Washington Administrative Code › Title 220 - Fish and Wildlife, Department of › WILDLIFE › Chapter 220-420 - Falconry › Section 220-420-070 - Apprentice falconer classes of permit and permitted raptors

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) An applicant
				for an apprentice falconry permit must be at least twelve years of age. If
				under eighteen years of age, a parent or legal guardian must sign the
				application and will be legally responsible for the apprentice falconer's
				activities.
(2) An applicant must
				correctly answer at least eighty percent of the questions on an examination
				administered by the department, or provide proof of having previously held a
				valid apprentice falconry permit. The examination will cover care and handling
				of falconry raptors, state and federal regulations relevant to falconry, and
				other appropriate subject matter.
(3) An applicant must submit a letter to the
				department from a general falconer or a master falconer, who is at least
				eighteen years of age with at least two years experience at the general
				falconer level, stating that he/she has agreed to be a sponsor to assist the
				applicant in learning about the husbandry and training of raptors held for
				falconry, relevant wildlife laws and regulations, and in deciding what
				permitted raptor species is appropriate to possess while an apprentice
				falconer.
(4) The applicant must
				submit an original, signed certification incorporated into the department
				application form, worded as follows:
I certify that I have read and am
				familiar with Washington and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service falconry
				regulations, and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and that the
				information I have submitted is complete and accurate to the best of my
				knowledge and belief. I understand that any false statement herein may subject
				me to cancellation of the application and/or criminal
				penalties.
(5) An
				apprentice falconer may not intentionally capture a raptor species that this
				permit classification does not allow the falconer to possess for falconry. Any
				raptor captured, that an apprentice falconer is not permitted to take must be
				released immediately.
(6)
				Regardless of the number of state, tribal, or territorial falconry permits an
				apprentice falconer may have, he/she may possess no more than one raptor for
				use in falconry.
(7) An apprentice
				falconer may take a red-tailed hawk (
Buteo jamaicensis
) or a
				kestrel (
Falco sparverius
) from the wild in
				Washington.
(8) An apprentice may
				possess any species of Falconiform or Strigiform, except a golden eagle
				(
Aquila chrysaetos
), a bald eagle (
Haliaeetus
				leucocephalus
), a white-tailed eagle (
Haliaeetus
				albicilla
), or a Steller's sea-eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), or a
				federally listed threatened or endangered species for falconry. An apprentice
				falconer may possess captive-bred individuals or hybrids of the species he/she
				is allowed to possess for falconry.
(9) A wild raptor may be transferred to an
				apprentice.
(10) An apprentice
				falconer may not possess a nestling raptor taken from the wild and may not
				possess a raptor that is imprinted on humans.
(11) An apprentice falconer may take a free
				flying permitted raptor species less than one year of age from the wild during
				any period.
(12) Raptor facilities
				must pass inspection by the department or its designee before an apprentice
				falconer applicant is granted a permit.
Statutory Authority:
					 RCW
					 77.04.012,
					 77.04.020,
					 77.04.055,
					 77.12.047,
					 77.12.210, and C.F.R. Title 50,
					 Part 21, Subpart C, Section 21.29; Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 10-18-012 (Order
					 10-214), §
											232-30-151, filed 8/20/10,
					 effective 9/20/10.