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Post by ja1966 on Dec 12, 2007 12:08:54 GMT -5
could someone please give a breif account as to your laws re keeping bop in the USA
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Post by Eddie on Dec 12, 2007 14:57:13 GMT -5
That boils down to either having a falconry license or an education permit. For a falconry license you must be at least 14 years old in order to apply to be an apprentice and must have a sponsor who holds a higher class license such as a general or master. One you have a sponsor you must take a State/Federal falconry exam and pass by 80% or higher. If you pass, you must have all your equipment and mews inspected by a Division Officer. Bare minimum requirements is a mew big enough for the bird to fly from perch to perch without being able to strike its wings on the walls, and indoor and outdoor perch of appropriate design for the species you will have, leash, Sampo Salt Water Ball-Bearing swivel, scale that weighs in no more than 1/2 gram incements and a glove of appropriate size. Other equipment that makes the Officer "happy" to see in your posession are a set of quality bells and bewits, hoods in different sizes and telemetry. Once you pass your inspection you apply for a license in your State and IF they issue a license then you make a photocopy of it and mail it along with an application to the USFWS (united States Fish & Wildlife Service) which is the federal agency. Once you hae your permits you can purchase a raptor capture permit. As an apprentice falconer you MUST trap your first birds for 2 years and can ONLY have 1 American Kestrel or 1 Red-Tail hawk at any given time. If you trap a Kestrel your first year you can relese it the following spring and get a new captur permit and trap a Red-Tail if you want or you can keep the same bird for the full 2 year apprenticeship. Trapping season is ONLY from (in Utah anyway) September 1 on weekends and legal holidays and then from October 1 through January 31 of the following year every day. After your 2 year apprenticeship you become a general class and that lasts for 5 years during which time you can have two falconry birds in your posession at any given time and can at that point buy birds or take them as an eyass from the eyrie. You can have anything except an eagle of any species or anything listed as endangered. AFter your 5 year general class you becme a master class for the rest of your falconry career and are allowed to have 3 birds for falcony purposes and t that time may have 1 bird listed as sensitive, threatened and may have a golden eagle but that requires a special falconry license and another apprenticeship and are very difficult to get. Currently in the USA there are only 38 licensed eagle falconers out of about 2000 licensed falconers in the USA.
For an education permit you must apply to the State for an education permit and that requires that you have extensive knowledge of raptor species and you must have multiple letter from agencies such as different schools, colleges, church groups, boy/girl scouts, etc. stating they want you to perform an educational program on raptors. If the state allows you to hae a permit then you have to apply tot he USFWS for one aslo and basically all the equipment and mews laws apply to keeping educational birds as well.
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Post by ja1966 on Dec 13, 2007 9:36:32 GMT -5
thanks very much for your detailed reply its about time the british took a long hard look at there laws re falconry or should i say lack of laws because at the moment its as easy to buy any bird if you had the money as it is to buy sweets from a shop
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Post by Eddie on Dec 13, 2007 12:21:18 GMT -5
I've heard it is pretty easy for nearly anyone to buy raptors there. I heard rumors that sometimes you can buy a raptor in a pet store. Is that correct?
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Post by clivew on Dec 13, 2007 12:42:08 GMT -5
I've heard it is pretty easy for nearly anyone to buy raptors there. I heard rumors that sometimes you can buy a raptor in a pet store. Is that correct? There have been instances where HH's were being sold in pet stores but after it was advertised on a couple of forums and numerous telephone calls complaining about it, the pet shop owner said it was only being sold for a freind!! Ebay is the worst, this last 12 months I think there have been about 6 different birds advertised on there; again once posted on forums, we all complained and had them removed. Muppets!!
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Post by Eddie on Dec 13, 2007 12:43:55 GMT -5
Interesting.....ebay here in the states doesn't allow live animals on the auction, so again, a big difference in laws between us!
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Post by ja1966 on Dec 14, 2007 11:33:34 GMT -5
Interesting.....ebay here in the states doesn't allow live animals on the auction, so again, a big difference in laws between us! no it doesnt allow live animals for sale on ebay in this country but they try and get around the problem by putting things like (bow perch for sale asking price 200 pound with a free harris hawk pathetic really but it goes on in this country as we have that that many people keeping birds that dont have a clue what they are doing and far 2 many surplus birds
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Post by clivew on Dec 14, 2007 12:02:07 GMT -5
As Johnny says, people try alsorts of ways around selling them; another good one is when people offer an aviary for sale with all the equipment and they'll throw in the HH, owl or what ever!!! You only have to look at some of the questions on some of the lists in the UK, like, "Help, my bird has has coughed up a yellow 'fur-ball' kind of thing!!!" (not a real case but that type of thing)............................makes you wonder just what goes through some of the breeders/sellers heads when they let their birds go. Even some of the breeders make me laugh; they might have a few youngsters left after 18 weeks, so they advertise them for silly cheap money because they need the space for another clutch! If they couldn't sell the first clutch WHY the hell go for a second? Things like this make me mad, and I know someone close to me that has done this.
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Post by Eddie on Dec 14, 2007 13:02:36 GMT -5
That is definately rediculous! It boils down to "as long as the check clears". Breeders and many people just don't care about the animal, all they see is a money sign flashing in front of their eyes.
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Post by ja1966 on Dec 14, 2007 13:22:52 GMT -5
That is definately rediculous! It boils down to "as long as the check clears". Breeders and many people just don't care about the animal, all they see is a money sign flashing in front of their eyes. they wont like me saying it eddie but there are a lot of breeders in the uk that do it just for the money they feed the cheapest food to there birds so as to keep the cost down but on the other hand there are some very good bird breeders here that produce top quality birds
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Post by Eddie on Dec 14, 2007 15:10:01 GMT -5
I agree. We have the same issues here but most of the breeders are really good people with really good birds. They have been falconers for a long time and know the true value of a good hawk in the field and breed from high quality stock and proven game hawks. Only a few are horrible people with bad birds and, like you stated, feed the cheapest food to cut the cost just so they can sell the birds and make some money.
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