Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 39, September 26, 2024
(a) Each falconer hunting or trapping raptors
in Kansas shall possess any current hunting license, unless exempt pursuant to
K.S.A.
32-919 and amendments thereto, and any other
state or federal stamp, permit, certificate, or other issuance that may be
required for hunting the species that the falconer is hunting. In addition,
each nonresident falconer shall possess a current nonresident hunting license
while participating in a falconry field trial or a department-approved special
event.
(b) Any falconry raptor may
kill wildlife, including animals killed outside the established hunting season,
if it was not the intent of the falconry permittee to kill the wildlife. The
falconry raptor may be allowed to feed on the wildlife, but the permittee shall
not take the wildlife, or any part of the wildlife, into possession.
(1) The falconry permittee shall report the
take of any federally listed threatened or endangered species to the ecological
services field office of the United States fish and wildlife service and
provide the location where the take took place.
(2) The falconry permittee shall report the
take of any wildlife designated as endangered or threatened in K.A.R. 115-15-1
or as a species in need of conservation as listed in K.A.R. 115-15-2 to the
environmental services section of the department and provide the location where
the take took place.
(c)
Any falconry permittee may take nuisance and depredating birds with a falconry
raptor in accordance with K.A.R. 115-16-3 if the permittee is not paid for that
individual's services.
(d) Any
falconry permittee may conduct commercial abatement activities in accordance
with the following provisions:
(1) Any master
falconer may conduct commercial abatement activities with permitted falconry
raptors if the master falconer possesses a special purpose abatement permit
issued by the United States fish and wildlife service.
Any master falconer, general falconer, or apprentice falconer
may conduct commercial abatement activities as a subpermittee of a properly
permitted master falconer.
(2) Any falconry permittee holding a special
abatement permit may receive payment for that individual's commercial
services.
(e) Feathers
molted by a falconry raptor shall be possessed or disposed of in accordance
with the following provisions:
(1) Any
falconry permittee may possess flight feathers for each species of raptor
legally possessed or previously held for the duration of time the permittee
holds a valid falconry permit.
(A) The
permittee may receive feathers for imping from other permitted falconers,
wildlife rehabilitators, or propagators in the United States. The permittee may
give feathers for imping to other permitted falconers, wildlife rehabilitators,
or propagators in the United States.
(B) It shall be unlawful to buy, sell, or
barter the feathers.
(2)
Any permittee may donate feathers from a falconry raptor, except golden eagle
feathers, to any person or institution with a valid permit to possess the
feathers issued by the United States fish and wildlife service or to any
persons exempted by federal regulation from having the permit.
(3) Except for the primary or the secondary
flight feathers and the retrices from a golden eagle, a falconry permittee
shall not be required to gather feathers that are molted or otherwise lost by a
falconry bird. These feathers may be left where they fall, stored for imping,
or destroyed. All molted flight feathers and retrices from a golden eagle shall
be collected by the permittee and, if not kept for imping, shall be sent to the
national eagle repository.
(4) Each
falconry permittee whose permit expires or is revoked shall donate the feathers
of any species of falconry raptor, except a golden eagle, to any person or
institution exempted from federal possession permit requirements or to any
person or institution authorized by federal permit to acquire and possess the
feathers. If the feathers cannot be donated, they shall be burned, buried, or
otherwise destroyed.
(f)
The carcass of each falconry raptor shall be disposed of in accordance with the
following provisions:
(1) The entire body of
each golden eagle, including all feathers, talons, and other parts, shall be
sent to the national eagle repository.
(2) The body or feathers of any species of
falconry raptor, excluding a golden eagle, may be donated to any person or
institution exempted from federal possession permit requirements or to any
person or institution authorized by federal permit to acquire and possess the
body or feathers.
(3) The body of
any falconry raptor, other than a golden eagle, that was banded or was
implanted with a microchip before its death may be kept by the falconry
permittee in accordance with the following provisions:
(A) The feathers from the body may be used
for imping.
(B) The body may be
prepared and mounted by a taxidermist. The mounted body may be used by the
permittee as part of a conservation education program.
(C) If the raptor was banded, the band shall
remain on the body. If the raptor was implanted with a microchip, the microchip
shall remain implanted in place.
(4) The body or feathers of any raptor that
is not donated or retained by the permittee shall be burned, buried, or
otherwise destroyed within 10 days of the death of the bird or after final
examination by a veterinarian to determine the cause of death.
(5) The carcass of each euthanized raptor
shall be disposed of in a manner that prevents the secondary poisoning of
eagles or other scavengers.
(6) For
any falconry raptor other than a golden eagle, if the body or feathers are not
donated or mounted by a taxidermist as authorized by this subsection, the
falconry permittee may possess the raptor for as long as the permittee
maintains a valid falconry permit. The falconry permittee shall keep all the
paperwork documenting the acquisition and possession of the raptor.
(g) A falconry raptor may be used
in conservation education programs presented in public venues in accordance
with the following provisions:
(1) Any general
falconer or master falconer may conduct or participate in such a program
without the need for any other type of permit. Any apprentice falconer may
conduct or participate in such a program while under the direct supervision of
a general falconer or master falconer during the program.
The falconer presenting the program shall be responsible for
all liability associated with falconry and conservation education activities
for which the falconer is the instructor.
(2) The raptor shall be used primarily for
falconry.
(3) A fee may be charged
for the presentation of a conservation education program. However, the fee
shall not exceed the amount required to recoup the falconer's costs for
presenting the program.
(4) The
presentation shall address falconry and conservation education. The
conservation education portion of the program shall provide information about
the biology, ecological roles, and conservation needs of raptors and other
migratory birds. However, not all of these topics shall be required to be
covered in every presentation.
(h) Falconry raptors may be photographed,
filmed, or recorded by similar means for the production of 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
in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) Any general falconer or master falconer
may conduct or participate in such an activity without the need for any other
type of permit. Any apprentice falconer may conduct or participate in such an
activity while under the direct supervision of a general falconer or master
falconer during the activity.
(2)
The falconer shall not receive payment for the falconer's
participation.
(3) Falconry raptors
shall not be used to make movies or commercials or be used in other commercial
ventures that are not related to falconry. Falconry raptors shall not be used
for any of the following:
(A)
Entertainment;
(B) advertisements,
promotion, or endorsement of any products, merchandise, goods, services,
meetings, or fairs; or
(C) the
representation of any business, company, corporation, or other
organization.
(i) Any general falconer or master falconer
may assist a permitted migratory bird rehabilitator ("rehabilitator") to
condition raptors in preparation for their release to the wild in accordance
with the following provisions:
(1) The
rehabilitator shall provide the falconer with a letter or form that identifies
the bird and explains that the falconer is assisting in the bird's
rehabilitation. The raptor undergoing rehabilitation shall not be transferred
to the falconer but shall remain under the permit of the
rehabilitator.
(2) The falconer
shall not be required to meet the rehabilitator facility standards. The
falconer shall maintain that individual's facilities in accordance with K.A.R.
115-14-13.
(3) The falconer, in
coordination with the rehabilitator, shall release all raptors that are able to
be released to the wild or shall return any such bird that cannot be
permanently released to the wild to the rehabilitator for placement within the
180-day time frame in which the rehabilitator is authorized to possess the
bird, unless the rehabilitator receives authorization to retain the bird for
longer than the 180-day period. Any rehabilitated bird may be transferred to
the falconer in accordance with K.A.R. 115-14-15.
(j) When flown free, a hybrid raptor shall
have at least two attached radio transmitters to aid the falconry permittee in
tracking and locating the bird. The term "hybrid raptor" shall mean the
offspring of two different species of raptor.
(k) The statewide season for taking game
birds by falconry shall be September 1 through March 31. Any falconer may
possess hen pheasants that are incidentally taken by falconry means during the
established falconry game bird season. Each falconer shall possess no more than
two hen pheasants per day.
This regulation shall be effective on and after December 31,
2012.
