as, but not limited
to, creance (tethered) flying, lures, balloons, or kites in training or conditioning captive-bred progeny of raptors you
hold under your permit.
(1) Until the raptors are 1 year old, you may use captive-bred offspring in actual hunting as a means of training
them. To do so, you will not need to transfer them to another permit type. You may not use them in hunting after their
first year if they are held under your captive propagation permit.
(2) Any hybrid raptor that you fly free must have at least two attached radio transmitters to help you to locate the
bird.
(3) You may not hunt at any time with raptors you use in propagation.
(q) Hacking of propagation raptors. “Hacking” (temporary release to the wild) is an approved method to condition
raptors. You may hack a raptor that you produce under your propagation permit.
(1) You may need permission from your State or tribal wildlife agency to hack a raptor you possess under your
propagation permit. Check with your State or tribal agency that regulates falconry to determine if hacking is allowed.
(2) Any hybrid you hack must have two attached functioning radio transmitters during hacking.
(3) You may not hack a raptor near a nesting area of a federally threatened or endangered bird species or in any
other location where the raptor is likely to harm a federally listed threatened or endangered animal species that might
be disturbed or taken by your falconry raptor. You should contact your State or territorial wildlife agency before
hacking a falconry raptor to ensure that this does not occur. Contact the Fish and Wildlife Service office in your State
or territory for information on federally listed species.
(r) Transfer of propagation raptors and offspring if a permittee dies. A surviving spouse, executor, administrator,
or other legal representative of a deceased raptor propagation permittee may transfer any bird, eggs, or semen held
by the deceased permittee to another authorized permittee within 90 days of the death of the falconry permittee. After
90 days, disposition of a bird held under the permit is at our discretion.
(s) Records of captive propagation efforts. You must maintain complete and accurate records of all operations,
including the following, for at least 5 years after the expiration of your permit. However, you may want to retain your
records for a longer time if you want to get another migratory bird permit, a Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora permit, or a Wild Bird Conservation Act permit.

(1) The acquisition of raptors, eggs, or semen you acquired from the wild or that were transferred to you.
(i) What you acquired, and the species, sex, age, and band number of each bird you acquired.
(ii) Whether you acquired the raptor, egg, or semen from the wild or you purchased it or it was transferred to you.
(2) The disposition of raptors, eggs, or semen you sell or transfer to another permittee. The information should
include the band number of raptors you sell or transfer.
(t) Annual report. You must submit a completed FWS Form 3-202-8 to your Regional Migratory Bird Permit office
by January 31 each year for January 1 through December 31 of the preceding year.
(u) Endangered or threatened species. If you wish to propagate endangered or threatened species, you must
have at least 2 years of experience handling raptors in a propagation program or programs. You may also need an
endangered species permit to propagate threatened or endangered raptors. See §§17.21 and 17.22 of this chapter
for permit requirements to propagate threatened or endangered raptors.
(v) Applying for a Federal raptor propagation permit. Using FWS Form 3-200-12, you must submit your
application for a raptor propagation permit to the appropriate Regional Director, to the attention of the Migratory Bird
Permit Office. You can find addresses for the Regional Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Your application must contain the
general information and the certification required in §13.12(a) of this chapter, a copy of your State permit authorizing
raptor propagation, if your State requires one, and a description (including dimensions), drawings, and photographs of
the facilities and equipment you will use.
(w) Criteria for issuing a permit. When we receive a completed application, we will decide whether we should
issue a permit to you. We will consider the general criteria in part 13 of this chapter and the following factors:
(1) You must be at least 18 years old and have at least 2 full years of experience handling raptors.
(2) You must have a propagation permit or other authorization for raptor propagation from your State or Tribe, if
your State or Tribe requires it.
(3) Your raptor propagation facilities must be adequate for the number and species of raptors to be held under
your permit.
(x) Updating a raptor propagation permit after a move. If you move within your State or get a new mailing
address, you must notify us within 30 days (see §13.23(c) of this chapter). If you move to a new State, within 30 days
you must inform both your former and your new (if applicable) Migratory Bird Permit Offices of your address change.
If you have new propagation facilities, you must provide information, pictures, and diagrams of them, and they may be
inspected in accordance with Federal or State requirements. Thereafter, no mandatory inspections of the facilities will
continue.
(y) Permit expiration. Your Federal permit may be valid for up to 5 years from when it is issued or renewed. It will
expire on the same day as your State permit, unless your State permit is for a period longer than 5 years, or unless
we amend, suspend, or revoke it.
[76 FR 29667, May 23, 2011]

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§21.31 Rehabilitation permits.
(a) What is the permit requirement? Except as provided in §21.12, a rehabilitation permit is required to take,
temporarily possess, or transport any migratory bird for rehabilitation purposes. However, any person who finds a
sick, injured, or orphaned migratory bird may, without a permit, take possession of the bird in order to immediately
transport it to a permitted rehabilitator.
(b) What are the general permit provisions? (1) The permit authorizes you to:
(i) Take from the wild or receive from another person sick, injured, or orphaned migratory birds and to possess
them and provide rehabilitative care for them for up to 180 days;

(ii) Transport such birds to a suitable habitat for release, to another permitted rehabilitator's facilities, or to a
veterinarian;
(iii) Transfer, release, or euthanize such birds;
(iv) Transfer or otherwise dispose of dead specimens; and
(v) Receive, stabilize, and transfer within 48 hours types of migratory bird species not authorized by your permit,
in cases of emergency. If a rehabilitator authorized to care for the bird is not available within that timeframe, you must
contact the issuing office for authorization to retain the bird until it can be transferred.
(2) The permit does not authorize the use of migratory birds for educational purposes.
(c) How do I apply for a migratory bird rehabilitation permit? You must apply to the appropriate Regional Director
—Attention Migratory Bird Permit Office. You can find addresses for the appropriate Regional Directors in §2.2 of
subchapter A of this chapter. Your application package must consist of the following:
(1) A completed application (Form 3-200-10b);
(2) A copy of your State rehabilitation permit, license, or other authorization, if one is required in your State; and
(3) A check or money order made payable to the “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service” in the amount of the application
fee for permits issued under this section listed in §13.11 of this chapter.
(d) What criteria will the Service consider before issuing a permit? (1) Upon receiving an application completed in
accordance with paragraph (c) of this section, the Regional Director will decide whether to issue you a permit based
on the general criteria of §13.21 of this chapter and whether you meet the following requirements:
(i) You must be at least 18 years of age with at least 100 hours of hands-on experience, gained over the course
of at least 1 whole year, rehabilitating the types of migratory birds you intend to rehabilitate (e.g., waterbirds, raptors),
or comparable experience. Up to 20 hours of the 100-hour time requirement may be fulfilled by participation in
migratory bird rehabilitation seminars and courses.
(ii) Your facilities must be adequate to properly care for the type(s) of migratory bird species you intend to
rehabilitate, or you must have a working relationship with a person or organization with such facilities.
(iii) You must have an agreement with a licensed veterinarian to provide medical care for the birds you intend to
rehabilitate, unless you are a licensed veterinarian.
(iv) You must have a State permit, license, or other authorization to rehabilitate migratory birds if such
authorization required by your State.
(2) In issuing a permit, the Regional Director may place restrictions on the types of migratory bird species you are
authorized to rehabilitate, based on your experience and facilities as well as on the specific physical requirements
and behavioral traits of particular species.
(e) What are the standard conditions for this permit? In addition to the general permit conditions set forth in part
13 of this chapter, rehabilitation permits are subject to the following conditions:
(1) Facilities. You must conduct the activities authorized by this permit in appropriate facilities that are approved
and identified on the face of your permit. In evaluating whether caging dimensions are adequate, the Service will use
as a guideline the standards developed by the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association and the International
Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (Minimum Standards for Wildlife Rehabilitation, 2000).1 The Regional Migratory Bird
Permit Office will authorize variation from the standards where doing so is reasonable and necessary to
accommodate a particular rehabilitator's circumstances, unless a determination is made that such variation will
jeopardize migratory birds. However, except as provided by paragraph (f)(2)(i) of this section, all facilities must adhere
to the following criteria:
1
Copies may be obtained by contacting either the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association: 14 North 7th Avenue, St. Cloud MN
56303-4766, http://www.nwawildlife.org/default.asp; or the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council: 829 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA
94710, http://www.iwrc-online.org.

(i) Rehabilitation facilities for migratory birds must be secure and provide protection from predators, domestic
animals, undue human disturbance, sun, wind, and inclement weather.

(ii) Caging must be made of a material that will not entangle or cause injury to the type of birds that will be
housed within.
(iii) Enclosures must be kept clean, well-ventilated, and hygienic.
(iv) Birds must not be overcrowded, and must be provided enough perches, if applicable.
(v) Birds must be housed only with compatible migratory bird species.
(vi) Birds may not be displayed to the public unless you use video equipment, barriers, or other methods to
reduce noise and exposure to humans to levels the birds would normally encounter in their habitat. You may not use
any equipment for this purpose that causes stress or harm, or impedes the rehabilitation of any bird.
(2) Dietary requirements. You must provide the birds in your care with a diet that is appropriate and nutritionally
approximates the natural diet consumed by the species in the wild, with consideration for the age and health of the
individual bird.
(3) Subpermittees. Except as provided by paragraph (f)(2)(ii) of this section, anyone who will be performing
activities that require permit authorization under paragraph (b)(1) of this section when you or a subpermittee are not
present, including any individual who transports birds to or from your facility on a regular basis, must either possess a
Federal rehabilitation permit or be authorized as your subpermittee by being named in writing to your issuing
Migratory Bird Permit Office. This does not apply to General Falconers or Master Falconers, who may assist with
conditioning raptors for release without being your subpermittee. If you have a falconer assist in conditioning a
rehabilitated raptor for release, you must provide the falconer with a letter or form that identifies the bird and explains
that the falconer is assisting in rehabilitation of the raptor.
(i) Your subpermittees must be at least 18 years of age and possess sufficient experience to tend the species in
their care.
(ii) Your subpermittees who are authorized to care for migratory birds at a site other than your facility must have
facilities adequate to house the species in their care, based on the criteria of paragraph (e)(1) of this section. All such
facilities except those of a falconer assisting in conditioning raptors for release must be approved by the issuing
office.
(iii) As the primary permittee, you are legally responsible for ensuring that your subpermittees, staff, and
volunteers adhere to the terms of your permit when conducting migratory bird rehabilitation activities.
(4) Disposition of birds under your care. (i) You must take every precaution to avoid imprinting or habituating
birds in your care to humans. If a bird becomes imprinted to humans while under your care, you will be required to
transfer the bird as directed by the issuing office.
(ii) After a bird is rehabilitated to a condition suitable for release to the wild, you must release it to suitable habitat
as soon as seasonal conditions allow, except that you may transfer a rehabilitated wild raptor to a holder of a State,
tribal, or territorial falconry permit if the permit holder is authorized to hold the species for use in falconry. The transfer
may need the approval of your State, tribe, or territory. The falconer must complete a Form 3-186A reporting the
transfer.
(A) You may not retain migratory birds longer than 180 days without additional authorization from your Regional
Migratory Bird Permit Office. If the appropriate season for release is outside the 180-day timeframe, you must seek
authorization from your Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office to possess the bird until the
appropriate season.
(B) Before releasing a threatened or endangered migratory bird, you must comply with any requirements for the
release from your Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office.
(iii) You must euthanize any bird that cannot feed itself, perch upright, or ambulate without inflicting additional
injuries to itself where medical and/or rehabilitative care will not reverse such conditions. You must euthanize any bird
that is completely blind, and any bird that has sustained injuries that would require amputation of a leg, a foot, or a
wing at the elbow or above (humero-ulnar joint) rather than performing such surgery, unless:
(A) A licensed veterinarian submits a written recommendation that the bird should be kept alive, including an
analysis of why the bird is not expected to experience the injuries and/or ailments that typically occur in birds with

these injuries and a commitment (from the veterinarian) to provide medical care for the bird for the duration of its life,
including complete examinations at least once a year;
(B) A placement is available for the bird with a person or facility authorized to possess it, where it will receive the
veterinary care described in paragraph (e)(4)(iii)(A) of this section; and
(C) The issuing office specifically authorizes continued possession, medical treatment, and rehabilitative care of
the bird.
(iv) You must obtain authorization from your issuing Migratory Bird Permit Office before euthanizing endangered
and threatened migratory bird species. In rare cases, the Service may designate a disposition other than euthanasia
for those birds. If Service personnel are not available, you may euthanize endangered and threatened migratory birds
without Service authorization when prompt euthanasia is warranted by humane consideration for the welfare of the
bird.
(v) You may place nonreleasable live birds that are suitable for use in educational programs, foster parenting,
research projects, or other permitted activities with persons permitted or otherwise authorized to possess such birds,
with prior approval from your issuing Migratory Bird Permit Office.
(vi)(A) You may donate dead birds and parts thereof, except threatened and endangered species, and bald and
golden eagles, to persons authorized by permit to possess migratory bird specimens or exempted from permit
requirements under §21.12.
(B) You must obtain approval from your issuing office before disposing of or transferring any live or dead
endangered or threatened migratory bird specimen, parts, or feathers.
(C) You must send all dead bald and golden eagles, and their parts and feathers to: National Eagle Repository,
Building 128, Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Commerce City, CO 80022. If your State requires you to notify State wildlife
officers of a dead bald or golden eagle before sending the eagle to the Repository you must comply with State
regulations. States may assume temporary possession of the carcasses for purposes of necropsy.
(D) Unless specifically required to do otherwise by the Service, you must promptly destroy all other dead
specimens by such means as are necessary to prevent any exposure of the specimens to animals in the wild.
(vii) With authorization from your issuing Migratory Bird Permit Office, you may hold a nonreleasable bird longer
than 180 days for the purpose of fostering juveniles during their rehabilitation. You may also use birds you possess
under an educational permit to foster juveniles.
(viii) You may possess a reasonable number of feathers for imping purposes, based on the numbers and species
of birds for which you regularly provide care.
(ix) You may draw blood and take other medical samples for purposes of the diagnosis and recovery of birds
under your care, or for transfer to authorized facilities conducting research pertaining to a contagious disease or other
public health hazard.
(x) You may conduct necropsies on dead specimens in your possession, except that you must obtain approval
from your Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office before conducting necropsies on threatened or endangered species.
(xi) This permit does not confer ownership of any migratory bird. All birds held under this permit remain under the
stewardship of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
(5) Notification to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (i) You must notify your issuing Migratory Bird Permit Office
within 24 hours of acquiring a threatened or endangered migratory bird species, or bald or golden eagle, whether live
or dead. You may be required to transfer these birds to another facility designated by the Service.
(ii) You must immediately notify the local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement Office if you have
reason to believe a bird has been poisoned, electrocuted, shot, or otherwise subjected to criminal activity. Contact
information for your local Service Law Enforcement office is listed on your permit, or you can obtain it on the Internet
at http://offices.fws.gov.
(iii) If the sickness, injury, or death of any bird is due or likely due to avian virus, or other contagious disease or
public health hazard, you must notify and comply with the instructions given by the State or local authority that is

responsible for tracking the suspected disease or hazard in your location, if that agency is currently collecting such
information from the public.
(6) You must maintain a working relationship with a licensed veterinarian. If your working relationship with your
original cooperating veterinarian is dissolved, you must establish an agreement within 30 days with another licensed
veterinarian to provide medical services to the birds in your care, and furnish a copy of this agreement to the issuing
office.
(7) Recordkeeping. You must maintain complete and accurate records of all migratory birds that you receive,
including for each bird the date received, type of injury or illness, disposition, and date of disposition. You must retain
these records for 5 years following the end of the calendar year covered by the records.
(8) Annual report. You must submit an annual report that includes the information required by paragraph (e)(7) for
the preceding calendar year to your issuing Migratory Bird Permit Office by the date required on your permit. You may
complete Service Form 3-202-4, or submit your annual report from a database you maintain, provided your report
contains all, and only, the information required by Form 3-202-4.
(9) At the discretion of the Regional Director, we may stipulate on the face of your permit additional conditions
compatible with the permit conditions set forth in this section, to place limits on numbers and/or types of birds you
may possess under your permit, to stipulate authorized location(s) for your rehabilitation activities, or otherwise
specify permitted activities, based on your experience and facilities.
(f) How does this permit apply to oil and hazardous waste spills? Prior to entering the location of an oil or
hazardous material spill, you must obtain authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field Response
Coordinator or other designated Service representative and obtain permission from the On-Scene Coordinator. All
activities within the location of the spill are subject to the authority of the On-Scene Coordinator. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service is responsible for the disposition of all migratory birds, dead or alive.
(1) Permit provisions in oil or hazardous material spills. (i) In addition to the rehabilitation permit provisions set
forth in paragraph (b) of this section, when under the authority of the designated U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
representative this permit further authorizes you to temporarily possess healthy, unaffected birds for the purpose of
removing them from imminent danger.
(ii) This permit does not authorize salvage of dead migratory birds. When dead migratory birds are discovered, a
Service law enforcement officer must be notified immediately in order to coordinate the handling and collection of
evidence. Contact information for your local Service Law Enforcement office is listed on your permit and on the
Internet at http://offices.fws.gov. The designated Service representative will have direct control and responsibility over
all live migratory birds, and will coordinate the collection, storage, and handling of any dead migratory birds with the
Service's Division of Law Enforcement.
(iii) You must notify your issuing Migratory Bird Permit Office of any migratory birds in your possession within 24
hours of removing such birds from the area.
(2) Conditions specific to oil and hazardous waste spills—(i) Facilities. Facilities used at the scene of oil or
hazardous waste spills may be temporary and/or mobile, and may provide less space and protection from noise and
disturbance than facilities authorized under paragraph (e)(1) of this section. Such facilities should conform as closely
as possible with the facility specifications contained in the Service policy titled Best Practices for Migratory Bird Care
During Oil Spill Response.2
2
You can obtain copies of this document by writing to the Division of Environmental Review at the address provided at 50 CFR
2.1(b).

(ii) Subpermittees. In cases of oil and hazardous waste spills, persons who assist with cleaning or treating
migratory birds at the on-scene facility will not be required to have a rehabilitation permit or be a subpermittee;
however, volunteers must be trained in rescue protocol for migratory birds affected by oil and hazardous waste spills.
A permit (or subpermittee designation) is required to perform extended rehabilitation of such birds, after initial
cleaning and treating, at a subsequent location.
(g) Will I also need a permit from the State in which I live? If your State requires a license, permit, or other
authorization to rehabilitate migratory birds, your Federal migratory bird rehabilitation permit will not be valid if you do
not also possess and adhere to the terms of the required State authorization, in addition to the Federal permit.
Nothing in this section prevents a State from making and enforcing laws or regulations consistent with this section
that are more restrictive or give further protection to migratory birds.

(h) How long is a migratory bird rehabilitation permit valid? Your rehabilitation permit will expire on the date
designated on the face of the permit unless amended or revoked. No rehabilitation permit will have a term exceeding
5 years.
[68 FR 61137, Oct. 27, 2003, as amended at 73 FR 59477, Oct. 8, 2008; 75 FR 29918, May 28, 2010; 79 FR 43965, July 29, 2014]

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Subpart D—Control of Depredating and Otherwise Injurious Birds
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§21.41 Depredation permits.
(a) Permit requirement. Except as provided in §§21.43, 21.44, and 21.46, a depredation permit is required before
any person may take, possess, or transport migratory birds for depredation control purposes. No permit is required
merely to scare or herd depredating migratory birds other than endangered or threatened species or bald or golden
eagles.
(b) Application procedures. Submit application for depredation permits to the appropriate Regional Director
(Attention: Migratory bird permit office). You can find addresses for the Regional Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Each
application must contain the general information and certification required in §13.12(a) of this subchapter, and the
following additional information:
(1) A description of the area where depredations are occurring;
(2) The nature of the crops or other interests being injured;
(3) The extent of such injury; and
(4) The particular species of migratory birds committing the injury.
(c) Additional permit conditions. Inaddition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B,
depredation permits shall be subject to requires, in this section:
(1) Permittees may not kill migratory birds unless specifically authorized on the permit.
(2) Unless otherwise specifically authorized, when permittees are authorized to kill migratory birds they may do
so only with a shotgun not larger than No. 10 gauge fired from the shoulder, and only on or over the threatened area
or area described on the permit.
(3) Permittees may not use blinds, pits, or other means of concealment, decoys, duck calls, or other devices to
lure or entice birds within gun range.
(4) All migratory birds killed shall be retrieved by the permittee and turned over to a Bureau representative or his
designee for disposition to charitable or other worthy institutions for use as food, or otherwise disposed of as provided
by law.
(5) Only persons named on the permit are authorized to act as agents of the permittee under authority of the
permit.
(d) Tenure of permits. The tenure of depredation permits shall be limited to the dates which appear on its face,
but in no case shall be longer than one year.
[39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 42 FR 17122, Mar. 31, 1977; 63 FR 52637, Oct. 1, 1998; 80 FR 15691, Mar. 25, 2015]

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§21.42 [Reserved]
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§21.43 Depredation order for blackbirds, cowbirds, crows, grackles, and magpies.

(a) Species covered.

Blackbirds
Brewer's (Euphagus
cyanocephalus)
Red-winged (Agelaius
phoeniceus)
Yellowheaded (Xanthocephalus
xanthocephalus)

Cowbirds
Crows
Grackles
Magpies
Bronzed
American (Corvus
BoatBlack(Molothrus
brachyrhynchos)
tailed (Quiscalus
billed (Pica
aeneus)
major)
hudsonia)
BrownFish (Corvus
Common (Quiscalus
headed (Molothrus ossifragus)
quiscula)
ater)
Shiny (Molothrus Northwestern (Corvus Greatbonariensis)
caurinus)
tailed (Quiscalus
mexicanus)
Greater
Antillean (Quiscalus
niger)

(b) Conditions under which control is allowed by private citizens. You do not need a Federal permit to control the
species listed in paragraph (a) of this section in the following circumstances:
(1) Where they are causing serious injuries to agricultural or horticultural crops or to livestock feed;
(2) When they cause a health hazard or structural property damage;
(3) To protect a species recognized by the Federal Government as an endangered, threatened, or candidate
species in any county in which it occurs, as shown in the Service's Environmental Conservation Online System
(http://ecos.fws.gov);
(4) To protect a species recognized by the Federal Government as an endangered or threatened species in
designated critical habitat for the species; or
(5) To protect a species recognized by a State or Tribe as endangered, threatened, candidate, or of special
concern if the control takes place within that State or on the lands of that tribe, respectively.
(6) Each calendar year, you must attempt to control depredation by species listed under this depredation order
using nonlethal methods before you may use lethal control. Nonlethal control methods can include such measures as
netting and flagging, the use of trained raptors, propane cannons, and recordings.
(c) Conditions under which control is allowed by Federal, State, and Tribal employees. You do not need a Federal
permit to control the species listed in paragraph (a) of this section in the following circumstances:
(1) Where they are causing serious injuries to agricultural or horticultural crops or to livestock feed;
(2) When they cause a health hazard or structural property damage; or
(3) To protect a species recognized by the Federal Government, a State, or a Tribe as an endangered,
threatened, or candidate, species, or a species of special concern, including critical habitat for any listed species.
(4) Each calendar year, you must attempt to control depredation by species listed under this depredation order
using nonlethal methods before you may use lethal control. Nonlethal control methods can include such measures as
netting and flagging, the use of trained raptors, propane cannons, and recordings. However, this requirement does
not apply to Federal, State, or Tribal employees conducting brown-headed cowbird trapping to protect a species
recognized by the Federal Government, a State, or a Tribe as endangered, threatened, candidate, or of special
concern.
(d) Ammunition. In most cases, if you use a firearm to kill migratory birds under the provisions of this section, you
must use nontoxic shot or nontoxic bullets to do so. See §20.21(j) of this chapter for a listing of approved nontoxic
shot types. However, this prohibition does not apply if you use an air rifle or an air pistol for control of depredating
birds.

(e) Access to control efforts. If you exercise any of the privileges granted by this section, you must allow any
Federal, State, tribal, or territorial wildlife law enforcement officer unrestricted access at all reasonable times
(including during actual operations) over the premises on which you are conducting the control. You must furnish the
officer whatever information he or she may require about your control operations.
(f) Trapping conditions. You must comply with the following conditions if you attempt to trap any species under
this order.
(1) You may possess, transport, and use a lure bird or birds of the species listed in paragraph (a) that you wish to
trap.
(2) You must check each trap at least once every day it is deployed.
(3) At temperatures above 80 °Fahrenheit, the traps must provide shade for captured birds.
(4) Each trap must contain adequate food and water.
(5) You must promptly release all healthy nontarget birds that you capture.
(6) If a federally permitted wildlife rehabilitator is within 1 hour or less of your capture efforts, you must send
injured or debilitated nontarget federally protected migratory birds to the rehabilitator. If no rehabilitator is closer than
1 hour away, you may euthanize an injured or debilitated bird of a nontarget species unless the species is federally
listed as an endangered, threatened, or candidate species, in which case you must deliver it to a rehabilitator and
report the take to the nearest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field Office or Special Agent.
(7) You must report captures of nontarget federally protected migratory birds in your annual report (see
paragraph (i) of this section).
(g) Euthanasia. Captured birds and wounded or injured birds of the species listed in paragraph (a) may only be
killed by carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide inhalation, or by cervical dislocation performed by well-trained personnel
who are regularly monitored to ensure proficiency.
(h) Disposition of birds and parts. You may not sell, or offer to sell, any bird, or any part thereof, killed under this
section, but you may possess, transport, and otherwise dispose of the bird or its parts, including transferring them to
authorized research or educational institutions. If not transferred, the bird and its parts must either be burned, or
buried at least 1 mile from the nesting area of any migratory bird species recognized by the Federal Government, the
State, or a Tribe as an endangered or threatened species.
(i) Annual report. Any person, business, organization, or government official acting under this depredation order
must provide an annual report using FWS Form 3-202-21-2143 to the appropriate Regional Migratory Bird Permit
Office. The addresses for the Regional Migratory Bird Permit Offices are provided at 50 CFR 2.2, and are on the form.
The report is due by January 31st of the following year and must include the information requested on the form.
(j) Compliance with other laws. You may trap and kill birds under this order only in a way that complies with all
State, tribal, or territorial laws or regulations. You must have any State, tribal, or territorial permit required to conduct
the activity.
(k) Information collection. The Office of Management and Budget has approved the information collection
requirements associated with this depredation order and assigned OMB Control No. 1018-0146. We may not conduct
or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number. You may send comments on the information collection requirements to the Service's Information
Collection Clearance Officer at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b).
[79 FR 65601, Nov. 5, 2014]

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§21.44 Depredation order for horned larks, house finches, and white-crowned sparrows in California.
Horned larks (Eremophila alpestris), house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus), and white-crowned sparrows
(Zonotrichia leucophrys) may be taken in Fresno, Merced, Napa, and Sonoma Counties in California if they are
depredating on agricultural or horticultural crops. Take of birds under this order must be done under the supervision of
the county agriculture commissioner. You do not need a Federal permit for this depredation control as long as you

meet the conditions below, but a depredation permit (see §21.41 in this subpart) is required for take of other migratory
bird species, or for take of horned larks or white-crowned sparrows from May 1 through October 31.
(a) When is take allowed under this depredation order?
(1) Horned larks and white-crowned sparrows may be controlled from November 1 through April 30.
(2) House finches may be controlled at any time.
(b) Use of nonlethal control. Each season, before lethal control may be undertaken, the landowner must attempt
to use nonlethal control of migratory bird depredation as recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services. The county agriculture commissioner must confirm that
nonlethal measures have been undertaken to control or eliminate the problem prior to the landowner using lethal
control.
(c) Ammunition. Except when using an air rifle or an air pistol, if firearms are used to kill migratory birds under the
provisions of this regulation, the shooter must use nontoxic shot or nontoxic bullets to do so. See §20.21(j) of this
chapter for a listing of approved nontoxic shot types.
(d) Disposition of carcasses. Specimens useful for scientific purposes may be transferred to any entity authorized
to possess them. If not transferred, all carcasses of birds killed under this order must be buried or otherwise
destroyed. None of the above migratory birds killed, or the parts thereof, or the plumage of such birds, may be sold or
removed from the area where killed.
(e) Annual report. Any county official acting under this depredation order must provide an annual report to the
Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office using FWS Form 3-202-20-2144. The address for the Regional Migratory Bird
Permit Office is in §2.2 of subchapter A of this chapter, and is on the form. The report is due by January 31st of the
year after control activities are undertaken.
[78 FR 65581, Nov. 1, 2013]

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§21.45 [Reserved]
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§21.46 Depredation order for depredating scrub jays and Steller's jays in Washington and Oregon.
Landowners, sharecroppers, tenants, or their employees or agents actually engaged in the production of nut
crops in Washington and Oregon may, without a permit, take scrub jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) and Steller's jays
(Cyanocitta stelleri) when found committing or about to commit serious depredations to nut crops on the premises
owned or occupied by such persons: Provided:
(a) That scrub jays and Steller's jays may only be taken pursuant to this section between August 1 and
December 1 in any year, in the Washington counties of Clark, Cowlitz, and Lewis; and the Oregon counties of Benton,
Clackamas, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington, and Yamhill.
(b) That scrub jays and Steller's jays taken pursuant to this section shall not be transported or sold or offered for
sale except that, such transportation within the area, as may be necessary to bury or otherwise destroy the carcasses
of such birds is permitted: Provided, That the Director of the State agricultural department, college, or other public
institution may requisition such scrub jays and Steller's jays killed as may be needed for scientific investigations.
(c) That such birds may be taken only by trapping or shooting and on areas where serious depredations are
being or are about to be committed.
(d) That any person exercising any of the privileges granted by this section shall permit at all reasonable times,
including during actual operations, any Federal or State game or deputy game agent, warden, protector, or other law
enforcement officer free and unrestricted access over the premises on which such operations have been or are being
conducted; and shall furnish promptly to such officer whatever information he may require, concerning said
operations.

(e) That nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the killing of such migratory birds contrary to any
State laws or regulations; and that none of the privileges granted under this section shall be exercised unless the
person possesses whatever permit as may be required for such activities by the States of Washington and Oregon.
(f) That any person authorized by this section to exercise the privileges granted therein shall maintain records of
the number of birds killed on the premises and shall submit a report thereof, on or before December 31 of each year,
to the appropriate Special Agent in Charge (see §10.22 of this subchapter).
[39 FR 31326, Aug. 28, 1974]

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§§21.47-21.48 [Reserved]
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§21.49 Control order for resident Canada geese at airports and military airfields.
(a) Which Canada geese are covered by this order? This regulation addresses the control and management of
resident Canada geese, as defined in §21.3.
(b) What is the control order for resident Canada geese at airports, and what is its purpose? The airport control
order authorizes managers at commercial, public, and private airports (airports) (and their employees or their agents)
and military air operation facilities (military airfields) (and their employees or their agents) to establish and implement
a control and management program when necessary to resolve or prevent threats to public safety from resident
Canada geese. Control and management activities include indirect and/or direct control strategies such as trapping
and relocation, nest and egg destruction, gosling and adult trapping and culling programs, or other lethal and nonlethal control strategies.
(c) Who may participate in the program? To be designated as an airport that is authorized to participate in this
program, an airport must be part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems and have received Federal grantin-aid assistance, or a military airfield, meaning an airfield or air station that is under the jurisdiction, custody, or
control of the Secretary of a military department. Only airports and military airfields in the lower 48 States and the
District of Columbia are eligible to conduct and implement the various resident Canada goose control and
management program components.
(d) What are the restrictions of the control order for resident Canada geese at airports and military airfields?The
airport control order for resident Canada geese is subject to the following restrictions:
(1) Airports and military airfields should use nonlethal goose management tools to the extent they deem
appropriate. To minimize lethal take, airports and military airfields should follow this procedure:
(i) Assess the problem to determine its extent or magnitude, its impact on current operations, and the appropriate
control method to be used.
(ii) Base control methods on sound biological, environmental, social, and cultural factors.
(iii) Formulate appropriate methods into a control strategy that uses several control techniques rather than relying
on a single method.
(iv) Implement all appropriate nonlethal management techniques (such as harassment and habitat modification)
in conjunction with take authorized under this order.
(2)(i) Methods of take for the control of resident Canada geese are at the airport's and military airfield's discretion
from among the following:
(A) Egg oiling,
(B) Egg and nest destruction,
(C) Shooting,
(D) Lethal and live traps,

(E) Nets,
(F) Registered animal drugs, pesticides, and repellants,
(G) Cervical dislocation, and
(H) CO2 asphyxiation.
(ii) Birds caught live may be euthanized or transported and relocated to another site approved by the State or
Tribal wildlife agency, if required.
(iii) All techniques used must be in accordance with other Federal, State, and local laws, and their use must
comply with any labeling restrictions.
(iv) Persons using shotguns must use nontoxic shot, as listed in §20.21(j) of this subchapter.
(v) Persons using egg oiling must use 100 percent corn oil, a substance exempted from regulation by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
(3) Airports and military airfields may conduct management and control activities, involving the take of resident
Canada geese, under this section between April 1 and September 15. The destruction of resident Canada goose
nests and eggs may take place between March 1 and June 30.
(4) Airports and military airfields and their employees and agents may possess, transport, and otherwise dispose
of resident Canada geese taken under this section. Disposal of birds taken under this order may be by donation to
public museums or public institutions for scientific or educational purposes, processing for human consumption and
subsequent distribution free of charge to charitable organizations, or burial or incineration. Airports/military airfields,
their employees, and designated agents may not sell, offer for sale, barter, or ship for the purpose of sale or barter
any resident Canada geese taken under this section, nor their plumage or eggs. Any specimens needed for scientific
purposes as determined by the Regional Director must not be destroyed, and information on birds carrying metal leg
bands must be submitted to the Bird Banding Laboratory by means of a toll-free telephone number at 1-800-327BAND (or 2263).
(5) Resident Canada geese may be taken only within the airport, or the military base on which a military airfield is
located, or within a 3-mile radius of the outer boundary of such a facility. Airports and military airfields or their agents
must first obtain all necessary authorizations from landowners for all management activities conducted outside the
airport or military airfield's boundaries and be in compliance with all State and local laws and regulations.
(6) Nothing in this section authorizes the killing of resident Canada geese or destruction of their nests and eggs
contrary to the laws or regulations of any State or Tribe, and none of the privileges of this section may be exercised
unless the airport or military airfield possesses the appropriate State or Tribal authorization or other permits required
by the State or Tribe. Moreover, this section does not authorize the killing of any migratory bird species or destruction
of their nest or eggs other than resident Canada geese.
(7) Authorized airports and military airfields, and their employees and agents operating under the provisions of
this section may not use decoys, calls, or other devices to lure birds within gun range.
(8) Airports and military airfields exercising the privileges granted by this section must submit an annual report
summarizing activities, including the date and numbers and location of birds, nests, and eggs taken, by December 31
of each year to the Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office listed in §2.2 of this subchapter.
(9) Nothing in this section applies to any Federal land without written permission of the Federal agency with
jurisdiction.
(10) Airports and military airfields may not undertake any actions under this section if the activities adversely
affect other migratory birds or species designated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the
Endangered Species Act. Persons operating under this order must immediately report the take of any species
protected under the Endangered Species Act to the Service. Further, to protect certain species from being adversely
affected by management actions, airports and military airfields must:
(i) Follow the Federal-State Contingency Plan for the whooping crane;
(ii) Conduct no activities within 300 meters of a whooping crane or Mississippi sandhill crane nest;

(iii) Follow all Regional (or National when available) Bald Eagle Nesting Management guidelines for all
management activities;
(iv) Contact the Arizona Ecological Services Office (for the Colorado River and Arizona sites) or the Carlsbad
Fish and Wildlife Office (for Salton Sea sites) if control activities are proposed in or around occupied habitats (cattail
or cattail bulrush marshes) to discuss the proposed activity and ensure that implementation will not adversely affect
clapper rails or their habitats; and
(v) In California, any control activities of resident Canada geese in areas used by the following species listed
under the Endangered Species Act must be done in coordination with the appropriate local FWS field office and in
accordance with standard local operating procedures for avoiding adverse effects to the species or its critical habitat:
(A) Birds: Light-footed clapper rail, California clapper rail, Yuma clapper rail, California least tern, southwestern
willow flycatcher, least Bell's vireo, western snowy plover, California gnatcatcher.
(B) Amphibians: California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander.
(C) Insects: Valley elderberry longhorn beetle and delta green ground beetle.
(D) Crustaceans: Vernal pool fairy shrimp, conservancy fairy shrimp, longhorn fairy shrimp, vernal pool tadpole
shrimp, San Diego fairy shrimp, and Riverside fairy shrimp.
(E) Plants: Butte County meadowfoam, large-flowered wooly meadowfoam, Cook's lomatium, Contra Costa
goldfields, Hoover's spurge, fleshy owl's clover, Colusa grass, hairy Orcutt grass, Solano grass, Greene's tuctoria,
Sacramento Valley Orcutt grass, San Joaquin Valley Orcutt grass, slender Orcutt grass, California Orcutt grass,
spreading navarretia, and San Jacinto Valley crownscale.
(e) Can the control order be suspended? We reserve the right to suspend or revoke an airport's or military
airfield's authority under this control order if we find that the terms and conditions specified in the control order have
not been adhered to by that airport or military airfield. Final decisions to revoke authority will be made by the
appropriate Regional Director. The criteria and procedures for suspension, revocation, reconsideration, and appeal
are outlined in §§13.27 through 13.29 of this subchapter. For the purposes of this section, “issuing officer” means the
Regional Director and “permit” means the authority to act under this control order. For purposes of §13.29(e), appeals
must be made to the Director.
(f) Has the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection requirements of the
control order? OMB has approved the information collection and recordkeeping requirements of the control order
under OMB control number 1018-0133. We may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. You may send comments on the
information collection and recordkeeping requirements to the Service's Information Collection Clearance Officer at the
address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b).
[71 FR 45986, Aug. 10, 2006, as amended at 72 FR 46408, Aug. 20, 2007; 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014]

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§21.50 Depredation order for resident Canada geese nests and eggs.
(a) Which Canada geese are covered by this order? This regulation addresses the control and management of
resident Canada geese, as defined in §21.3.
(b) What is the depredation order for resident Canada geese nests and eggs, and what is its purpose? The nest
and egg depredation order for resident Canada geese authorizes private landowners and managers of public lands
(landowners); homeowners' associations; and village, town, municipality, and county governments (local
governments); and the employees or agents of any of these persons or entities to destroy resident Canada goose
nests and eggs on property under their jurisdiction when necessary to resolve or prevent injury to people, property,
agricultural crops, or other interests.
(c) Who may participate in the depredation order? Only landowners, homeowners' associations, and local
governments (and their employees or their agents) in the lower 48 States and the District of Columbia are eligible to
implement the resident Canada goose nest and egg depredation order.

(d) What are the restrictions of the depredation order for resident Canada goose nests and eggs? The resident
Canada goose nest and egg depredation order is subject to the following restrictions:
(1) Before any management actions can be taken, landowners, homeowners' associations, and local
governments must register with the Service at https://epermits.fws.gov/eRCGR. Landowners, homeowners'
associations, and local governments (collectively termed “registrants”) must also register each employee or agent
working on their behalf. Once registered, registrants and agents will be authorized to act under the depredation order.
(2) Registrants authorized to operate under the depredation order must use nonlethal goose management
techniques to the extent they deem appropriate in an effort to minimize take.
(3) Methods of nest and egg destruction or take are at the registrant's discretion from among the following:
(i) Egg oiling, using 100 percent corn oil, a substance exempted from regulation by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, and
(ii) Egg and nest destruction, including but not limited to the removal and disposal of eggs and nest material.
(4) Registrants may conduct resident Canada goose nest and egg destruction activities between March 1 and
June 30. Homeowners' associations and local governments or their agents must obtain landowner consent prior to
destroying nests and eggs on private property within the homeowners' association or local government's jurisdiction
and be in compliance with all State and local laws and regulations.
(5) Registrants authorized to operate under the depredation order may possess, transport, and dispose of
resident Canada goose nests and eggs taken under this section. Registrants authorized to operate under the
program may not sell, offer for sale, barter, or ship for the purpose of sale or barter any resident Canada goose nest
or egg taken under this section.
(6) Registrants exercising the privileges granted by this section must submit an annual report summarizing
activities, including the date, numbers, and location of nests and eggs taken by October 31 of each year
at https://epermits.fws.gov/eRCGR before any subsequent registration for the following year.
(7) Nothing in this section authorizes the destruction of resident Canada goose nests or the take of resident
Canada goose eggs contrary to the laws or regulations of any State or Tribe, and none of the privileges of this section
may be exercised unless the registrant is authorized to operate under the program and possesses the appropriate
State or Tribal permits, when required. Moreover, this section does not authorize the killing of any migratory bird
species or destruction of their nest or eggs other than resident Canada geese.
(8) Registrants may not undertake any actions under this section if the activities adversely affect species
designated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. Persons operating
under this order must immediately report the take of any species protected under the Endangered Species Act to the
Service. Further, to protect certain species from being adversely affected by management actions, registrants must:
(i) Follow the Federal-State Contingency Plan for the whooping crane;
(ii) Conduct no activities within 300 meters of a whooping crane or Mississippi sandhill crane nest;
(iii) Follow all Regional (or National when available) Bald Eagle Nesting Management guidelines for all
management activities;
(iv) Contact the Arizona Ecological Services Office (for the Colorado River and Arizona sites) or the Carlsbad
Fish and Wildlife Office (for Salton Sea sites) if control activities are proposed in or around occupied habitats (cattail
or cattail bulrush marshes) to discuss the proposed activity and ensure that implementation will not adversely affect
clapper rails or their habitats; and
(v) In California, any control activities of resident Canada geese in areas used by the following species listed
under the Endangered Species Act must be done in coordination with the appropriate local FWS field office and in
accordance with standard local operating procedures for avoiding adverse effects to the species or its critical habitat:
(A) Birds: Light-footed clapper rail, California clapper rail, Yuma clapper rail, California least tern, southwestern
willow flycatcher, least Bell's vireo, western snowy plover, California gnatcatcher.
(B) Amphibians: California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander.

(C) Insects: Valley elderberry longhorn beetle and delta green ground beetle.
(D) Crustaceans: Vernal pool fairy shrimp, conservancy fairy shrimp, longhorn fairy shrimp, vernal pool tadpole
shrimp, San Diego fairy shrimp, and Riverside fairy shrimp.
(E) Plants: Butte County meadowfoam, large-flowered wooly meadowfoam, Cook's lomatium, Contra Costa
goldfields, Hoover's spurge, fleshy owl's clover, Colusa grass, hairy Orcutt grass, Solano grass, Greene's tuctoria,
Sacramento Valley Orcutt grass, San Joaquin Valley Orcutt grass, slender Orcutt grass, California Orcutt grass,
spreading navarretia, and San Jacinto Valley crownscale.
(e) Can the depredation order be suspended? We reserve the right to suspend or revoke this authorization for a
particular landowner, homeowners' association, or local government if we find that the registrant has not adhered to
the terms and conditions specified in the depredation order. Final decisions to revoke authority will be made by the
appropriate Regional Director. The criteria and procedures for suspension, revocation, reconsideration, and appeal
are outlined in §§13.27 through 13.29 of this subchapter. For the purposes of this section, “issuing officer” means the
Regional Director and “permit” means the authority to act under this depredation order. For purposes of §13.29(e),
appeals must be made to the Director. Additionally, at such time that we determine that resident Canada goose
populations no longer need to be reduced in order to resolve or prevent injury to people, property, agricultural crops,
or other interests, we may choose to terminate part or all of the depredation order by subsequent regulation. In all
cases, we will annually review the necessity and effectiveness of the depredation order.
(f) Has the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection requirements of the
depredation order? OMB has approved the information collection and recordkeeping requirements of the depredation
order under OMB control number 1018-0133. We may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. You may send comments on
the information collection and recordkeeping requirements to the Service's Information Collection Clearance Officer at
the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b).
[71 FR 45988, Aug. 10, 2006, as amended at 72 FR 46408, Aug. 20, 2007; 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014]

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§21.51 Depredation order for resident Canada geese at agricultural facilities.
(a) Which Canada geese are covered by this order? This regulation addresses the control and management of
resident Canada geese, as defined in §21.3.
(b) What is the depredation order for resident Canada geese at agricultural facilities, and what is its purpose?The
depredation order for resident Canada geese at agricultural facilities authorizes States and Tribes, via the State or
Tribal wildlife agency, to implement a program to allow landowners, operators, and tenants actively engaged in
commercial agriculture (agricultural producers) (or their employees or agents) to conduct direct damage management
actions such as nest and egg destruction, gosling and adult trapping and culling programs, or other lethal and nonlethal wildlife-damage management strategies on resident Canada geese when the geese are committing
depredations to agricultural crops and when necessary to resolve or prevent injury to agricultural crops or other
agricultural interests from resident Canada geese.
(c) Who may participate in the depredation order? State and Tribal wildlife agencies in the following States may
authorize agricultural producers (or their employees or agents) to conduct and implement various components of the
depredation order at agricultural facilities in the Atlantic, Central, and Mississippi Flyway portions of these States:
Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and
Wyoming.
(d) What are the restrictions of the depredation order for resident Canada geese at agricultural facilities? The
depredation order for resident Canada geese at agricultural facilities is subject to the following restrictions:
(1) Only landowners, operators, and tenants (or their employees or agents) actively engaged in commercial
activities (agricultural producers) so designated by the States may act under this order.
(2) Authorized agricultural producers should use nonlethal goose management tools to the extent they deem
appropriate. To minimize lethal take, agricultural producers should adhere to the following procedure:

(i) Assess the problem to determine its extent or magnitude, its impact to current operations, and the appropriate
control method to be used.
(ii) Base control methods on sound biological, environmental, social, and cultural factors.
(iii) Formulate appropriate methods into a control strategy that uses the approach/concept that encourages the
use of several control techniques rather than relying on a single method.
(iv) Implement all appropriate nonlethal management techniques (such as harassment and habitat modification)
in conjunction with take authorized under this order.
(3)(i) Methods of take for the control of resident Canada geese are at the State's or Tribe's discretion among the
following:
(A) Egg oiling,
(B) Egg and nest destruction,
(C) Shotguns,
(D) Lethal and live traps,
(E) Nets,
(F) Registered animal drugs, pesticides, and repellants,
(G) Cervical dislocation, and
(H) CO2 asphyxiation.
(ii) Birds caught live may be euthanized or transported and relocated to another site approved by the State or
Tribal wildlife agency, if required.
(iii) All techniques used must be in accordance with other Federal, State, Tribal, and local laws, and their use
must comply with any labeling restrictions.
(iv) Persons using shotguns must use nontoxic shot, as listed in §20.21(j) of this subchapter.
(v) Persons using egg oiling must use 100 percent corn oil, a substance exempted from regulation by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
(4) Authorized agricultural producers and their employees and agents may conduct management and control
activities, involving the take of resident Canada geese, under this section between May 1 and August 31. The
destruction of resident Canada goose nests and eggs may take place between March 1 and June 30.
(5) Authorized agricultural producers and their employees and agents may possess, transport, and otherwise
dispose of resident Canada geese taken under this section. Disposal of birds taken under this order may be by
donation to public museums or public institutions for scientific or educational purposes, processing for human
consumption and subsequent distribution free of charge to charitable organizations, or burial or incineration.
Agricultural producers, their employees, and designated agents may not sell, offer for sale, barter, or ship for the
purpose of sale or barter any resident Canada geese taken under this section, nor their plumage or eggs. Any
specimens needed for scientific purposes as determined by the Director must not be destroyed, and information on
birds carrying metal leg bands must be submitted to the Bird Banding Laboratory by means of a toll-free telephone
number at 1-800-327-BAND (or 2263).
(6) Resident Canada geese may be taken only on land which an authorized agricultural producer personally
controls and where geese are committing depredations to agricultural crops.
(7) Authorized agricultural producers, and their employees and agents, operating under the provisions of this
section may not use decoys, calls, or other devices to lure birds within gun range.
(8) Any authorized agricultural producer exercising the privileges of this section must keep and maintain a log
that indicates the date and number of birds killed and the date and number of nests and eggs taken under this
authorization. The log must be maintained for a period of 3 years (and records for 3 previous years of takings must be

maintained at all times thereafter). The log and any related records must be made available to Federal, State, or
Tribal wildlife enforcement officers upon request during normal business hours.
(9) Nothing in this section authorizes the killing of resident Canada geese or the destruction of their nests and
eggs contrary to the laws or regulations of any State or Tribe, and none of the privileges of this section may be
exercised unless the agricultural producer possesses the appropriate State or Tribal permits, when required.
Moreover, this regulation does not authorize the killing of any migratory bird species or destruction of their nests or
eggs other than resident Canada geese.
(10) States and Tribes exercising the privileges granted by this section must submit an annual report
summarizing activities, including the numbers and County of birds, nests, and eggs taken, by December 31 of each
year to the Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office listed in §2.2 of this subchapter.
(11) Nothing in this section applies to any Federal land without written permission of the Federal agency with
jurisdiction.
(12) Authorized agricultural producers may not undertake any actions under this section if the activities adversely
affect other migratory birds or species designated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the
Endangered Species Act. Persons operating under this order must immediately report the take of any species
protected under the Endangered Species Act to the Service. Further, to protect certain species from being adversely
affected by management actions, agricultural producers must:
(i) Follow the Federal-State Contingency Plan for the whooping crane;
(ii) Conduct no activities within 300 meters of a whooping crane or Mississippi sandhill crane nest; and
(iii) Follow all Regional (or National when available) Bald Eagle Nesting Management guidelines for all
management activities.
(e) Can the depredation order be suspended? We reserve the right to suspend or revoke a State, Tribal, or
agricultural producer's authority under this program if we find that the terms and conditions specified in the
depredation order have not been adhered to by that State or Tribe. Final decisions to revoke authority will be made by
the appropriate Regional Director. The criteria and procedures for suspension, revocation, reconsideration, and
appeal are outlined in §§13.27 through 13.29 of this subchapter. For the purposes of this section, “issuing officer”
means the Regional Director and “permit” means the authority to act under this depredation order. For purposes of
§13.29(e), appeals must be made to the Director. Additionally, at such time that we determine that resident Canada
geese populations no longer pose a threat to agricultural crops or no longer need to be reduced in order to resolve or
prevent injury to agricultural crops or other agricultural interests, we may choose to terminate part or all of the
depredation order by subsequent regulation. In all cases, we will annually review the necessity and effectiveness of
the depredation order.
(f) Has the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection requirements of the
depredation order? OMB has approved the information collection and recordkeeping requirements of the depredation
order under OMB control number 1018-0133. We may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. You may send comments on
the information collection and recordkeeping requirements to the Service's Information Collection Clearance Officer at
the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b).
[71 FR 45989, Aug. 10, 2006, as amended at 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014]

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§21.52 Public health control order for resident Canada geese.
(a) Which Canada geese are covered by this order? This regulation addresses the control and management of
resident Canada geese, as defined in §21.3.
(b) What is the public health control order for resident Canada geese, and what is its purpose? The public health
control order for resident Canada geese authorizes States, Tribes, and the District of Columbia, via the State or Tribal
wildlife agency, to conduct resident Canada goose control and management activities including direct control
strategies such as trapping and relocation, nest and egg destruction, gosling and adult trapping and culling programs,
or other lethal and non-lethal wildlife damage-management strategies when resident Canada geese are posing a
direct threat to human health.

(c) What is a direct threat to human health? A direct threat to human health is one where a Federal, State, Tribal,
or local public health agency has determined that resident Canada geese pose a specific, immediate human health
threat by creating conditions conducive to the transmission of human or zoonotic pathogens. The State or Tribe may
not use this control order for situations in which resident Canada geese are merely causing a nuisance.
(d) Who may participate in the program? Only State and Tribal wildlife agencies in the lower 48 States and the
District of Columbia (or their employees or agents) may conduct and implement the various components of the public
health control order for resident Canada geese.
(e) What are the restrictions of the public health depredation order for resident Canada geese? The public health
control order for resident Canada geese is subject to the following restrictions:
(1) Authorized State and Tribal wildlife agencies should use nonlethal goose management tools to the extent they
deem appropriate.
(2)(i) Methods of take for the control of resident Canada geese are at the State's and Tribe's discretion from
among the following:
(A) Egg oiling,
(B) Egg and nest destruction,
(C) Shotguns,
(D) Lethal and live traps,
(E) Nets,
(F) Registered animal drugs, pesticides, and repellants,
(G) Cervical dislocation, and
(H) CO2 asphyxiation.
(ii) Birds caught live may be euthanized or transported and relocated to another site approved by the State or
Tribal wildlife agency, if required.
(iii) All techniques used must be in accordance with other Federal, State, Tribal, and local laws, and their use
must comply with any labeling restrictions.
(iv) Persons using shotguns must use nontoxic shot, as listed in §20.21(j) of this subchapter.
(v) Persons using egg oiling must use 100 percent corn oil, a substance exempted from regulation by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
(3) Authorized State and Tribal wildlife agencies and their employees and agents may conduct management and
control activities, involving the take of resident Canada geese, under this section between April 1 and August 31. The
destruction of resident Canada goose nests and eggs may take place between March 1 and June 30.
(4) Authorized State and Tribal wildlife agencies and their employees and agents may possess, transport, and
otherwise dispose of resident Canada geese taken under this section. Disposal of birds taken under this order may
be by donation to public museums or public institutions for scientific or educational purposes, processing for human
consumption and subsequent distribution free of charge to charitable organizations, or burial or incineration. States,
their employees, and designated agents may not sell, offer for sale, barter, or ship for the purpose of sale or barter
any resident Canada geese taken under this section, nor their plumage or eggs. Any specimens needed for scientific
purposes as determined by the Regional Director must not be destroyed, and information on birds carrying metal leg
bands must be submitted to the Bird Banding Laboratory by means of a toll-free telephone number at 1-800-327BAND (or 2263).
(5) Resident Canada geese may be taken only within the specified area of the direct threat to human health.
(6) Authorized State and Tribal wildlife agencies, and their employees and agents operating under the provisions
of this section may not use decoys, calls, or other devices to lure birds within gun range.

(7) No person conducting activities under this section should construe the program as authorizing the killing of
resident Canada geese or destruction of their nests and eggs contrary to any State law or regulation, nor may any
control activities be conducted on any Federal land without specific authorization by the responsible management
agency. No person may exercise the privileges granted under this section unless they possess any permits required
for such activities by any State or Federal land manager.
(8) Any State or Tribal employee or designated agent authorized to carry out activities under this section must
have a copy of the State's or Tribal authorization and designation in their possession when carrying out any activities.
If the State or Tribe is conducting operations on private property, the State or Tribe must also require the property
owner or occupant on whose premises resident Canada goose activities are being conducted to allow, at all
reasonable times, including during actual operations, free and unrestricted access to any Service special agent or
refuge officer, State or Tribal wildlife or deputy wildlife agent, warden, protector, or other wildlife law enforcement
officer on the premises where they are, or were, conducting activities. Furthermore, any State or Tribal employee or
designated agent conducting such activities must promptly furnish whatever information is required concerning such
activities to any such wildlife officer.
(9) States and Tribes exercising the privileges granted by this section must submit an annual report summarizing
activities, including the numbers and County of birds taken, by December 31 of each year to the Regional Migratory
Bird Permit Office listed in §2.2 of this subchapter.
(10) Authorized State and Tribal wildlife agencies may not undertake any actions under this section if the
activities adversely affect other migratory birds or species designated as endangered or threatened under the
authority of the Endangered Species Act. Persons operating under this order must immediately report the take of any
species protected under the Endangered Species Act to the Service. Further, to protect certain species from being
adversely affected by management actions, State and Tribal wildlife agencies must:
(i) Follow the Federal-State Contingency Plan for the whooping crane;
(ii) Conduct no activities within 300 meters of a whooping crane or Mississippi sandhill crane nest;
(iii) Follow all Regional (or National when available) Bald Eagle Nesting Management guidelines for all
management activities;
(iv) Contact the Arizona Fish and Wildlife Service Ecological Services Office (for the Colorado River and Arizona
sites) or the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (for Salton Sea sites) if control activities are proposed in or around
occupied habitats (cattail or cattail bulrush marshes) to discuss the proposed activity and ensure that implementation
will not adversely affect clapper rails or their habitats; and
(v) In California, any control activities of resident Canada geese in areas used by the following species listed
under the Endangered Species Act must be done in coordination with the appropriate local FWS field office and in
accordance with standard local operating procedures for avoiding adverse effects to the species or its critical habitat:
(A) Birds: Light-footed clapper rail, California clapper rail, Yuma clapper rail, California least tern, southwestern
willow flycatcher, least Bell's vireo, western snowy plover, California gnatcatcher.
(B) Amphibians: California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander.
(C) Insects: Valley elderberry longhorn beetle and delta green ground beetle.
(D) Crustaceans: Vernal pool fairy shrimp, conservancy fairy shrimp, longhorn fairy shrimp, vernal pool tadpole
shrimp, San Diego fairy shrimp, and Riverside fairy shrimp.
(E) Plants: Butte County meadowfoam, large-flowered wooly meadowfoam, Cook's lomatium, Contra Costa
goldfields, Hoover's spurge, fleshy owl's clover, Colusa grass, hairy Orcutt grass, Solano grass, Greene's tuctoria,
Sacramento Valley Orcutt grass, San Joaquin Valley Orcutt grass, slender Orcutt grass, California Orcutt grass,
spreading navarretia, and San Jacinto Valley crownscale.
(f) Can the control order be suspended? We reserve the right to suspend or revoke a State's or Tribe's authority
under this program if we find that the terms and conditions specified in the depredation order have not been adhered
to by that agency. Final decisions to revoke authority will be made by the appropriate Regional Director. The criteria
and procedures for suspension, revocation, reconsideration, and appeal are outlined in §§13.27 through 13.29 of this
subchapter. For the purposes of this section, “issuing officer” means the Regional Director and “permit” means the
authority to act under this control order. For purposes of §13.29(e), appeals must be made to the Director.

Additionally, at such time that we determine that resident Canada geese populations no longer pose direct threats to
human health, we may choose to terminate part or all of the control order by subsequent regulation. In all cases, we
will annually review the necessity and effectiveness of the control order.
(g) Has the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection requirements of the
control order? OMB has approved the information collection and recordkeeping requirements of the control order
under OMB control number 1018-0133. We may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. You may send comments on the
information collection and recordkeeping requirements to the Service's Information Collection Clearance Officer at the
address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b).
[71 FR 45990, Aug. 10, 2006, as amended at 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014]

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§21.53 Control order for purple swamphens.
(a) Control of purple swamphens. Federal, State, Tribal, and local wildlife management agencies, and their
tenants, employees, or agents may remove or destroy purple swamphens (Porphyrio porphyrio) or their nests or eggs
at any time when they find them anywhere in the contiguous United States, Hawaii, Alaska, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Any authorized agency personnel may temporarily possess, transport, and
dispose of purple swamphens, subject to the restrictions in paragraph (c) of this section. No permit is necessary to
engage in these actions.
(b) Disposal of purple swamphens. If you are authorized to control purple swamphens, you may dispose of
purple swamphens by the following methods: You may donate purple swamphens taken under this order to public
museums or public institutions for scientific or educational purposes; you may dispose of the carcasses by burial or
incineration; or, if the carcasses are not readily retrievable, you may leave them in place. No one may retain for
personal use, offer for sale, or sell a purple swamphen removed under this section.
(c) Other provisions. (1) You may not remove or destroy purple swamphens or their nests or eggs if doing so is
contrary to any State, territorial, tribal, or local laws or regulations.
(2) You may not remove or destroy purple swamphens or their nests or eggs if doing so will adversely affect other
migratory birds or species designated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species
Act. In particular, the purple swamphen resembles the native purple gallinule (Porphyrula martinica). Authorized
persons must take special care not to take purple gallinules or their nests or eggs when conducting purple swamphen
control activities.
(3) If you use firearms to control purple swamphens under this regulation, you may use only nontoxic shot or
nontoxic bullets for the control.
(4) If, while operating under this regulation, an authorized person takes any other species protected under the
Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, or the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, that person
must immediately report the take to the nearest Ecological Services office of the Fish and Wildlife Service. See
http://www.fws.gov/where/ to find the location of the nearest Ecological Services office.
(5) We may suspend or revoke the authority of any agency or individual to undertake purple swamphen control if
we find that agency or individual has, without an applicable permit, taken actions that may take Federally listed
threatened or endangered species or any bird species protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act or the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (see §10.13 of subchapter A of this chapter for the list of protected migratory bird species),
or otherwise violated Federal regulations.
[75 FR 9316, Mar. 1, 2010, as amended at 80 FR 15691, Mar. 25, 2015]

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§21.54 Control order for muscovy ducks in the United States.
(a) Control of muscovy ducks. Anywhere in the contiguous United States except in Hidalgo, Starr, and Zapata
Counties in Texas, and in Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories and possessions, landowners and Federal, State,
Tribal, and local wildlife management agencies, and their tenants, employees, or agents may, without a Federal
permit, remove or destroy muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) (including hybrids of muscovy ducks), or their nests, or

eggs at any time when found. Any authorized person may temporarily possess, transport, and dispose of muscovy
ducks taken under this order.
(b) Muscovy ducks in Hidalgo, Starr, and Zapata Counties in Texas. In these counties, take of muscovy ducks,
their nests, and their eggs may be allowed if we issue a depredation permit for the activity.
(c) Disposal of muscovy ducks. You may donate muscovy ducks taken under this order to public museums or
public institutions for scientific or educational purposes, or you may dispose of them by burying or incinerating them.
You may not retain for personal use or consumption, offer for sale, or sell a muscovy duck removed under authority of
this section, nor may you release it in any other location.
(d) Other provisions. (1) You must comply with any State, territorial, or Tribal laws or regulations governing the
removal or destruction of muscovy ducks or their nests or eggs.
(2) You may not remove or destroy muscovy ducks or their nests or eggs if doing so will adversely affect other
migratory birds or species designated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species
Act. If you use a firearm to kill muscovy ducks under the provisions of this section, you must use nontoxic shot or
nontoxic bullets to do so.
(3) If you operate under this order, you must immediately report the take of any species protected under the
Endangered Species Act, or any other bird species protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, to the Fish and
Wildlife Service Ecological Services Office for the State or location in which the take occurred.
(4) We reserve the right to suspend or revoke the authority of any agency or individual to undertake muscovy
duck control if we find that the agency or individual has undertaken actions that may harm Federally listed threatened
or endangered species or are contrary to the provisions of this part.
[75 FR 9321, Mar. 1, 2010]

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§21.55 Control order for invasive migratory birds in Hawaii.
(a) Control of cattle egrets and barn owls. Personnel of the agencies listed in paragraph (b) of this section may
take cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) or barn owls (Tyto alba) using the methods authorized in paragraph (c) of this
section at any time anywhere in the State of Hawaii, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, or the unincorporated
territory of Midway Atoll. No permit is necessary to engage in these actions. In this section, the word “you” means a
person operating officially as an employee of one of the authorized agencies.
(b) Authorized agencies. (1) Federal Aviation Administration;
(2) Hawaii Department of Agriculture;
(3) Hawaii Department of Lands and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife;
(4) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
(5) National Park Service;
(6) U.S. Department of Agriculture—Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services;
(7) U.S. Department of Defense;
(8) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
(9) U.S. Geological Survey; and
(10) University of Hawaii—Pacific Cooperative Studies Units with program mandates to accomplish invasive
species eradication and control, including the five island Invasive Species Committees.
(c) Means of take. (1) You may take cattle egrets and barn owls by means of lethal take or active nest take.
Lethal take may occur by firearm or slingshot in accordance with paragraph (c)(2) of this section or lethal or live traps.
Active nest take may occur by egg oiling in accordance with paragraph (c)(3) of this section or destruction of nest
material and contents (including viable eggs and chicks). Birds may be euthanized by cervical dislocation,

CO2 asphyxiation, or other recommended method in the American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines on
Euthanasia.
(2) If you use a firearm or slingshot to kill cattle egrets or barn owls under the provisions of this order, you must
use nontoxic shot or nontoxic bullets to do so. See §20.21(j) of this chapter for a list of approved nontoxic shot types.
(3) Eggs must be oiled with 100 percent corn oil, which is exempted from regulation under the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
(4) You may use concealment (such as blinds) and luring devices (such as decoys or recorded calls) for locating,
capturing, and/or taking cattle egrets or barn owls.
(d) Land access. You must obtain appropriate landowner permission before conducting activities authorized by
this order.
(e) Relationship to other regulations. You may take cattle egrets and barn owls under this order only in a way that
complies with all applicable Federal, State, county, municipal, or tribal laws. You are responsible for obtaining all
required authorizations to conduct this activity.
(f) Release of injured, sick, or orphaned cattle egrets or barn owls. Wildlife rehabilitators, veterinarians, and all
other individuals or agencies who receive sick, injured, or orphaned cattle egrets or barn owls are prohibited from
releasing any individuals of those species back into the wild in the State of Hawaii, the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands, or the unincorporated territory of Midway Atoll. All applicable local, State, Federal, and/or territorial
regulations must be followed to transfer, possess, and/or release cattle egrets or barn owls in any other location.
(g) Disposal of cattle egret or barn owl carcasses, nests, or nest contents. You may donate carcasses, nests, or
nest contents taken under this control order to public museums or public institutions for scientific or educational
purposes or to persons authorized by permit or regulation to possess them. You may dispose of the carcasses by
burial or incineration; or, if the carcasses are not safely retrievable, you may leave them in place. No one may retain
for personal use, offer for sale, barter or trade, or sell a cattle egret or a barn owl or any feathers, parts, nests, or nest
contents taken under this section.
(h) Endangered or threatened species. You may not take cattle egrets or barn owls if doing so will adversely
affect other migratory birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act or species designated as endangered or
threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species Act.
(i) Reporting take. Any agency engaged in control activities under this control order must provide an annual
report of take during the calendar year for each species by January 31st of the following year. The report must include
a summary of the number of birds and number of active nests taken for each species, the months in which they were
taken, and the island(s) on which they were taken. Multiple reports within agencies may be combined, as appropriate.
Submit annual reports to the Pacific Region Migratory Bird Permit Office in Portland, Oregon, at the address shown at
50 CFR 2.2.
(j) Reporting nontarget take. If, while operating under this control order, you take any other species protected
under the Endangered Species Act or the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, you must report within 72 hours the take to the
Pacific Region Migratory Bird Permit Office in Portland, Oregon, at the address shown at 50 CFR 2.2.
(k) Revocation of authority to operate under this order. We may suspend or revoke the authority of any individual
or agency to operate under this order if we find that the individual or agency has taken actions that may take federally
listed endangered or threatened species or any other bird species protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (see 50
CFR 10.13 for the list of protected migratory bird species), or has violated any Federal or State law or regulation
governing this activity. We will notify the affected agency by certified mail, and may change this control order
accordingly.
[82 FR 34425, July 25, 2017]

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Subpart E—Control of Overabundant Migratory Bird Populations
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§21.60 Conservation order for light geese.

(a) What is a conservation order? A conservation order is a special management action that is needed to control
certain wildlife populations when traditional management programs are unsuccessful in preventing overabundance of
the population. We are authorizing a conservation order under the authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to reduce
and stabilize various light goose populations. The conservation order allows new methods of taking light geese,
allows shooting hours for light geese to end one-half hour after sunset, and imposes no daily bag limits for light geese
inside or outside the migratory bird hunting season frameworks as described in this section.
(b) Which waterfowl species are covered by the order? The conservation order addresses management of
greater snow (Chen caerulescens atlantica), lesser snow (C. c. caerulescens), and Ross's (C. rossii) geese that
breed, migrate, and winter in North America. The term light geese refers collectively to greater and lesser snow geese
and Ross's geese.
(c) Where can the conservation order be authorized? The Director can authorize the conservation order in these
areas:
(1) The following States that are contained within the boundaries of the Atlantic Flyway: Connecticut, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia.
(2) The following States, or portions of States, that are contained within the boundaries of the Mississippi and
Central Flyways: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
(3) The following States, or portions of States, that are contained within the boundaries of the Pacific Flyway:
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and
Wyoming.
(4) Tribal lands within the geographic boundaries in paragraphs (c)(1), (2), and (3) of this section.
(d) When will the Director authorize the conservation order in a particular Flyway? (1) The Director may authorize
the conservation order for the reduction of greater snow geese for any State or Tribe contained within the Atlantic
Flyway by publishing a notice under paragraph (e) of this section when the May Waterfowl Population Status report
indicates that the management goal of 500,000 birds has been exceeded and that special conservation actions
conducted in Canada are insufficient to reduce the population. Authorization of the conservation order in the U.S.
portion of the Atlantic Flyway will occur after the Director determines the degree to which the management goal has
been exceeded, the trajectory of population growth, anticipated harvest that would result from implementation of the
conservation order, and whether or not similar conservation actions will be conducted in Canada.
(2) The Director may authorize the conservation order for the reduction of mid-continent light geese (lesser snow
and Ross's geese) for any State or Tribe contained within the Mississippi and Central Flyways by publishing a notice
under paragraph (e) of this section when the May Waterfowl Population Status report indicates that the management
goal of 1,600,000 birds (winter index for Mid-continent Population and Western Central Flyway Population, combined)
has been exceeded. Authorization of the conservation order in the U.S. portion of the Mississippi and Central Flyways
will occur after the Director determines the degree to which the management goal has been exceeded, the trajectory
of population growth, anticipated harvest that would result from implementation of the conservation order, and
whether or not similar conservation actions will be conducted in Canada.
(3) The Director may authorize a conservation order for the reduction of light geese (lesser snow and Ross's
geese) for any State or Tribe contained within the Pacific Flyway by publishing a notice under paragraph (e) of this
section when the Director determines that light goose numbers in the western Arctic have exceeded the ability of their
breeding habitat to support them.
(e) How will the conservation order be authorized for a particular Flyway? The Director will publish a notice in
the F
R
when the conservation order is authorized in a particular Flyway.
(f) What is required for State/Tribal governments to participate in the conservation order? When authorized by the
Director, any State or Tribal government responsible for the management of wildlife and migratory birds may, without
permit, kill or cause to be killed under its general supervision, light geese under the following conditions:
(1) Activities conducted under the conservation order may not affect endangered or threatened species as
designated under the Endangered Species Act.

(2) Control activities must be conducted clearly as such and are intended to relieve pressures on migratory birds
and habitat essential to migratory bird populations only and are not to be construed as opening, reopening, or
extending any open hunting season contrary to any regulations promulgated under Section 3 of the Migratory Bird
Treaty Act.
(3) Control activities may be conducted only when all waterfowl (including light goose) and crane hunting
seasons, excluding falconry, are closed.
(4) Control measures employed through this section may be used only between the hours of one-half hour before
sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
(5) Nothing in the conservation order may limit or initiate management actions on Federal land without
concurrence of the Federal agency with jurisdiction.
(6) States and Tribes must designate participants who must operate under the conditions of the conservation
order.
(7) States and Tribes must inform participants of the requirements and conditions of the conservation order that
apply.
(8) States and tribes must keep annual records of activities carried out under the authority of the conservation
order. Specifically, information must be collected on:
(i) The number of persons participating in the conservation order;
(ii) The number of days people participated in the conservation order;
(iii) The number of light geese shot and retrieved under the conservation order; and
(iv) The number of light geese shot but not retrieved.
(9) The States and Tribes must submit an annual report summarizing activities conducted under the conservation
order on or before September 15 of each year, to the Chief, Division of Migratory Bird Management, at the address
provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). Information from Tribes may be incorporated in State reports.
(g) What is required for persons to participate in the conservation order? Individual participants in State or Tribal
programs covered by the conservation order must comply with the following provisions:
(1) Nothing in the conservation order authorizes the take of light geese contrary to any State or Tribal laws or
regulations, and none of the privileges granted under the conservation order may be exercised unless persons acting
under the authority of the conservation order possess whatever permit or other authorization(s) may be required for
such activities by the State or Tribal government concerned.
(2) Persons who take light geese under the conservation order may not sell or offer for sale those birds or their
plumage but may possess, transport, and otherwise properly use them.
(3) Persons acting under the authority of the conservation order must permit at all reasonable times, including
during actual operations, any Federal or State game or deputy game agent, warden, protector, or other game law
enforcement officer free and unrestricted access over the premises on which such operations have been or are being
conducted and must promptly furnish whatever information an officer requires concerning the operation.
(4) Persons acting under the authority of the conservation order may take light geese by any method except
those prohibited as follows:
(i) With a trap, snare, net, rifle, pistol, swivel gun, shotgun larger than 10 gauge, punt gun, battery gun, machine
gun, fish hook, poison, drug, explosive, or stupefying substance.
(ii) From or by means, aid, or use of a sinkbox or any other type of low floating device having a depression
affording the person a means of concealment beneath the surface of the water.
(iii) From or by means, aid, or use of any motor vehicle, motor-driven land conveyance, or aircraft of any kind,
except that paraplegics and persons missing one or both legs may carry out take activities from any stationary motor
vehicle or stationary motor-driven land conveyance.

(iv) From or by means of any motorboat or other craft having a motor attached, or any sailboat, unless the motor
has been completely shut off and the sails furled, and its progress has ceased. A craft under power may be used only
to retrieve dead or crippled birds; however, the craft may not be used under power to shoot any crippled bird.
(v) By the use or aid of live birds as decoys. It is a violation of this paragraph (g) for any person to take light
geese on an area where tame or captive live geese are present unless such birds are and have been for a period of
10 consecutive days before the taking, confined within an enclosure that substantially reduces the audibility of their
calls and totally conceals the birds from the sight of light geese.
(vi) By means or aid of any motor-driven land, water, or air conveyance, or any sailboat used for the purpose of
or resulting in the concentrating, driving, rallying, or stirring up of light geese.
(vii) By the aid of baiting, or on or over any baited area, where a person knows or reasonably should know that
the area is or has been baited as described in §20.11(j-k). Light geese may not be taken on or over lands or areas
that are baited areas, and where grain or other feed has been distributed or scattered solely as the result of
manipulation of an agricultural crop or other feed on the land where grown, or solely as the result of a normal
agricultural operation as described in §20.11(h) and (l). However, nothing in this paragraph (g) prohibits the taking of
light geese on or over the following lands or areas that are not otherwise baited areas:
(A) Standing crops or flooded standing crops (including aquatics); standing, flooded, or manipulated natural
vegetation; flooded harvested croplands; or lands or areas where seeds or grains have been scattered solely as the
result of a normal agricultural planting, harvesting, postharvest manipulation or normal soil stabilization practice as
described in §20.11(g), (i), (l), and (m);
(B) From a blind or other place of concealment camouflaged with natural vegetation;
(C) From a blind or other place of concealment camouflaged with vegetation from agricultural crops, as long as
such camouflaging does not result in the exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering of grain or other feed; or
(D) Standing or flooded standing agricultural crops where grain is inadvertently scattered solely as a result of a
hunter entering or exiting a hunting area, placing decoys, or retrieving downed birds.
(viii) Participants may not possess shot (either in shotshells or as loose shot for muzzleloading) other than steel
shot, bismuth-tin, tungsten-iron, tungsten-polymer, tungsten-matrix, tungsten-bronze, tungsten-nickel-iron, tungstentin-iron, tungsten-nickel-iron-tin, tungsten-iron-copper-nickel, or other shots that are authorized in §20.21(j).
(h) Can the conservation order be suspended? The Director reserves the right to suspend or revoke a State's or
Tribe's authority under the conservation order if we find that the State or Tribe has not adhered to the terms and
conditions specified in this section. The criteria for suspension and revocation are outlined in §13.27 and §13.28 of
this subchapter. Upon appeal, final decisions to revoke authority will be made by the Director. Additionally, at such
time that the Director determines that a specific population of light geese no longer poses a threat to habitats,
agricultural crops, or other interests, or is within Flyway management objectives, the Director may choose to
terminate part or all of the conservation order.
(i) Under what conditions would the conservation order be suspended? The Director will annually assess the
overall impact and effectiveness of the conservation order on each light goose population to ensure compatibility with
long-term conservation of this resource. The Director will suspend the conservation order if at any time evidence
clearly demonstrates that an individual light goose population no longer presents a serious threat of injury to the area
or areas involved. Suspension by the Director will occur by publication of a notice in the F
R
. However, resumption of growth by the light goose population in question may warrant reinstatement of the
conservation order to control the population. The Director will publish a notice of such reinstatement in the F
R
. Depending on the status of individual light goose populations, it is possible that a conservation order may
be in effect for one or more light goose populations, but not others.
(j) What are the information collection requirements? The information collection requirements associated with the
conservation order are described in paragraphs (f)(6) through (9) of this section. Reported information helps us to
assess the effectiveness of light geese population control methods and strategies and assess whether or not
additional population control methods are needed. The Office of Management and Budget has approved this
information collection and assigned OMB Control No. 1018-0103. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. At any time,
you may submit comments on these information collection requirements to the Service's Information Collection
Clearance Officer at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b).

[73 FR 65951, Nov. 5, 2008; 73 FR 70914, Nov. 24, 2008, as amended at 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014; 80 FR 13500, Mar. 16, 2015]

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§21.61 Population control of resident Canada geese.
(a) Which Canada geese are covered by this regulation? This regulation addresses the population control of
resident Canada geese, as defined in §21.3.
(b) What is the resident Canada goose population control program, and what is its purpose? The resident
Canada goose population control program is a managed take program implemented under the authority of the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act to reduce and stabilize resident Canada goose populations when traditional and otherwise
authorized management measures are unsuccessful, not feasible for dealing with, or applicable, in preventing injury
to property, agricultural crops, public health, and other interests from resident Canada geese. The Director is
authorized to allow States and Tribes to implement a population control, or managed take, program to remedy these
injuries. When authorized by the Director, managed take allows additional methods of taking resident Canada geese,
allows shooting hours for resident Canada geese to extend to one-half hour after sunset, and removes daily bag limits
for resident Canada geese inside or outside the migratory bird hunting season frameworks as described in this
section. The intent of the program is to reduce resident Canada goose populations in order to protect personal
property and agricultural crops and other interests from injury and to resolve potential concerns about human health.
The management and control activities allowed or conducted under the program are intended to relieve or prevent
damage and injurious situations. No person should construe this program as opening, reopening, or extending any
hunting season contrary to any regulations established under section 3 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
(c) What areas are eligible to participate in the program? When approved by the Director, the State and Tribal
wildlife agencies of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia,
Wisconsin, and Wyoming may implement the resident Canada goose population control program components in the
Atlantic, Central, and Mississippi Flyway portions of these States.
(d) What is required in order for State governments to participate in a managed take program? Following the
conclusion of the first full operational year of §§21.49 through 21.52 of this part, any wildlife agency from a State
listed in 21.61(c) may request approval for the population control program. A request must include a discussion of the
State's or Tribe's efforts to address its injurious situations utilizing the methods approved in this rule or a discussion of
the reasons why the methods authorized by these rules are not feasible for dealing with, or applicable to, the injurious
situations that require further action. Discussions should be detailed and provide the Service with a clear
understanding of the injuries that continue, why the authorized methods utilized have not worked, and why methods
not utilized could not effectuate resolution of the injuries. A State's request for approval may be for an area or areas
smaller than the entire State. Upon written approval by the Director, any State or Tribal government responsible for
the management of wildlife and migratory birds may, without permit, kill or cause to be killed under its general
supervision, resident Canada geese under the following conditions:
(1) Activities conducted under the managed take program may not affect endangered or threatened species as
designated under the Endangered Species Act.
(2) Control activities may be conducted under this section only between August 1 and August 31.
(3) Control measures employed through this section may be implemented only between the hours of one-half
hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
(4) Nothing in the program may limit or initiate management actions on Federal land without concurrence of the
Federal agency with jurisdiction.
(5) States and Tribes must designate participants who must operate under the conditions of the managed take
program.
(6) States and Tribes must inform participants of the requirements/conditions of the program that apply.
(7) States and Tribes must keep annual records of activities carried out under the authority of the program.
Specifically, information must be collected on:

(i) The number of individuals participating in the program;
(ii) The number of days individuals participated in the program;
(iii) The total number of resident Canada geese shot and retrieved during the program; and
(iv) The number of resident Canada geese shot but not retrieved. The States and Tribes must submit an annual
report summarizing activities conducted under the program and an assessment of the continuation of the injuries on
or before June 1 of each year to the Chief, Division of Migratory Bird Management, at the address provided at 50
CFR 2.1(b).
(e) What is required for individuals to participate in the program? Individual participants in State and Tribal
programs covered by the managed take program must comply with the following requirements:
(1) Participants must comply with all applicable State and Tribal laws or regulations including possession of
whatever permit(s) or other authorization(s) may be required by the State or Tribal government concerned.
(2) Participants who take resident Canada geese under the program may not sell or offer for sale those birds or
their plumage, but may possess, transport, and otherwise properly use them.
(3) Participants must permit at all reasonable times, including during actual operations, any Service special agent
or refuge officer, State or Tribal wildlife or deputy wildlife agent, warden, protector, or other wildlife law enforcement
officer free and unrestricted access over the premises on which such operations have been or are being conducted
and must promptly furnish whatever information an officer requires concerning the operation.
(4) Participants may take resident Canada geese by any method except those prohibited as follows:
(i) With a trap, snare, net, rifle, pistol, swivel gun, shotgun larger than 10 gauge, punt gun, battery gun, machine
gun, fish hook, poison, drug, explosive, or stupefying substance.
(ii) From or by means, aid, or use of a sinkbox or any other type of low-floating device, having a depression
affording the person a means of concealment beneath the surface of the water.
(iii) From or by means, aid, or use of any motor vehicle, motor-driven land conveyance, or aircraft of any kind,
except that paraplegic persons and persons missing one or both legs may take from any stationary motor vehicle or
stationary motor-driven land conveyance.
(iv) From or by means of any motorboat or other craft having a motor attached, or any sailboat, unless the motor
has been completely shut off and the sails furled, and its progress has ceased. A craft under power may be used only
to retrieve dead or crippled birds; however, the craft may not be used under power to shoot any crippled birds.
(v) By the use or aid of live birds as decoys. No person may take resident Canada geese on an area where tame
or captive live geese are present unless such birds are, and have been for a period of 10 consecutive days before the
taking, confined within an enclosure that substantially reduces the audibility of their calls and totally conceals the birds
from the sight of resident Canada geese.
(vi) By means or aid of any motor-driven land, water, or air conveyance, or any sailboat used for the purpose of
or resulting in the concentrating, driving, rallying, or stirring up of resident Canada geese.
(vii) By the aid of baiting, or on or over any baited area, where a person knows or reasonably should know that
the area is or has been baited as described in §20.11(j) and (k) of this part. Resident Canada geese may not be taken
on or over lands or areas that are baited areas, and where grain or other feed has been distributed or scattered solely
as the result of manipulation of an agricultural crop or other feed on the land where grown, or solely as the result of a
normal agricultural operation as described in §20.11(h) and (l) of this part. However, nothing in this paragraph
prohibits the taking of resident Canada geese on or over the following lands or areas that are not otherwise baited
areas:
(A) Standing crops or flooded standing crops (including aquatics); standing, flooded, or manipulated natural
vegetation; flooded harvested croplands; or lands or areas where seeds or grains have been scattered solely as the
result of a normal agricultural planting, harvesting, post-harvest manipulation or normal soil stabilization practice as
described in §20.11(g), (i), (l), and (m) of this part;
(B) From a blind or other place of concealment camouflaged with natural vegetation;

(C) From a blind or other place of concealment camouflaged with vegetation from agricultural crops, as long as
such camouflaging does not result in the exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering of grain or other feed; or
(D) Standing or flooded standing agricultural crops where grain is inadvertently scattered solely as a result of a
hunter entering or exiting a hunting area, placing decoys, or retrieving downed birds.
(E) Participants may not possess shot (either in shotshells or as loose shot for muzzleloading) other than steel
shot, bismuth-tin, tungsten-iron, tungsten-polymer, tungsten-matrix, tungsten-nickel iron, or other shots that are
authorized in §20.21(j) of this part.
(f) Under what conditions would we suspend the managed take program? Following authorization by the Director,
we will annually assess the overall impact and effectiveness of the program on resident Canada goose populations to
ensure compatibility with long-term conservation of this resource. If at any time evidence is presented that clearly
demonstrates that resident Canada geese populations no longer need to be reduced in order to allow resolution or
prevention of injury to people, property, agricultural crops, or other interests, the Director, in writing, will suspend the
program for the resident Canada goose population in question. However, resumption of injuries caused by growth of
the population and not otherwise addressable by the methods available in part 21 may warrant reinstatement of such
regulations. A State must reapply for approval, including the same information and discussions noted in 21.61(d).
Depending on the location of the injury or threat or injury, the Director, in writing, may suspend or reinstate this
authorization for one or more resident Canada goose populations, but not others.
(g) What population information is the State or Tribe required to collect concerning the resident Canada goose
managed take program? Participating States and Tribes must provide an annual estimate of the breeding population
and distribution of resident Canada geese in their State. The States and Tribes must submit this estimate on or before
August 1 of each year, to the Chief, Division of Migratory Bird Management, at the address provided at 50 CFR
2.1(b).
(h) What are the general program conditions and restrictions? The program is subject to the conditions
elsewhere in this section, and, unless otherwise specifically authorized, the following conditions:
(1) Nothing in this section applies to any Federal land within a State's or Tribe's boundaries without written
permission of the Federal agency with jurisdiction.
(2) States may not undertake any actions under this section if the activities adversely affect other migratory birds
or species designated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. Persons
operating under this section must immediately report the take of any species protected under the Endangered
Species Act to the Service. Further, to protect certain species from being adversely affected by management actions,
States must:
(i) Follow the Federal State Contingency Plan for the whooping crane;
(ii) Conduct no activities within 300 meters of a whooping crane or Mississippi sandhill crane nest; and
(iii) Follow all Regional (or National when available) Bald Eagle Nesting Management guidelines for all
management activities.
(i) Has the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection requirements of the
program? OMB has approved the information collection and recordkeeping requirements of the program under OMB
control number 1018-0133. We may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a collection of
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. You may send comments on the information
collection and recordkeeping requirements to the Service's Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address
provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b).
[71 FR 45992, Aug. 10, 2006, as amended at 72 FR 46409, Aug. 20, 2007; 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014]

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