168 



THE GAME BREEDER 



THE MIGRATORY BIRD LAW 



T Section 12 of this law is the one which will 

 interest the Game Breeders. — Editor.] 



[Public — No. 186 — 65th Congress.] 



[S. 1553.J 



An Act to give effect to the convention 

 between 'the United States and Great 

 Britain for the protection of migratory 

 birds concluded at Washington, 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 known by the short title 

 of the "Migratory Bird Treaty Act." 



Sec. 2. That unless and except as per- 

 mitted 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, deliver 

 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, re- 

 ceive 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 Agri- 

 culture is authorized and directed, from 

 time to time, having due regard to the 

 zones of temperature and to the distribu- 

 tion, abundance, economic value, breed- 

 ing habits, and times and lines of migra- 

 tory flight of such birds, to determine 

 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 regula- 

 tions shall become effective when ap- 

 proved by 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, 

 transported, 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 was 

 shipped, transported, or carried. 



*Sec. 5. That any employee of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture authorized by 

 the Secretary of Agriculture to enforce 

 the provisions of this Act shall have 

 power, without warrant, to arrest any 

 person committing a violation of this 

 Act in his presence or view and to take 

 such person immediately for examina- 

 tion or trial before an officer or court of 

 competent jurisdiction; shall have power- 

 to execute any warrant or other process 

 issued by an officer or court of competent 

 jurisdiction for the enforcement of the 

 provisions of this Act ; and shall have 

 authority, with .a search warrant, to 

 search any place. The several judges of 

 the courts established under the laws of 

 the United States, and United States 

 commissioners may, within their respect- 

 ive jurisdictions, upon proper oath or 

 affirmation showing probable cause, is- 

 sue warrants in all such cases. All birds, 

 or parts, nests, or eggs thereof, captured, 

 killed, taken, shipped, transported, car- 

 ried, or possessed contrary to the pro- 

 visions 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, transported, car- 

 ried, or possessed contrary to the pro- 

 visions of this Act or of any regulation 

 made pursuant thereto, shall be forfeited' 





