Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 3 - DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION › Division 10 - Conservation Commission › Chapter 9 - Wildlife Code: Confined Wildlife: Privileges, Permits, Standards › Section 3 CSR 10-9.442 - Falconry

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This amendment will allow master falconers
				  to take and possess wild passage peregrine falcons for use in falconry in
				  accordance with season dates and the annual allocation established by the
				  United States Fish and Wildlife Service for Missouri.
(1) Birds of prey may be taken, transported,
				possessed, or used to take wildlife by holders of a falconry permit, to be
				issued only to residents qualified by passing with a score of at least eighty
				percent (80%) a written examination meeting federal standards and whose
				facilities and equipment meet requirements specified in this rule. The barter,
				sale, purchase, importation, or exportation of raptors without a permit is
				prohibited. If a permittee allows his/her permit to lapse for a period of less
				than five (5) years, the permit may be reinstated at the level previously held.
				A permittee who allows his/her permit to lapse five (5) years or longer must
				pass the written examination with a score of at least eighty percent (80%), at
				which point the permit may be reinstated at the level previously
				held.
(2) Only designated species
				and numbers of birds of prey may be possessed and each bird shall bear a
				numbered, non-reuseable marker provided by the department. Documented health
				problems or injuries caused by the band may qualify the permit holder for an
				exemption to the banding requirement for that raptor, in which case a copy of
				the exemption paperwork must remain in the permittee's possession when
				transporting or flying the raptor. If the bird with documented health issues
				caused by the band is a wild goshawk, Harris's hawk, peregrine falcon, or
				gyrfalcon an International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-compliant
				microchip must be used. Birds held under a falconry permit may be used, without
				further permit, to pursue and take wildlife within the following seasons and
				bag limits:
(A) Cottontail and swamp rabbits
				may be taken from October 1 to March 31. Daily limit: six (6) rabbits,
				including no more than two (2) swamp rabbits; possession limit: twelve (12)
				rabbits, including no more than four (4) swamp rabbits.
(B) Squirrels may be taken from the fourth
				Saturday in May to February 15. Daily limit: ten (10) squirrels; possession
				limit: twenty (20) squirrels.
(C)
				Quail may be taken from October 1 to January 15. Daily limit: three (3) quail;
				possession limit: six (6) quail.
(D) Migratory game birds to include only
				doves, ducks, mergansers, and coots may be taken, possessed, transported, and
				stored only as provided in federal regulations and this Code. (Regulations for
				doves, ducks, mergansers, coots, and other migratory game birds are determined
				annually by the commission following receipt of regulations prescribed by the
				Secretary of the Interior under authority of the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty
				Act. See
				3 CSR
				10-7.440.)
(E) Pheasants of either sex may be taken in
				the areas and during the periods and within the bag and possession limits
				listed in
				3 CSR
				10-7.430.
(F) Other wildlife may be taken only within
				the specified seasons and bag limits, except that pheasants, quail, turkeys,
				and game mammals may be taken outside of the specified falconry seasons with a
				daily limit of one (1) per raptor per day.
(G) Permittees may use legally obtained and
				captive-reared quail, pheasants, exotic partridges, and mallard ducks for
				training of falconry raptors. Quail, pheasants, and exotic partridges shall be
				marked with a permanent avian leg band prior to release. Mallard ducks shall be
				marked by removal of the hind toe from the right foot or by tattooing a readily
				discernable number or letter or combination on the web of one (1)
				foot.
(H) Game birds held for more
				than twenty-four (24) hours must be confined as specified in
				3 CSR
				10-9.220. For mallard ducks, such facilities must be
				designed and managed to immediately recapture any unharvested ducks.