16 U.S.C. § 668a — Taking and using of the bald and golden eagle for scientific, exhibition, and religious purposes

submitted 86 years ago by ch. 278 to r/title-16-CONSERVATION · 291 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

The Secretary of the Interior may permit taking eagles for science, display, or religious purposes. States can require permits for golden eagles that protect livestock, and bald eagles always need a permit. The Secretary may also allow falconry and nest removal for golden eagles, under set rules.

The Secretary of the Interior can let people take, keep, or move bald or golden eagles in limited situations.

First, the Secretary must investigate. The Secretary must find that this fits with protecting the species. Or the Secretary must find it is needed to protect wildlife, farms, or other local interests.

If the Secretary approves, permits can go to public museums, scientific societies, and zoos for science or display. They can also go to Indian tribes for religious purposes. Or they can go to people protecting wildlife, farms, or other local interests. The Secretary sets the rules for how this works.

If a state's governor asks, the Secretary must let people take golden eagles to protect farm animals during certain seasons. The Secretary decides where in the state and for how long this protection is needed.

Bald eagles can never be taken for any reason without a permit from the Secretary first.

The Secretary may also let people take, keep, or move golden eagles for falconry. Only eagles taken because they were attacking livestock or wildlife can be used this way.

Finally, the Secretary may let people take golden eagle nests that get in the way of resource development or recovery projects.

facts

- Codified at 16 U.S.C. § 668a, addressing taking/use of bald and golden eagles for scientific, exhibition, and religious purposes. - Originally enacted June 8, 1940 (ch. 278, § 2, 54 Stat. 251). - Amended three times: Pub. L. 87–884 (1962), Pub. L. 92–535 (1972), and Pub. L. 95–616 (1979). - Section text comprises 291 words with four provisos governing permit conditions. - Source credit contains four separate statutory references.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

Whenever, after investigation, the Secretary of the Interior shall determine that it is compatible with the preservation of the bald eagle or the golden eagle to permit the taking, possession, and transportation of specimens thereof for the scientific or exhibition purposes of public museums, scientific societies, and zoological parks, or for the religious purposes of Indian tribes, or that it is necessary to permit the taking of such eagles for the protection of wildlife or of agricultural or other interests in any particular locality, he may authorize the taking of such eagles pursuant to regulations which he is hereby authorized to prescribe: Provided, That on request of the Governor of any State, the Secretary of the Interior shall authorize the taking of golden eagles for the purpose of seasonally protecting domesticated flocks and herds in such State, in accordance with regulations established under the provisions of this section, in such part or parts of such State and for such periods as the Secretary determines to be necessary to protect such interests: Provided further, That bald eagles may not be taken for any purpose unless, prior to such taking, a permit to do so is procured from the Secretary of the Interior: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior, pursuant to such regulations as he may prescribe, may permit the taking, possession, and transportation of golden eagles for the purposes of falconry, except that only golden eagles which would be taken because of depredations on livestock or wildlife may be taken for purposes of falconry: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior, pursuant to such regulations as he may prescribe, may permit the taking of golden eagle nests which interfere with resource development or recovery operations.

Source credit: (June 8, 1940, ch. 278, § 2, 54 Stat. 251; Pub. L. 87–884, Oct. 24, 1962, 76 Stat. 1246; Pub. L. 92–535, § 2, Oct. 23, 1972, 86 Stat. 1065; Pub. L. 95–616, § 9, Nov. 8, 1979, 92 Stat. 3114.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1940Enacted · Act of June 8, 1940, ch. 278 · 54 Stat. 251
1962Amended · Pub. L. 87-884 · 76 Stat. 1246
1972Amended · Pub. L. 92-535 · 86 Stat. 1065
1979Amended · Pub. L. 95-616 · 92 Stat. 3114

The record shows this section originated as part of the Act of June 8, 1940, chapter 278, section 2, 54 Stat. 251. According to the source credit, the section was subsequently amended three times: by Public Law 87–884 (Oct. 24, 1962), Public Law 92–535, section 2 (Oct. 23, 1972), and Public Law 95–616, section 9 (Nov. 8, 1979). The credit does not itself describe the content of these amendments, only their dates and statutory citations. The 1940 Act is generally understood to be the Bald Eagle Protection Act, enacted out of concern for the declining population of the bald eagle, which had been designated the national emblem. The Act's commonly cited purpose was to prohibit the taking, possession, and commerce of bald eagles except under limited, government-authorized circumstances. The 1962 amendment is widely understood to have extended similar protections to the golden eagle, reflecting concern that golden eagles were being killed in numbers that also threatened bald eagle populations through misidentification or incidental taking. Beyond these general historical understandings of the 1940 and 1962 enactments, the record does not establish the specific legislative purpose behind the 1972 or 1979 amendments, nor does it document why particular provisions—such as those addressing falconry, livestock protection, or nest removal for resource development—were added at those later dates. Determining the precise intent behind those changes would require consulting legislative history not contained in the source credit itself.

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