Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) No permittee may capture any raptor
without an appropriate permit from the Department. A permittee in possession of
a valid capture permit may capture raptors of a non-prohibited species or
subspecies. A person shall hold a valid falconry permit in Illinois or another
state to be eligible for a capture permit. The Department will authorize up to
250 capture permits annually. Requests for capture permits in excess of 250
will be considered first in following years.
1) A capture permittee may only intentionally
capture a raptor species that he or she is allowed to possess. A permittee that
captures a raptor that he or she may not possess shall immediately release the
bird.
2) Immature passage raptors
may be captured from September 1 until March 1.
3) Haggard American kestrels (Falco
sparverius) and great horned owls may be captured between September 1 and
January 1.
4) The capture or taking
of any eyass raptor in Illinois shall be permitted between February 1 and
August 1. When eyasses are captured, at least one eyass shall be left in the
nest.
5) The fee for a raptor
capture permit for a resident of the State of Illinois is $50 per year. The fee
for a non-resident raptor capture permit is $100 per year.
6) A capture permit shall expire on March 1
of each year and shall authorize the permittee to take up to his or her legal
limit of raptors for possession and/or replacement, but no more than 2 raptors
shall be taken from the wild per calendar year. All raptors shall be captured
in a humane manner. Marked raptors that escape or are lost may be recaptured at
any time without a capture permit and do not count as a bird taken from the
wild.
7) The take of raptors from
the wild must be reported by entering the required information into the
electronic database at
https://epermits.fws.gov/falcp or
submitting a paper form 3-186A to the Department at the capturer's first
opportunity to do so, but no later than 10 days after the capture of the
raptor.
b) A raptor taken
from the wild is always considered to be a wild raptor no matter how long it is
held in captivity or whether it is transferred to another person. However, it
is only considered to be taken from the wild by the person who captured it. The
raptor is not considered to be taken from the wild by any subsequent permittee
to whom it is legally transferred.
c) Wild raptors listed as endangered or
threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ( 50 CFR 17) and golden
eagles may not be captured in Illinois for falconry purposes. This prohibition
shall not prevent a master class permittee from obtaining a wild raptor listed
as threatened by FWS at 50 CFR 17, or a golden eagle, provided listed raptors
are captured legally in another state or country, or transferred from another
falconer in accordance with federal regulations (
50 CFR
21.29), this Part and the laws of the
jurisdiction in which the raptors are obtained.
d) No wild raptor listed as endangered or
threatened by the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board (17 Ill. Adm.
Code 1010) but not by FWS ( 50 CFR 17) may be captured in Illinois for
falconry purposes. This prohibition shall not prevent a permittee from
obtaining a raptor of any listed species, provided that it is captured legally
in another state or country or transferred from another falconer in accordance
with federal regulations (
50 CFR
21.29), this Part, and the laws of the
jurisdiction in which the raptor was obtained.
e) Except as provided for in Section
1590.50(a)(2) and
(d), any unmarked raptors imported into
Illinois must be identified with a marker provided by the Department, and the
State's copy of FWS electronic form 3-186A must be sent to the Department
within 5 days after marking, as determined by the postmark.
f) A raptor taken under a depredation (or
special purpose) permit may be used for falconry by general or master falconers
in compliance with federal regulations (
50 CFR
21.29).
g) A capture permittee who is present at the
capture site and immediately receives a captured raptor from another permittee
is considered to be the person who removed the raptor from the wild. The
capture permittee receiving the raptor is responsible for submitting a form
3-186A reporting take of the raptor from the wild. This would occur, for
example, if another person climbs a tree or rappels down a cliff and takes a
nestling for the permittee and gives it to the permittee at the tree or
cliff.
h) If the capture permittee
is not at the immediate location where the raptor is taken from the wild, then
the person who takes it must be a general or master falconer, have a valid
capture permit, and report take of the raptor. If the falconer capturing the
raptor then transfers the raptor to the first capture permittee, the permittee
capturing the raptor and the permittee receiving the raptor both must submit a
3-186A form reporting the transaction at the first opportunity to do so, but no
later than 10 days after the transfer. The raptor will count as one of the two
raptors the falconer who took it from the wild is allowed to capture in any
year. The raptor will not count as a raptor taken from the wild by the capture
permittee who received the raptor. The falconer who takes the raptor from the
wild shall report the take even if he or she promptly transfers it.
i) If a capture permittee has a long-term or
permanent physical impairment that prevents attending the capture of a species
that is permitted for that permittee's use in falconry, then a general or
master falconer holding a valid capture permit may capture the raptor for the
permittee. The capture permittee receiving the raptor is then responsible for
submitting a 3-186A form reporting take of the raptor from the wild and the
raptor will count against the capture permittee's take of wild raptors allowed
in any year.
j) Any raptor
unintentionally captured shall be promptly released.
k) If a capture permittee transfers a raptor
taken from the wild to a falconry permittee in the same year it was captured,
the raptor will count as one of the raptors allowed to be taken from the wild
in that year, but it will not count as a capture by the recipient, though it
will always be considered a wild bird for purposes of bird counts and
permits.
l) A raptor wearing
falconry equipment or a captive-bred raptor may be recaptured at any time, even
if the permittee is not allowed to possess the species. The raptor will not
count against the capture permittee's possession limit, nor will its take from
the wild count against the permittee's take limit. The recapture must be
reported to the Department no more than 5 working days after the recapture by
submitting a form 3-186A. A recaptured falconry raptor must be returned to the
person who lost it, if that person may legally possess it. Disposition of a
raptor whose legal possession cannot be determined will be at the discretion of
the Department.
m) A raptor banded
with an aluminum federal band issued by the federal Bird Banding Laboratory may
be taken from the wild, except that a banded peregrine falcon may not be taken.
1) If a captured raptor (including a
peregrine falcon) is marked with a seamless metal band, a transmitter, or any
other item identifying it as a falconry raptor, it shall be reported to the
Department by submitting a form 3-186A within 5 working days after the capture.
A recaptured falconry raptor shall be returned to the person who lost it.
Disposition of a raptor whose legal possession cannot be determined will be at
the discretion of the Department. While a bird is temporarily held for the
purpose of returning it to the person who lost it, it will not count against
the possession limit or the limit of take from the wild if it has been reported
to the Department.
2) If a
peregrine falcon having a research band (such as a colored band with
alphanumeric codes) or a research marking attached to it is captured, then it
shall immediately be released unless the falcon has a transmitter attached to
it, in which case it may be held for up to 30 days if the researcher is
contacted to determine if it would like to replace the batteries and the
capture is reported to the Department by submitting a form 3-186A within 5
working days after capture. If the researcher wishes to replace the batteries
or remove the transmitter, then the researcher or its designee can make the
change or allow the captor to do so before the falcon is released. If the
researcher does not wish to keep the transmitter on the falcon, then the
peregrine falcon may be kept for falconry purposes only if the species is not
on the Illinois list of endangered and threatened species.
3) If a captured raptor has any other band,
research marking or transmitter attached to it, the band numbers and all other
relevant information must be promptly reported to the federal Bird Banding
Laboratory at 1-800-327-2263.
A) If the raptor
has a transmitter attached to it, then it may be held for up to 30 days if the
researcher is contacted to determine if it would like to replace the
transmitter and the capture is reported to the Department by submitting a form
3-186A within 5 working days after capture. If the researcher wishes to replace
the transmitter, then the researcher or its designee can make the change or
allow the captor to do so before the raptor is released. Disposition of the
raptor will be at the discretion of the researcher and the
Department.
B) A temporarily
possessed raptor having a transmitter attached will not count against the
raptor possession limit for falconry raptors.
n) A capture permittee is responsible for the
costs of care and rehabilitation for any raptor that is injured as a result of
the permittee's trapping efforts and the permittee may either:
1) place the raptor on the capture
permittee's falconry permit. Take of the raptor shall be reported by entering
the required information into the electronic database at
https://epermits.fws.gov/falcp and
by submitting a paper form 3-186A to the Department no more than 10 days after
capture. The raptor must then be treated by a veterinarian or licensed wildlife
rehabilitator. The raptor will count against the permittee's possession limit;
or
2) the raptor may be given
directly to a veterinarian or permitted wildlife rehabilitator or an
appropriate Department employee. The raptor will then not count against the
permittee's allowed take or possession limit.
o) In order to receive a permit to capture
passage peregrine falcons (peregrine permit) in Illinois for falconry purposes,
the following regulations apply, in addition to subsections (a) through (n).
1) Applicants must possess a valid master
class falconry permit.
2) Those
wanting a peregrine permit shall, by August 31 annually, submit an application
and any applicable permit fee (see subsection (o)(4)) to the Department at the
address cited in Section
1590.60(a).
The Department will review and determine the completeness and eligibility of
each permit application. Applicants deemed eligible by the Department will be
placed in one of two lotteries (one for residents, followed by one for
non-residents if any permits remain available after the resident lottery) to
fill the permits allocated to Illinois by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS). Lottery winners will receive a permit, and any applicable fees paid by
unsuccessful applicants will be refunded.
3) Preference for receiving a permit to
capture a peregrine falcon will be given to Illinois residents. After all
permit applications received from Illinois residents have been filled,
remaining permits will be allocated to non-resident applicants via the separate
non-resident lottery.
4) The fee
for the permit for Illinois residents will be $50. The fee for non-residents
will be $100. If the applicant possesses a valid permit issued under Section
1590.90 (raptor permit), no fee in addition to the raptor permit fee required
by Section 1590.90(a)(5) will be charged.
5) Peregrine permits expire on March 1
annually, but peregrine falcons may only be captured between September 20 and
October 20. Each permit will be valid for the capture of one peregrine falcon,
and no applicant shall receive more than one peregrine permit. Any peregrine
falcon captured under a peregrine permit shall be counted as a raptor captured
under a raptor capture permit (see Section 1590.90(a) for the current raptor
capture limit) and counted as possessed under the master class falconer permit
(see Section
1590.80(c)(2)
for the current possession limits).
6) Permittees must report successful captures
of peregrine falcons within 48 hours after capture using the electronic
reporting system or by phone to the Department's representative.
7) Holders of peregrine permits may be
required to provide feathers or other samples as directed by the Department
and/or FWS.
