No where did I state any such statement. I would kindly ask you to retract this lie and libelous statement. You know perfectly well that I did not say it was not against the law and I clearly pointed out that it was and IS still a misdemeanor. You should be ashamed of yourself for such tactics. You clearly are ignoring the moderator and trying to take this thread further out of control with LIES.
Bigdaddyabc is the one who made the statement that it is not illegal, and WalkingWolf more or less agreed with him, although in an earlier statement he did say it was a mindemeanor, and implied that it might result in a handslapping. He also implied that shooting a migratory bird going after one's animals is justified and that previous court rulings support that defense. The opposite is true, as is stated in the handbook quoted. I almost always verify the information I post, particularly when it is over a controversial matter. I have read the Act--many, many pages of it; I have read the handbook, and purused the list of protected birds. I have also read up on (although not the actual legislation) the other federal laws that protect raptors. The penalty portion of the Migratory Birds Treaty Act is halfway to being amended (has passed the house). Here is an excerpt:
`(d)(1) Except in the case of hunting and other activity allowed under section 3, whoever in violation of this Act kills or wounds a migratory bird in an aggravated manner shall, in lieu of any penalty for such violation--
`(A) for the first violation, be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than one year, or both; and
`(B) for the second and any subsequent violation, be fined under title 18 of the United States Code, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.
I am still looking for the amount of fines that passed; the original version called for up to $50K PER VIOLATION. There is a related bill in hte senate; here is an excerpt from it:
"`(c)(1) Except in the case of hunting and other activity allowed under section 3, whoever, in violation of this Act, intentionally and maliciously takes by any manner any migratory bird shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, for each violation.
`(2) Any person who intentionally and maliciously commits any other act or omission in violation of this Act or any regulations issued under this Act shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, for each violation."
Whether or not I agree with all the laws protecting raptors is immaterial. In fact, I do disagree with protecting a species that is not endangered and is actively attacking livestock or pets. But as long as the law stands, it IS the law, and should be respected as such. If you have a serious enough issue with it, by all means work to amend it or vote for those who will make the changes you want.
A couple of years ago I did have a problem with hawks cruising at low altitude through my yard DAILY. Needless to say all my birds were in lockdown during this time. I called our State Game & Fish Department to see what it would take to get a permit to have them relocated--they told me that only US Fish & Wildlife were able to issue permits, and that they were nearly impossible to get, and were usually ineffective (as the birds would usually make it home before their transportation did--we were talking 100s of miles relocation). Happily for my birds, as the season progressed, the birds migrated, as many of them do.
