O. Reg. 150/21: WILDLIFE IN CAPTIVITY

 

ontario regulation 150/21

made under the

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997

Made: February 25, 2021
Filed: March 1, 2021
Published on e-Laws: March 1, 2021
Printed in The Ontario Gazette: March 20, 2021

Amending O. Reg. 668/98

(WILDLIFE IN CAPTIVITY)

1. Section 10 of Ontario Regulation 668/98 is amended by adding the following definitions:

“juvenile”, in relation to a raptor, means a young specially protected raptor that is able to fly and is less than one year old;

“nestling”, in relation to a raptor, means a young specially protected raptor that is still dependent on adults and not capable of sustained flight;

2. Paragraph 1 of subsection 12 (2) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

1.  A person who provides proof that he or she held a licence to engage in the practice of falconry in a jurisdiction other than Ontario continuously for two years during the five-year period prior to the date of applying for a general falconry licence.

3. Subsection 15 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “specially protected raptors or other birds of prey” and substituting “falconry birds or non-indigenous falconry birds”.

4. Section 20 of the Regulation is amended by striking out “specially protected raptor or any other bird of prey” and substituting “falconry bird or non-indigenous falconry bird”.

5. (1) Subsection 22 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “other bird of prey” and substituting “non-indigenous falconry bird”.

(2) Section 22 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subsection:

(7) A person shall not re-use a band or band number that has been previously affixed to a specially protected raptor or non-indigenous falconry bird.

6. Section 25 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

25. (1) For the purposes of clause 40 (3) (b) of the Act, the holder of a general falconry licence, a commercial falconry licence or an apprentice falconry licence may, between May 1 and November 30, and in accordance with the conditions set out in subsection (2), hunt or trap one of the following specially protected raptors only for the purpose of keeping it in captivity to use as a falconry bird under the authority of their licence:

1.  A juvenile or nestling Cooper’s Hawk.

2.  A juvenile or nestling Merlin.

3.  A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.

4.  A juvenile or nestling Sharp-shinned Hawk.

(2) A licence holder hunting or trapping a specially protected raptor under subsection (1) shall comply with the following conditions:

1.  The person shall not take more than a single raptor under subsection (1) in any calendar year.

2.  The person shall not take a nestling raptor unless at least one other nestling raptor will remain in the nest.

3.  The person shall not damage any nest of a bird while taking a specially protected raptor under subsection (1).

4.  A specially protected raptor taken under subsection (1) shall be marked with a band that meets the criteria in section 22 immediately after it is taken and at the site of capture.

5.  The person shall follow the best available practices for taking specially protected raptors from the wild and shall take all reasonable steps to minimize any harm to wildlife and avoid incidental catch of non-target wildlife.

6.  Subject to paragraph 7, any incidentally caught wildlife shall be released immediately in the area of capture in a manner that causes the least harm to the wildlife.

7.  If any incidentally caught wildlife is injured and requires care, it shall be immediately taken to a wildlife custodian authorized under section 44 of the Act to keep the wildlife or to a veterinarian.

8.  The person shall carry their general falconry licence, commercial falconry licence or apprentice falconry licence on his or her person while hunting or trapping specially protected raptors under subsection (1).

25.1 For the purposes of clause 46 (1) (b) of the Act, the holder of a general falconry licence, a commercial falconry licence or an apprentice falconry licence may release a specially protected raptor taken under section 25 only in accordance with the following conditions:

1.  The raptor can only be released between March 1 and June 30.

2.  If the raptor was taken from the wild as a nestling raptor, the raptor must be released within 10 kilometres of the point of capture.

3.  At the time of release, the raptor must be healthy and in good physical condition, with no known or apparent illness or injury.

25.2 (1) Despite sections 24 and 26, a person shall not buy, sell or propagate a specially protected raptor that has been taken from the wild.

(2) A person shall not transfer a specially protected raptor taken from the wild to any other person.

7. Section 27 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

27 (1) A person who keeps specially protected raptors or non-indigenous falconry birds in captivity shall keep a log book in the format established by the Minister that contains information respecting the birds, including,

(a)  the name and licence number of the person keeping the bird;

(b)  the date of the event or business transaction being recorded;

(c)  the species and band number of the bird;

(d)  a description of the event or business transaction involving the bird, including information on the location of capture in the case of a specially protected raptor taken under section 25;

(e)  the name and address of any person engaged in the business transaction or event, along with the licence type and licence number of the person as it relates to the transaction or event, if any; and

(f)  details of any final disposition of the bird.

(2) The log book shall be updated within 24 hours of any event or business transaction that is required to be recorded under subsection (1) or as soon as reasonably possible.

(3) A person shall not make a false entry in the log book.

(4) A person who keeps specially protected raptors in captivity shall submit an annual report to the Minister in the format established by the Minister that includes information on the specially protected raptors kept by the person and any other such information as may be specified by the Minister, no later than January 31 following the year in which the raptors were kept.

(5) A person who keeps specially protected raptors in captivity shall keep copies of the log book and annual report for five years from the date of expiry of the licence that was valid at the time they were kept, or in the case of a person who keeps only non-indigenous falconry birds in captivity, copies of the log book shall be kept for five years from the date the log book was last required to be updated under subsection (2).

(6) Any person engaging in a business transaction or event involving a specially protected raptor or non-indigenous falconry bird shall provide the information required to be recorded in the log book under clause (1) (e) to any other person also engaged in the business transaction or event.

Commencement

8. This Regulation comes into force on the later of April 1, 2021 and the day it is filed.