Legal Elimination of Hawks and Owls

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MayberrySaint

MayberrySaint

Chillin' Out
12 Years
Mar 7, 2007
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Mount Airy, NC
This subject came up in another thread and because there is a lot of misinformation, I decided to post the following link...

http://www.fws.gov/permits/

This is a form to apply for a permit to kill migratory birds if they are causing loss of personal property (livestock, poultry).

Some common misconceptions:
1. It is illegal to kill hawks and owls. If you have a permit it is legal.
2. It is illegal to harass birds of prey. It is not illegal and ou must show that you have tried to harass birds before a permit would be issued.
3. You will go to jail and receive a $10,000 fine if you kill a hawk or owl. It is actually a Class B Misdeamenor and fines can be a small as $50 with no jail time.
 
Did you try your link? It doesn't work for me.
And yes the fines vary widely but top out at 15,000 plus jail time in a Federal prison where there is no overcrowding and you will serve 85% of the time allotted.

Just because you can get permits do you think that many have been issued to ordinary people that are not First People or Gov. trappers?
 
http://www.fws.gov/permits/mbpermits/birdbasics.html

As authorized by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues permits to qualified applicants for the following types of activities: falconry, raptor propagation, scientific collecting, special purposes (rehabilitation, educational, migratory game bird propagation, and salvage), take of depredating birds, taxidermy, and waterfowl sale and disposal. Migratory bird permit policy is developed by the Division of Migratory Bird Management and the permits themselves are issued by the Regional Bird Permit Offices. The regulations governing migratory bird permits can be found in 50 CFR part 13 (General Permit Procedures) and 50 CFR part 21 (Migratory Bird Permits).

http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/intrnltr/mbta/mbtandx.html

Hawk, Asiatic Sparrow, Accipiter gularis
Broad-winged, Buteo platypterus
Cooper's, Accipiter cooperii
Ferruginous, Buteo regalis
Gray, Buteo nitidus
Harris', Parabuteo unicinctus
Hawaiian, Buteo solitarius
Red-shouldered, Buteo lineatus
Red-tailed, Buteo jamaicensis
Rough-legged, Buteo lagopus
Sharp-shinned, Accipiter striatus
Short-tailed, Buteo brachyurus
Swainson's, Buteo swainsoni
White-tailed, Buteo albicaudatus
Zone-tailed, Buteo albonotatus


Owl, Barn (=Barn-Owl, Common), Tyto alba
Barred, Strix varia
Boreal, Aegolius funereus
Burrowing, Speotyto (=Athene) cunicularia
Elf, Micrathene whitneyi
Flammulated, Otus flammeolus
Great Gray, Strix nebulosa
Great Horned, Bubo virginianus
Hawk (=Hawk-Owl, Northern), Surnia ulula
Long-eared, Asio otus
Northern Saw-whet, Aegolius acadicus
Short-eared, Asio flammeus
Snowy, Nyctea scandiaca
Spotted, Strix occidentalis

http://www.fws.gov/forms/3-200-13.pdf

No permit is required merely to scare or herd
depredating migratory birds other than endangered or threatened species and bald or golden eagles. You should apply for a
depredation permit only after non-lethal management proves unsuccessful. If a permit is issued, you will be expected to continue
to integrate non-lethal techniques when implementing any lethal measures.

Please provide the following information:
1. List the species of migratory birds causing the depredation problem and estimate the number of each involved.
2. Provide the exact location of the property or properties where the control activity would be conducted (State, county, and physical
address of the specific site).
3. Description of damage.
(a) Describe the specific migratory bird damage or injury you are experiencing.
(b) How long has it been occurring (e.g., the number of years)?
(c) What times or seasons of the year does it occur?
(d) Describe any human health and safety hazards involved.
(e) Provide details such as types of crops destroyed, human injuries sustained, property damage incurred, and health and safety
hazards created.
4. Describe the extent of the damage and estimate the economic loss suffered as a result, such as percentage of acres of crop and
dollar loss, cost to replace damaged property, or cost of injuries.
5. Describe the nonlethal measures you have taken to control or eliminate the problem, including how long (e.g., a week, month,
year(s)) and how often they have been conducted. List the techniques you have tried, such as harassment (e.g., horns,
pyrotechnics, propane cannons), habitat management (e.g., vegetative barriers, longer grass management, fencing), cultural
practices (e.g., crop selection and placement, management of pets and feeding schedules), or no feeding policies.
6. Proposed actions.
(a) What actions are you proposing to take to alleviate the problem (e.g., kill, eliminate nesting, trap and relocate)?
(b) Describe the method you propose (e.g., shoot; addle, oil, destroy eggs; trap and relocate; trap and donate birds to a food
processing center).
(c) If you propose to trap birds, describe the method that will be used and your (or your agent’s) experience with the method.
7. What long-term measures do you plan to take to eliminate the problem?​
 
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I just shoot hawks who are on my property & harassing my chooks.

For those of you in Canada, the rules are different.

In the province of Ontario for instance.

Enforcement of the MBCA (Migratory Birds Convention Act) in Ontario is handled jointly by the CWS(Canadian Wildlife Service) , MNR(Ministry of Natural Resources) and RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). The maximum penalties are: (1) for a corporation a $250,000 fine and (2) for an individual a $100,000 fine or imprisonment for five years or both.

No one would ever get the maximum for a first offence anyways.

The Criminal Code at the Federal level states...

It is a criminal offence to wilfully and without lawful excuse kill, maim, wound, poison or injure a bird, or for anyone to cause or permit unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to a bird. Both wild and domestic birds are protected. Enforcement of criminal offences related to birds is the responsibility of the police and humane societies. The penalty is a fine of not more than $2000 or to imprisonment for six months or both.

However.... and this is where it gets interesting:

The FWCA ( Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act) allows the killing of birds, except birds protected by the MBCA and the ESA, in defence of property. For example, farmers do not need a permit to kill a hawk attacking their chickens.

Again this applies for the Province of ONTARIO only.

Here is a link to this info.

http://www.ofo.ca/reportsandarticles/birdlaws.php
 
A very helpful post. Thank you for helping us protect our flocks legally. You are very correct in that far too many people have given in accurate and incomplete information.

Many red-tailed hawks are killed each year under "farmers rights" and it is just. We are still overrun with the birds who, like raccoons and opossums, adapt very well to living with us.
 
Thanks for posting that Guitarists - seems Numbers 1 - 4 were left off the other posting....pretty important.

Hey, how'd you manage to cut and paste it? LOL I couldnt get my stupid computer to let me do it!
big_smile.png
 
Quote:
I have a full Adobe program that allows for it in a PDF form.

We have a Red-tail that hangs out by my coop. So far he must not be very hungry... must be plenty or rabbits and such for him to feed on as he doesn't stake out the chickens, and he MUST know they are there. Certainly killing him would be an ABSOLUTE LAST RESORT for me as I understand the fight for survival, etc. I just hope to keep some good roos and keep an eye on the sky when they are out free ranging. I reckon it will be but a matter of time before he makes an attempt when they are out...... but possibly right now they just don't seem worth the bother of the dogs, etc.
 
Removed post copy removed.

I think a joint effort could be accomplished. Try your best to protect your flock by defensive measures and use lethal means if all else fails.

Remark removed

Just trying to get your perspective on why you would not want a predator killed if the coop is protected and they are getting killed while free ranging? This is great information for people who do not mind killing and staying out of trouble.​
 
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Deleted post copy taken out

I know I am stepping right in it here but oh well. What a sad state of mind? If this was not done then our eco system would be even more screwed up than it is now. If we were to let "Mother Earth" work as she wished well over half of us would not be here today. I am not saying this would be a bad thing mind you--just fact. I have no problem killing ANYTHING that takes food from my family, or anyone for that matter. For anyone not of the same state of mind---you would be in that half that did not make it the "Mother Earth" way I was refering to. Only the strongest/fittest and all that.
Just my 2bits
Tom​
 
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