Quote Originally Posted by Richard View Post
Actually, with the new regs an apprentice in many states can now start out with an imprint captive bred bird. It's best not to, but it is available...
If that is the case, then somethin slipped through the cracks. In the section of the federal language on apprentice falconers is this:

50 CFR 21.29 (c) (2) (i) (I) You may not possess a bird that is imprinted on humans.
That's something I would like to see changed because its vague and silly, but its in there. I don't think its generally a good idea for a green apprentice to raise an imprint, but I suppose with the right guidance it would not be a big deal. It also wouldn't be a big deal in the case of the apprentice with several years under their belt - like a kid that started at 12 and still wasn't old enough to be a general.

Where I think this is really silly is in the case of a many times intermewed adult bird. The authorities wont be able to tell whether its an imprint or not, so how can this be enforced? Behaviorally, a mature polished game hawk is not going to be a problem to give to an apprentice, so why prevent it?

The same goes for the regulation preventing an apprentice from possessing a hawk taken from the wild as a nestling. Its not something I would argue against early in that hawks career, but when they are a polished game hawk, why not let an apprentice have it. In this case, its pretty easy to determine and enforce because there would be, in theory, a 3-186a paperwork trail determining when the bird was first taken.