50 CFR §21 as of 01172020

ELECTRONIC CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS
e-CFR data is current as of January 17, 2020
Title 50 → Chapter I → Subchapter B → Part 21
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 California 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

: 16 U.S.C. 703-712.

S

: 39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, unless otherwise noted.

Back to Top

Subpart A—Introduction
Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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 or that
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; 84 FR 28773, June
20, 2019]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top

Subpart B—General Requirements and Exceptions
Back to Top

§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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top

Subpart C—Specific Permit Provisions
Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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 non-lethal 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
egg and nest manipulation activities at any time of year. Other management and control activities, including the take of
resident Canada geese, under this section may only be conducted between March 11 and August 31.
(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; 84 FR 28773, June 20, 2019]

Back to Top
§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 captivebred, 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]

Back to Top
§21.28 [Reserved]
Back to Top
§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 12month 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 seaeagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), American swallow-tailed 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 3-186A 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 1-800-327-2263.
(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 wild-caught 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 (see 50 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
trap in
You may trap a bird for falconry in the following counties if you comply with the 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, Hudspeth, Jackson, Jeff Davis,
Texas, 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]

Back to Top
§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 well-drained 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 captivebred 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]

Back to Top
§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 563034766, 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]

Back to Top

Subpart D—Control of Depredating and Otherwise Injurious Birds
Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§21.42 [Reserved]
Back to Top
§21.43 Depredation order for blackbirds, cowbirds, crows, grackles, and magpies.
(a) Species covered.
Blackbirds
Cowbirds
Brewer's (Euphagus cyanocephalus) Bronzed (Molothrus
aeneus)
Red-winged (Agelaius phoeniceus) Brownheaded (Molothrus
ater)
Yellow-headed (Xanthocephalus
Shiny (Molothrus
xanthocephalus)
bonariensis)

Crows
American (Corvus
brachyrhynchos)
Fish (Corvus ossifragus)

Grackles
Boat-tailed (Quiscalus
major)
Common (Quiscalus
quiscula)

Northwestern (Corvus
caurinus)

Great-tailed (Quiscalus
mexicanus)
Greater
Antillean (Quiscalus niger)

Magpies
Black-billed (Pica
hudsonia)

(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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§21.45 [Reserved]
Back to Top
§21.46 Depredation order for depredating California 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 California scrub jays (Aphelocoma californica) 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 California 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 California 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 California 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 act under this depredation 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 the number of birds
taken for each species, method of take, month(s) in which they were taken, county(ies) and State(s) in which they were taken,
purpose of take, and disposition. Submit annual reports to the Pacific Region Migratory Bird Permit Office in Portland, Oregon,
at the address shown at 50 CFR 2.2.
[39 FR 31326, Aug. 28, 1974, as amended at 84 FR 45924, Sept. 3, 2019]

Back to Top
§§21.47-21.48 [Reserved]
Back to Top
§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 non-lethal 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 grant-in-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 at any time of year.
(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 1-800-327-BAND (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; 84 FR 28773, June 20, 2019]

Back to Top
§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 at any time of year. 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; 84 FR 28773, June 20, 2019]

Back to Top
§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 non-lethal 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 at any time of year.
(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; 84 FR 28773, June 20, 2019]

Back to Top
§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 at any time of year.
(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 1-800-327-BAND (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; 84 FR 28773, June 20, 2019]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top
§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]

Back to Top

Subpart E—Control of Overabundant Migratory Bird Populations
Back to Top
§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.
R

(e) How will the conservation order be authorized for a particular Flyway? The Director will publish a notice in the F
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, tungsten-tin-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]

Back to Top
§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 motordriven 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]