Section NR 18.12 - Taking and disposal restrictions(1) RESIDENT PERMITTEE. No resident permittee may take, possess or transport a raptor from the wild without a falconry permit from the department's bureau of endangered resources.(2) NONRESIDENT RAPTOR TRAPPING PERMIT.(a) Trapping permits may be issued to nonresidents meeting the qualifications of the permittees in s. NR 18.10.(b) Nonresidents may not apply for more than one trapping permit per trapping season.(c) The nonresident raptor trapping permittee shall immediately upon capture mark a raptor trapped under a nonresident raptor trapping permit with a federal band. No raptor may be transported within or from Wisconsin without the band attached.(d) The nonresident raptor trapping permittee shall notify the bureau within 5 days of any take and provide information on the take on forms provided by the bureau.(e) The nonresident raptor trapping permit shall be carried by the permittee while in the act of trapping and during the transportation of the trapped raptor.(3) TAKING RAPTORS FROM THE WILD. (a)Season. A general or master falconer may take eyasses annually during the periods of March 1 to April 5 and May 7 to July 15. Except as provided in sub. (2) (f), no more than 2 eyasses may be taken by the same general or master falconer permittee during the specified season.(b)Passage raptors. First-year (passage or immature) raptors may be taken from August 21 to January 31.(c)Federal Band. A raptor that has a federal band attached may be re-trapped at any time.(d)Northern goshawk. No person may possess a northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) taken from the wild or acquired from a rehabilitator unless it is marked as required by this subsection. 1. The goshawk shall be banded immediately upon possession.2. When banding a northern goshawk, a permanent, non-reusable, numbered fish and wildlife service leg band supplied by the bureau or permittee's tribe shall be used. The falconer also may purchase and implant an ISO (International Organization for Standardization)-compliant (134.2 kHz) microchip in the bird.3. The band number and microchip information shall be reported within 10 days from the day the falconer takes the goshawk from the wild or from a rehabilitator by entering the required information (including band number and/or microchip information) in the electronic database at http://permits.fws.gov/186A, or by submitting a paper 3-186A form to the bureau or to the permittee's tribe. Note: Paper copies of the 3-186A form can be obtained by contacting the Falconry Coordinator at the Bureau of Endangered Resources, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921.
4. No person may take a northern goshawk on U.S. department of agriculture national forest land unless a written description of the location of the take, satisfactory to the forest supervisor or designee, is provided to the forest supervisor or designee prior to any take. Note: The national forests, consistent with the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 (16 USC 528) and the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (16 USC 1701-1784), are managed for wildlife purposes. Data regarding the populations and take of the northern goshawk on the national forest is relevant to goshawk management. The Forest Service may implement protection measures for the northern goshawk that may include the closing of areas of land within the national forest to the take of goshawks. Information on the location of national forest land may be obtained from: Chequamegon/Nicolet Forest Supervisor, Federal Building, 68 S. Stevens Street, Rhinelander, WI 54501.
(4) MARKING. (a) A raptor held under a permit shall be marked with a fish and wildlife service non-reusable band provided by the bureau.(b) A permittee shall attach the band to the raptor within 48 hours of acquisition. The permittee may also purchase and implant an ISO-compliant (134.2 kHz) microchip in the bird. The permittee shall report the band or microchip at http://permits.fws.gov/186A or by submitting a paper 3-186A form or an electronic report to the bureau at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/EndangeredResources/permits.html, or to the permittee's tribe, within 10 days after acquisition.(c) No person may alter, counterfeit or deface a federal band or ISO-compliant microchip. A permittee may, however, remove the rear tab on federal bands or ISO-compliant microchips and may smooth any imperfect surface provided the integrity of the federal band or microchip and numbering are not affected.(d) A permittee who traps a previously marked raptor shall immediately report the trapping to the bureau, and include information on the species, location (county, township, section, quarter section, quarter-quarter section), and band identification.(e) If a band is removed or is lost from a raptor in possession, the permittee shall report the loss of the band within 10 days, and shall do one of the following: either request a fish and wildlife service non-reusable band from the bureau or permittee's tribe, or purchase and implant an ISO-compliant (134.2 kHz) microchip in the bird and report the band or microchip at http://permits.fws.gov/186A, or by submitting a paper 3-186A form to the bureau or permittee's tribe within 10 days of band or microchip acquisition. Note: Paper copies of the 3-186A form can be obtained by contacting the Falconry Coordinator at the Bureau of Endangered Resources, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921 or online at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/EndangeredResources/permits.html.
(5) EGGS TAKEN FROM THE WILD. No person may remove any raptor egg or eggs from any nest unless permitted under a scientific collector's permit issued by the department's bureau of endangered resources.(6) NESTLING RAPTORS. General and master class permittees may take eyasses under s. NR 18.10 on the condition that no less than one healthy chick is left in the nest from which the eyas was taken.(7) ADULT RAPTORS. Except as otherwise authorized, a permittee may not take from the wild or possess any raptor taken from the wild if the raptor is over one year old when taken. This subsection does not apply to American kestrel or great horned owl (Bubo virginianus).(7m) RAPTORS TAKEN UNDER OTHER PERMITS. Raptors other than state and federally endangered or threatened species that have been taken under a depredation permit or scientific collector's permit may be used for falconry by general and master class permittees.(8) RAPTORS TAKEN IN WISCONSIN. A licensed falconer who legally takes a raptor from the wild has legal title to the raptor, subject to s. 169.02, Stats.(9) RAPTORS FROM OUTSIDE WISCONSIN. Raptors obtained outside the state by Wisconsin residents may not be possessed or transported within Wisconsin unless the person possesses legal authority from the state in which the raptor was acquired and a Wisconsin falconry permit. A Wisconsin falconry permittee may possess a wild raptor legally obtained outside the state or a properly identified captive-bred raptor obtained from a resident of another state.(10) ESCAPE OR DEATH OF RAPTORS. A permittee shall report the loss or death of any raptor within 5 days to the bureau. Carcasses shall be disposed of as directed by the fish and wildlife service. Note: Forms may be obtained from the Bureau of Endangered Resources, Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707.
Note: In addition, all persons must comply with applicable requirements of federal migratory bird permit regulations contained in 50 CFR 21.
(11) EXCHANGE OF RAPTORS. No person may give or transfer a raptor to a holder of a Wisconsin permit unless the exchange is reported to the bureau by the permittee originally holding the raptor within 10 days of the gift or transfer. If a permittee transfers a raptor taken from the wild to another permittee in the same year in which it is captured, the bird shall count as one of the raptors allowed to be taken from the wild that year by the transferor. The transferred raptor will not count as a capture by the recipient, though it shall always be considered a wild bird.(12) TRAPPING OF RAPTORS. (a) All live traps used in taking raptors shall be of a design to offer minimum harm to captured birds and shall be monitored by the permittee at all times.(b) Each trap shall bear a legible label containing the name, address and state falconry permit number of the permittee or non-resident raptor training permit number.(13) TRAINING OF RAPTORS. Persons may not train raptors by using or killing game birds out of season; however, legally obtained captive-bred game birds may be used for this purpose. Game birds possessed by a permittee shall be treated in a humane manner and confined under sanitary conditions with proper care.(14) CAPTIVE REARED RAPTORS. A raptor hatched and reared in captivity, and banded with a seamless metal band provided by the fish and wildlife service, may be used for falconry. The raptor may also have an implanted ISO-compliant (134.2 kHz) microchip.(15) CAPTURE AND POSSESSION OF GOLDEN EAGLES. A master falconer may capture a golden eagle as allowed under 50 CFR part 22.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources NR 18.12
Cr. Register, December, 1977, No. 264, eff. 1-1-78; r. and recr. (8), Register, August, 1979, No. 284, eff. 9-1-79; cr. (11), Register, August, 1982, No. 320, eff. 9-1-82; emerg. cr. (12), eff. 9-15-89; cr. (12), Register, March, 1990, No. 411, eff. 4-1-90; r. and recr. Register, December, 1997, No. 504, eff. 12-1-98; CR 13-005: am. (2) (a), (c), (d), (f), (3) (a) to (c), cr. (3) (d), am. (4) (a) to (d), cr. (4) (e), r. and recr. (7), cr. (7m), r. and recr. (8), am. (9) to (11), (12) (b), (13), (14), cr. (15) Register July 2013 No. 691, eff. 8-1-13.Amended by, CR 23-025: am. (14) Register February 2024 No. 819, eff. 4/1/2024