THE GAME BREEDER 



109 



THE MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT. 



AN ACT — To give effect to the conven- 

 tion between the United States and 

 Great Britain for the protection of 

 migratory birds concluded at Wash- 

 ington, August sixteenth, nineteen 

 hundred and sixteen, and for other 

 purposes. 

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House 

 of Representatives of the United States 

 of America in Congress assembled. That 

 this Act shall be know^n by the short title 

 of the "Migratory Bird Treaty Act." 



Sec. 2. That unless and except as 

 permitted by regulations made as herein- 

 after provided, it shall be unlawful to 

 hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, 

 capture or kill, possess, offer for sale, 

 sell, offer to purchase, purchase, dehver 

 for shipment, ship, cause to be shipped, 

 deliver for transportation, transport, 

 cause to be transported, carry or cause 

 to be carried by any means whatever, 

 receive for shipment, transportation or 

 carriage, or export, at any time or in any 

 manner, any migratory bird, included in 

 the terms of the convention between the 

 United States and. Great Britain for the 

 protection of migratory birds concluded 

 August sixteenth, nineteen hundred and 

 sixteen, or any part, nest, or egg of any 

 such bird. 



Sec. 3. That subject to the provisions 

 and in order to carry out the purposes of 

 the convention, the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture is authorized and directed, from 

 time to time, having due regard to the 

 zones of temperature and to the distri- 

 bution, abundance, economic value, 

 breeding habits, and times and lines of 

 migratory flight of such birds, to deter- 

 mine when, to what extent, if at all, and 

 by what means, it is compatible with the 

 terms of the convention to allow hunt- 

 ing, taking, capture, killing, possession, 

 sale, purchase, shipment, transportation, 

 carriage, or export of any such bird, or 

 any part, nest, or egg thereof, and to 

 adopt suitable regulations permitting and 

 governing the same, in accordance with 

 such determinations, which regulations 

 shall become effective when approved hv 

 the President. 



Sec. 4. That it shall be unlawful to 

 ship, transport, or carry, by any means 

 whatever, from one State, Territory, or 

 District to or through another State, 

 Territory, or District, or tO' or through 

 a foreign country, any bird, or any part,, 

 nest, or egg thereof, captured, killed,, 

 taken, shipped, transported, or carried at 

 any time contrary to the laws of the- 

 State, Territory, or District in which it. 

 was captured, killed, or taken, or from: 

 which it was shipped, transported, or 

 carried. It shall be unlawful to import 

 any bird, or any part, nest, or egg there- 

 of, captured, killed, taken, shipped, trans- 

 ported, or carried contrary to the laws 

 of any Province of the Dominion of 

 Canada in which the same was captured,, 

 killed, or taken, or from which it waa; 

 shipped, transported, or carried. 



Sec. 5. That employees of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture authorized by 

 the Secretary of Agriculture to enforce 

 the provisions of this Act shall, with re- 

 spect thereto, have the same powers as. 

 are conferred by law on marshals with 

 respect to executing the laws of the 

 United States. That any warrant nec- 

 essary to the enforcement of the provi- 

 sions of this Act, or any regulation made 

 thereunder, shall be issued by the sev- 

 eral judges of the courts established un- 

 der the laws of the United States, and 

 the United States commissioners within 

 their respective jurisdictions, upon 

 proper oath or affirmation showing prob- 

 able cause for the issuance of such war- 

 rant. All birds, or parts, nests, or eggs 

 thereof, captured, killed, taken, shipped, 

 transported, carried, or possessed con- 

 trary to the provisions of this Act or of 

 any regulations made pursuant thereto 

 shall, when found, be seized by any such 

 employee, or by any marshal or deputy 

 marshal, and, upon conviction of the 

 offender or upon judgment of a court of 

 the United States that the same were 

 captured, killed, taken, .shipped, trans- 

 ported, carried or possessed contrary to 

 the provisions of this Act or of any reg- 

 ulation made pursuant thereto, shall be 

 forfeited to the Ignited States and dis- 



