Current through September 21, 2024
(a) Raptors removed from the wild for
falconry are always considered wild raptors.
(b) General Falconers or Master Falconers may
hack falconry raptors.
(i) Any raptor a
permittee is hacking counts against his possession limit and shall be a species
the permittee is authorized to possess.
(ii) Any hybrid or raptor not native to
Wyoming shall have two (2) attached functioning radio transmitters during
hacking.
(iii) Permittees shall not
hack raptors near nesting areas of a federally threatened or endangered bird
species or any other locations where raptors are likely to harm Federally
listed, threatened or endangered animal species.
(c) Permittees 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 raptors.
(d) Selling or trading raptors under a
falconry permit.
(i) A permittee may sell,
purchase, barter or offer to sell, purchase or barter captive-bred raptors
marked with seamless bands to other permittees who are authorized to possess
raptors.
(ii) Permittees shall not
purchase, sell, trade or barter wild raptors. Wild raptors shall only be
transferred.
(e) A
permittee may transfer a raptor to another permit type.
(i) A permittee shall not transfer a
wild-caught raptor to a raptor propagation permit unless the raptor has been
used in falconry for at least two (2) years, or at least one (1) year for a
sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), Cooper's hawk
(Accipiter cooperii), merlin (Falco
columbarius), or an American kestrel (Falco
sparverius). Within ten (10) days of transferring the raptor, the
permittee shall report the transfer by entering the required information in the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ePermit System or provide a copy of Service Form
3-186A documenting acquisition of the raptor by the propagator to the Federal
migratory bird permit office that administers the propagation permit.
(ii) A permittee may transfer a wild-caught
raptor to another permit type at any time, if it has been injured and a
licensed veterinarian has determined that the raptor can no longer be flown for
falconry. Within ten (10) days of transferring the raptor, the permittee shall
provide a copy of Service Form 3-186A documenting acquisition of the raptor and
shall also provide a copy of the certification from the veterinarian that the
raptor is not useable in falconry, to the federal migratory bird permits office
that administers the other permit type.
(f) Permittees may transfer captive-bred
raptors if the holder of the other permit type is authorized to possess the
raptor(s). Within ten (10) days the permittee must report the transfer by
entering the required information in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ePermit
System or by submitting Service Form 3-186A to the Department.
(g) Permittees may use raptors possessed for
falconry in captive propagation if the permittee or the person overseeing the
propagation, has the required propagation permit in accordance with
50 CFR
21.30, revised as of October 1, 2018, and
which does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated
matter. If a permittee uses a raptor for eight (8) or more months in a year in
captive propagation, the raptor shall be transferred for propagation. The
raptor shall then be banded as required in
50 CFR
21.30. A copy of 50 CFR Part 21.30 can be
viewed at any Department Regional Office or the Headquarters Office.
(h) Apprentice, General or Master Falconers
may use raptor(s) they possess under their falconry permit in conservation
education programs presented in public venues.
(i) A permittee does not need a Wyoming or
federal education permit to conduct conservation education programs using a
raptor held under a Wyoming falconry permit.
(ii) A permittee may present conservation
education programs as an Apprentice Falconer if he is under the direct
supervision of a General or Master Falconer during presentation of the
program.
(iii) Permittees shall use
their raptors primarily for falconry.
(iv) Permittees may charge a fee for
presentation of a conservation education program. The fee may not exceed the
amount required to recoup the permittee's costs.
(v) In conservation education programs,
permittees shall 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. Permittees shall not give
presentations that do not address falconry and conservation
education.
(vi) Permittees shall be
responsible for all liability associated with conservation education programs
as per
50 CFR
13.50, revised as of October 1, 2018, and
which does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated
matter. A copy of 50 CFR Part 13.50 can be viewed at any Department Regional
Office or the Headquarters Office.
(i) Permittees shall not receive payment for
photography, filming or other such uses of 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.
(i) Permittees shall not use raptors to make
movies, commercials or in other commercial ventures that are not related to
falconry.
(ii) Permittees shall not
use raptors for entertainment, 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) Raptors may
be used to promote or endorse a nonprofit falconry organization or
association.
(B) Raptors may be
used to promote or endorse products or endeavors related directly to falconry,
such as hoods, telemetry equipment, giant hoods, perches and materials for
raptor facilities.
(j) General or Master Falconers may assist
permitted Wyoming wildlife rehabilitators to condition raptors in preparation
for release to the wild and may keep raptors in their facilities.
(i) The rehabilitator shall provide the
permittee with a letter or form that identifies the raptor and explains that
the permittee is assisting in rehabilitation.
(ii) Public contact with any raptor being
rehabilitated under these provisions shall be minimized.
(iii) A permittee does not have to add any
raptor held for this purpose to their falconry permit; the raptor shall remain
under the permit of the rehabilitator.
(iv) Permittees shall return all raptors to
the rehabilitator for final disposition.
(k) Using a falconry raptor in abatement
activities.
(i) A Master Falconer may conduct
and receive payment for abatement activities with raptors possessed for
falconry if he has a Special Purpose Abatement permit issued by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service or is a sub-permittee of an abatement permittee. A General
Falconer may conduct and receive payment for abatement activities only as a
sub-permittee of the holder of the abatement permit.
(l) Feathers that raptors molt.
(i) A permittee may possess flight feathers
for imping for each species of raptor the permittee possesses or previously
held, for as long as the permittee has a valid falconry permit. The permittee
may receive feathers for imping from other permitted falconers or propagators
in the United States, and may give feathers to them. No permittee shall buy,
sell or barter such feathers.
(ii)
Permittees may donate feathers from a raptor, except golden eagle feathers, to
any person or institution with a valid permit to have the feathers, or to
anyone exempt from the permit requirement under
50 CFR
21.12, revised as of October 1, 2018, and
which does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated
matter. A copy of 50 CFR Part 21.12 can be viewed at any Department Regional
Office or the Headquarters Office.
(iii) Except for primary or secondary flight
feathers or retrices from a golden eagle, permittees shall not be required to
gather feathers that are molted or otherwise lost by raptors. Permittees may
leave the feathers where the feathers fall, store the feathers for imping or
destroy the feathers. Permittees shall collect molted flight feathers and
retrices from golden eagles for imping, or shall send the feathers to the
National Eagle Repository at: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Eagle
Repository, Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Building 128, Commerce City, Colorado
80022. The telephone number at the Repository is303-287-2110.
(iv) If a permittee's permit expires or is
revoked, he shall donate the feathers of any raptor, except a golden eagle, to
any person or institution exempt from the permit requirement under
50 CFR
21.12, revised as of October 1, 2018, and
which does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated
matter; or authorized by permit to acquire and possess the feathers. If the
permittee does not donate the feathers, the permittee shall burn, bury, or
otherwise destroy the feathers. A copy of 50 CFR Part 21.12 can be viewed at
any Department Regional Office or the Headquarters Office.
(m) Disposition of carcasses of falconry
raptors.
(i) A permittee shall send the entire
body of a golden eagle held for falconry, including all feathers, talons and
other parts, to the National Eagle Repository.
(ii) A permittee may donate the body or
feathers of any other raptor they were permitted to possess to any person or
institution exempt under
50 CFR
21.12, revised as of October 1, 2018, and
which does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated
matter; or authorized by permit to acquire and possess such parts or feathers.
A copy of 50 CFR Part 21.12 can be viewed at any Department Regional Office or
the Headquarters Office.
(iii) If
the raptor was banded or micro-chipped prior to its death, a permittee may keep
the body of any raptor, except that of a golden eagle, and the band and
microchip shall be left in place. The permittee may keep the body so that the
feathers are available for imping or may have the body mounted by a
taxidermist. The mount may be used in giving conservation education
programs.
(iv) If a permittee does
not wish to keep the raptor body or feathers or donate the body or feathers, he
shall burn, bury or otherwise destroy the body or feathers within ten (10)
consecutive days of the death of the raptor or after final examination by a
veterinarian to determine cause of death.
(v) If a permittee does not donate the raptor
body or feathers or have the body mounted by a taxidermist, he may possess the
flight feathers for as long as he has a valid falconry permit. Permittee's
shall not buy, sell, or barter the feathers. Permittee's shall keep the
paperwork documenting their acquisition of the raptor.
(n) Permittee's falconry activities shall not
cause the take of federally listed, threatened or endangered
wildlife.
(o) A permittee may use a
raptor to take any species listed in parts
50
CFR 21.43, revised as of October 1, 2018, and
which does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated
matter;
50
CFR 21.44, revised as of October 1, 2018, and
which does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated
matter; 50 CFR 21.45, revised as
of October 1, 2018, and which does not include any later amendments or editions
of the incorporated matter; or
50
CFR 21.46, revised as of October 1, 2018, and
which does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated
matter; at any time in accordance with the conditions of the applicable
depredation order, as long as the permittee is not monetarily compensated. A
copy of 50 CFR Part 21.43, 50 CFR Part 21.44, 50 CFR Part 21.45 and 50 CFR Part
21.46 can be viewed at any Department Regional Office or the Headquarters
Office.
(p) A surviving spouse,
executor, administrator or other legal representative of a deceased falconry
permittee shall transfer any raptor held by the permittee to another authorized
permittee within ninety (90) consecutive days of the death of the falconry
permittee. After ninety (90) consecutive days, disposition of a raptor held
under the permit is at the discretion of the Department.
