Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 12 - FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PARKS › Chapter 12.6 - ENFORCEMENT DIVISION › Subchapter 12.6.11 - Falconer License Regulations › Rule 12.6.1112 - TAKING, POSSESSING, AND TRANSPORTING RAPTORS FOR FALCONRY

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) A permittee may not intentionally capture
				a raptor species that their classification as a falconer does not allow them to
				possess. If a permittee captures such a bird, it must be released
				immediately.
(2) A resident
				falconer may take no more than two raptors from the wild each calendar year to
				use in falconry. Nonresident falconers must possess a valid state permit for
				take of raptors from the wild.
(a) Take of
				peregrine falcons from the wild is limited to time periods specified by annual
				rules. Take is limited to permittees who have received a peregrine take permit
				from the department and the conditions associated with that permit.
(b) Transfer of a bird taken from the wild to
				another permittee in the same calendar year of capture will count as one of the
				raptors allowed to be taken from the wild that year for the permittee who
				captured the bird. It will not count as a capture by the recipient, though it
				will always be considered a wild bird.
(c) A general or master falconer may remove
				nestlings from a nest or aerie.
(d)
				Raptors may not be taken at any time or in any manner that violates any law of
				the state, tribe, or agency on whose land a permittee is trapping.
(e) A raptor taken from the wild must be
				reported by submitting a paper form 3-186A to the department or by submitting
				the information electronically as authorized by the department. Reporting must
				be done at the first opportunity to do so, but no later than ten days after the
				capture of the bird.
(f) If a
				permittee who intends to possess a bird is present at the capture site, he or
				she is considered the person who removes the bird from the wild and is
				responsible for filing a 3-186A form or by submitting the information
				electronically as authorized by the department reporting take of the bird from
				the wild even if another person captures the bird for the permittee.
(g) If a permittee is not at the immediate
				location where the bird is taken from the wild, the person who removes the bird
				from the wild must be a general or master falconer, and must report take of the
				bird. If that person then transfers the bird to the permittee, both must file
				3-186A forms or submit the information electronically as authorized by the
				department reporting the transaction at the first opportunity to do so, but no
				later than ten days after the transfer. The bird will count as one of the two
				raptors the person who took it from the wild is allowed to capture in any year.
				The bird will not count as a bird the permittee took from the wild. The person
				who takes the bird from the wild must report the take even if he or she
				promptly transfers the bird to the permittee.
(h) If a permittee has a long-term or
				permanent physical impairment that prevents the permittee from attending the
				capture of a species for falconry, a general or master falconer may capture a
				bird for the permittee. The permittee is then responsible for filing a 3-186A
				form or by submitting the information electronically as authorized by the
				department reporting the take of the bird from the wild and the bird will count
				against the take of wild raptors that the permittee is allowed in any
				year.