69726 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 224 / Monday, November 20, 2000 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 21

RIN 1018–AH71

Migratory Bird Permits; Review of

Falconry Education Permits

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Request for comments.

SUMMARY: We are soliciting public

comments to help us develop options

for regulating falconry education

facilities. We have two pending

applications for permits to conduct

falconry and conservation educational

programs with migratory birds pursuant

to section 704 of the Migratory Bird

Treaty Act of 1918, as amended. Some

of the activities outlined in these

applications constitute the practice of

falconry by instructors and participants.

Falconry is specifically regulated under

certain Fish and Wildlife Service

regulations, and only persons who

qualify for falconry permits by meeting

minimum requirements may possess

raptors (birds of prey) for their use in

hunting prey. The applicants’ programs

feature instructors who maintain

falconry permits, but they seek to

exempt their participants from meeting

minimum requirements and obtaining

falconry permits. We are requesting

public comments on whether we should

deny these permit requests, or whether

we should amend the falconry

regulations to create additional, and less

restrictive, opportunities for the public

to participate in falconry.

DATES: Written comments should be

submitted by January 19, 2001, to the

address below.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or deliver

comments to the Division of Migratory

Bird Management, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax

Drive, Room 634, Arlington, Virginia

22203. You also may submit comments

via the Internet to:

falconrylprograms@fws.gov. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for file

formats and other information about

electronic filing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jon

Andrew, Chief, Division of Migratory

Bird Management, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service; (703) 358–1714.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Please

submit Internet comments as an ASCII

file avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption.

Please also include your name and

return address in your Internet message.

If you do not receive a confirmation that

we have received your message, contact

us directly at (703)358–1714.

Background

Falconry is the sport of hunting with

trained raptors to take game animals,

such as rabbits and squirrels, as defined

in 50 CFR 21.3. In 1972, raptors came

under the protection of the Migratory

Bird Treaty Act, and in 1976 we

promulgated regulations for a joint

State/Federal falconry program. The

regulations set rigorous requirements for

entry into the sport, specified raptor

housing and equipment standards, and

set stringent reporting and marking

requirements. Somewhat cautionary and

restrictive, the regulations were

promulgated at a time when there was

considerable concern over the

diminished status of many raptor

populations. The falconry regulations

reflected a sincere attempt to satisfy

diverse and often conflicting interests

while at the same time providing

adequate protection for raptors. In 1989,

we amended the regulations to establish

simpler, less restrictive rules governing

the use of most raptors because their

populations were generally increasing,

and the number of falconers was

relatively small.

Currently, approximately 4,000

persons are permitted to practice

falconry in the United States, and 400

persons are permitted to breed raptors

in captivity. Persons who want to

practice falconry must comply with the

falconry regulations in 50 CFR 21.28–

29, in addition to complying with State

falconry and hunting laws. Persons who

want to breed raptors must comply with

the raptor propagation regulations in 50

CFR 21.30, in addition to complying

with State wildlife propagation laws.

The falconry regulations require

individuals to have knowledge,

experience, equipment, and raptor

housing before we may issue them a

falconry permit. Permits are issued in

three classes—Apprentice, General, and

Master—depending on the applicant’s

age and experience. A person must have

a Federal (and State) falconry permit

before they may possess raptors, train

them by various handling techniques,

and use them in hunting. The

regulations also prescribe the species

and numbers of raptors that falconers

may possess, which vary by the class of

permit. We further allow permitted

falconers to use the birds in their

possession for conservation education

and the demonstration of falconry to

audiences.

Special Purpose Permits

Two applicants have requested

permits issued under Special Purpose

(50 CFR 21.27) to possess raptors to use

in falconry and conservation

educational programs. Because of the

wide nature of permits that may be

issued under Special Purpose, we

determine these permit conditions

individually. We have issued numerous

Special Purpose permits for

conservation education purposes, and

the conditions for these permits are

largely standardized due to the large

numbers of this type. Most of these

conservation education permits

authorize the possession of raptors for

use in programs where birds are

displayed to an audience, and the

audience participants are not allowed to

handle the birds.

We have previously issued three

Special Purpose permits for falconry

and conservation education facilities,

and two of these permits remain active.

These active permits are issued to the

British School of Falconry (BSF),

Manchester, Vermont; and the Falconry

and Raptor Education Foundation

(FAREF), White Sulphur Springs, West

Virginia. In general, we authorized these

permittees to possess a specified

number of raptors listed in 50 CFR

10.13. This authorization allowed the

facilities to have more birds than they

could possess under their instructors’

individual falconry permits, which

allows them to provide falconry

opportunities to more participants.

The permits issued to BSF and FAREF

require the birds to be captive-bred, and

also require the facilities to comply with

certain parts in the falconry regulations,

including raptor housing, leg-banding

for identification, and submission of

raptor acquisition report forms.

Although we require the instructors at

the BSF and FAREF to maintain either

General or Master class falconry

permits, we do not require participants

to obtain their own permits.

The BSF and FAREF programs allow

participants without prior experience to

handle the birds in various ways.

Typically, the instructor first places a

raptor on the gloved hand of each

participant. The participant then grasps

a leash attached to the bird’s legs, and

releases and recalls the bird using

whistles and food rewards. Both

facilities also provide raptor

conservation educational programs to

the public, which may include the

limited handling of birds on the gloved

hand of several audience members.

The permit issued to the BSF expires

on December 31, 2000. The permit

issued to the Falconry and Raptor

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 224 / Monday, November 20, 2000 / Proposed Rules 69727

Education Foundation expired on

December 31, 1999, but because they

submitted a renewal application at least

30 days prior to the expiration date,

their permit is still active. Additionally,

we have received a new application

from New England Falconry,

Shutesbury, Massachusetts, for a

similar, but expanded, Special Purpose

permit.

The new applicant requests a permit

to possess captive-bred Harris hawks,

prairie falcons, and peregrine falcons for

the purpose of educating the public

about falconry, raptors, conservation

and the environment, through the

experience of falconry. The applicant

requests to provide a variety of

educational programs, including

programs similar to those provided by

the BSF and FAREF, which allow the

handling of birds. In addition, the

applicant requests authority to provide

hunting programs, wherein the

participant would hold a lofting pole (Tshaped pole with perch on top), and the

instructor would place the raptor on the

pole. The bird, although trained to

respond to handlers, would be

physically unrestrained, and could fly at

prey flushed by dogs. If a kill is made,

the instructor would remove the bird

from the prey, and return it to the

lofting pole held by the participant.

Previously, we had expressly prohibited

the BSF from conducting similar

hunting programs after determining that

the participants were clearly practicing

falconry as defined in 50 CFR 21.3.

Determination of the Scope of Falconry

Because we have received public

comments regarding these permits, we

reviewed the falconry regulations and

the definitions provided in 50 CFR

10.12 and 21.3. We have determined

that participants at the BSF and FAREF

are practicing falconry as defined and

regulated under 50 CFR 21.28–29 and

therefore must fully comply with these

regulations. In arriving at this

determination, we concluded that the

falconry regulations clearly encompass

all activities relating to the sport of

falconry, including the housing,

handling, and training of raptors, in

addition to their use in hunting.

We now need to determine whether to

continue to allow the operation of

falconry educational facilities, and, if

so, with what requirements. In order to

allow their continuation, we must either

impose a handling restriction for

participants on these Special Purpose

permits (similar to most other

educational permits), or expand the

falconry regulations by amendment.

Public Comments Solicited

Interested persons are invited to

submit comments on continuing to

allow the operation of falconry

education facilities in the United States.

We request suggestions, materials,

recommendations, and arguments. We

invite comments from the public;

permitted falconry facilities; falconry

organizations; environmental

organizations; corporations; local, State,

Tribal and Federal agencies; and any

other interested party. Please ensure

that any comments submitted in

response to this request for comments

pertain to issues presented in this

notice.

Our practice is to make comments,

including names and home addresses of

respondents, available for public review

during regular business hours.

Individual respondents may request that

we withhold their home address from

the rulemaking record, which we will

honor to the extent allowable by law. If

you wish us to withhold your name

and/or address, you must state this

prominently at the beginning of your

comment. However, we will not

consider anonymous comments. We

will make all submissions from

organizations or businesses, and from

individuals identifying themselves as

representatives or officials or

organizations or businesses, available

for public inspection in their entirety.

Comments are particularly sought

concerning the following issues:

(1) Whether we should amend the

falconry regulations to allow the

operation of falconry education facilities

to include active participant handling of

raptors.

(2) Whether participants at hands-on

falconry education facilities should be

required to obtain individual permits,

and what type(s) of permit classes

should be created for participants, with

requirements such as age, examinations,

and experience.

(3) What type(s) of permitting

requirements should be created for these

facilities, and the requirements for

obtaining these permits, such as

instructor qualification, raptor

equipment and housing, and

commercial status of the facilities (profit

vs. nonprofit).

(4) What program restrictions should

be placed on falconry education

facilities, such as limiting participants

to raptor handling by release and recall

only, or whether participants should

participate in hunting activities, and

how.

(5) What program requirements

should be placed on falconry education

facilities, such as requiring a specified

core curriculum, or requiring that

conservation education be included.

69728 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 224 / Monday, November 20, 2000 / Proposed Rules

(6) Which raptor species should be

used, and/or whether species used at

falconry education facilities should be

limited to nonindigenous species,

which do not require MBTA permits.

(7) What benefits are obtained by

participants in falconry education

facilities, including whether

participants have easier access to

explore the sport of falconry, and

whether participants have used their

experience to better qualify for an

Apprentice class permit.

(8) Whether participants gain enough

knowledge to properly handle raptors

without harming the birds or

themselves.

(9) Whether more people will apply

for falconry permits after attending

falconry education facilities, and

whether suppliers of captive-bred

raptors (regulated under 50 CFR 21.30)

could provide for an increased demand

for birds, or whether impacts to wild

stock may result.

(10) Whether the falconry education

facilities generally contribute to

awareness of the resource by teaching

more people about the conservation of

raptors.

(11) How the economies of local

communities would be impacted by the

co-location of a falconry education

facility.

(12) How raptor propagators may be

affected economically from changes in

sales of captive-bred birds.

(13) How State wildlife agencies

would be affected, including whether

administrative workloads would

increase, whether amended regulations

would conflict with State laws, and

whether States would have greater or

reduced flexibility in administering the

joint permitting system.

We welcome comments on the issues

described above and encourage the

submission of new options or any

suggestions.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This request for comments does not

contain new or revised information

collection for which Office of

Management and Budget approval is

required under the Paperwork

Reduction Act. Information collection

associated with migratory bird permit

programs is covered by an existing OMB

approval No. 1018–0022, which expires

on 02/28/2001. The Service may not

conduct or sponsor, and a person is not

required to respond to, a collection of

information unless it displays a current

valid OMB control number.

Authorship: The primary author of this

notice is Diane Pence, Fish and Wildlife

Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley,

Massachusetts 01585.

Authority: The authority for this notice is

the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, as

amended (16 U.S.C. 703–712).

Dated: November 9, 2000.

Marshall P. Jones, Jr.,

Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 00–29562 Filed 11–17–00; 8:45 am]

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