Its your life in a cell. If you want to sit in prison more power to you. I happen to like my freedom. No wildlife officer can give you the ok to kill a hawk plain and simple. Check the federal laws before you make an assumption and listen to a 3rd party.A "FEDERAL WILDLIFE OFFICER" huh? Is that different from a REGULAR WILDLIFE OFFICER? To which I called and they said "SHOOT THE *******, as it was MY right as a livestock owner"
The federal protection of migratory birds has a long history in the U.S. dating back to 1916 when a treaty was signed between the United States and Great Britain, on behalf of Canada, for the protection of most migratory birds. This treaty resulted in the enactment of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act(MBTA) in 1918, which is the basic law in effect today. Although raptors such as hawks and owls were not protected by the original Act, they were later included as an amendment in 1972. The bald eagle has been protected since the enactment of the Eagle Act in 1940 and the golden eagle, also under the Eagle Act, since 1962. State laws and regulations today likewise protect all migratory birds.
Hawks
Believe it or not, hawks are sometimes a major nuisance to property owners. While the recovery of birds of prey from the brink of exstinction has been a remarkable wildlife achievement, their recovery can mean headaches for you.
Solutions for hawk problems.
First, tolerance. There will never be lots of hawks or other birds of prey. Being the top of the key chain, it is impossible for their numbers to increase beyond the carrying capacity of the land.
Second, remember that hawks and other birds of prey are a FEDERALLY PROTECTED SPECIES. You cannot kill them or harm them in any way without a federal and sometimes state depredation permit. So all solutions will have to be non-lethal.
Non-Lethal Solutions for Hawks.
Pyrotechnics: Scare them with the loud booms of screamers and projectile explosives. These are fired from a 12 gauge shotgun or special pistol. Some states consider them firearms and you will need proper permits to shoot them. Even if your state does not consider them firearms, you will still need to treat them as deadly. Get training and/or instruction before using these devices.
Would you like more quotes? I could fill page after page proving you and your little official are wrong, or i could just laugh when you get cuffed. I tried to be nice but you;ll just get childish and argue. Arguing dont change the fact they are FEDERALLY protected. Go ahead a shoot one. It will be in the wildlife officers right to put you in hand cuffs and charge you with killing a protected species.