Presently, persons wishing to treat sick, injured or orphaned migratory birds must obtain a special purpose permit under the provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which provides Federal protection for more than 800 species of migratory birds that spend all or part of their lives in the U.S. The special purpose permit category is used to authorize activities not specifically covered by other existing types of permits.
"Bird rehabilitators save the lives of thousands of migratory birds each year and return them to the wild," said Acting Service Director Marshall Jones. "This proposal recognizes the importance of their work by creating a unique permit for rehabilitation that sets clear standards for care."
Because the special purpose permit can cover many types of activities, the regulations promulgating it are necessarily broad and general in scope. The permit requires holders to have experience in rehabilitating migratory birds; sets standards for facilities; requires recordkeeping; establishes a protocol for working with threatened and endangered species and bald and golden eagles; specifies requirements for releasing, euthanising, and transferring birds; and establishes restrictions concerning who may assist with the permitted activities, among others.
The nation
