Section 1590.100  Transfer, Change in Status, Release, Acquisition and Reporting Requirements

a)         Permittees shall not purchase or sell any raptor except as specified in Section 1590.85(a) or in subsection (d) of this Section.

b)         If a raptor is acquired, transferred, rebanded or microchipped, if a raptor is stolen, if a raptor is lost to the wild and not recovered within 30 days, or if a raptor possessed for falconry dies, the change in status must be reported within 10 days by entering the required information into the electronic database at https://epermits.fws.gov/falcp and to the Department by submitting a form 3-186A.  If a raptor is stolen, then it must be reported to the Department and to the local Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Law Enforcement office at 618-713-5320 within 10 days after the theft of the raptor.  Copies of electronic database submissions documenting take, transfer, loss, rebanding or microchipping must be kept for 5 years after the transaction.

c)         Non-native raptors, hybrids, imprinted raptors and golden eagles may not be permanently released in Illinois. 

1)         If the species is native to Illinois and was taken from the wild, it may be released only at an appropriate time of year and an appropriate location with permission of the respective landowner.  The falconry band and equipment (anklets, jesses, etc.) must be removed and the release must be reported by entering the required information into the electronic database at https://epermits.fws.gov/falcp and reported to the Department by submitting a form 3-186A.

2)         If the raptor species is native to Illinois and is captive-bred, it may be released only by hacking the raptor to the wild at an appropriate time of year and an appropriate location.  The falconry band and equipment (anklets, jesses, etc.) must be removed and the release must be reported by entering the required information into the electronic database at https://epermits.fws.gov/falcp and reported to the Department by submitting a form 3-186A.

d)         Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a falconry permittee from purchasing, selling or bartering a captive-bred raptor marked with a seamless band provided that the transaction is in accordance with federal regulations (50 CFR 21.29) , this Part, and the laws of the jurisdiction in which the captive-bred raptor is purchased, sold or bartered, the captive-bred raptor is of a species that may be legally held by the permittee (see Section 1590.80), and the captive-bred raptor was legally acquired by the person from whom it is being purchased as demonstrated by the FWS forms).  Wild raptors may be transferred, but shall not be purchased, sold, traded or bartered.

e)         A raptor of any age and species that a falconry permittee is allowed to possess (except a golden eagle) may be acquired directly from a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.  The transfer is at the discretion of the rehabilitator.

1)         A raptor acquired from a rehabilitator must be reported within 10 days by entering the required information into the electronic database at https://epermits.fws.gov/falcp and by submitting a form 3-186A to the Department.

2)         A raptor acquired from a rehabilitator will count as one of the raptors that a permittee is allowed to take from the wild that year.

f)         Captive-bred falconry raptors may be transferred to another permit type if the holder of the other permit is authorized to possess the raptors.  The transfer must be reported within 10 days by entering the required information into the electronic database at https://epermits.fws.gov/falcp and by submitting a form 3-186A to the Department.

g)         A wild-caught falconry raptor may be transferred to another permit type if the holder of the other permit is authorized to possess the raptor under the following circumstances:

1)         A wild-caught falconry raptor may be transferred to a captive propagation permit after the raptor has been used in falconry for at least 2 years (1 year for a sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii), merlin (Falco columbarius) or American kestrel).  A copy of the 3-186A form documenting the acquisition of a raptor by the propagator must be provided to the Department and the federal migratory bird permit office that administers the federal propagation permit.

2)         A wild-caught falconry raptor may be transferred to another permit type in less than 2 years (1 year for a sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, merlin or an American kestrel) if the raptor has been injured and a veterinarian or permitted wildlife rehabilitator has determined that the raptor can no longer be flown for falconry.  Within 10 days after transferring the raptor, a copy of the 3-186A form documenting acquisition of the raptor must be submitted to the Department and the federal migratory bird permitting office that administers the other permit type.  When the raptor is transferred, a copy of the certification from the veterinarian or rehabilitator that the raptor is not useable in falconry must also be submitted to the Department and the federal migratory bird permitting office that administers the other permit type.

h)         A surviving spouse, executor, administrator or other legal representative of a deceased falconry permittee may transfer any falconry raptor held by the deceased permittee to another authorized permittee within 90 days after the death of the falconry permittee.  After 90 days, the disposition of the raptors is at the discretion of the Department.

(Source:  Amended at 43 Ill. Reg. 9659, effective August 23, 2019)