Mounting an Owl

Hello,
I have a question about mounting an owl I now that they are a protected animal and that you can not legally hunt them. The other morning I was on my way to work and hit one with my truck it looked like it swooped down to catch something in the road right in front of me and I could not miss it. I did not hit it very hard just hard enough to kill it. The body is not torn up at all in fact you have to look hard to find any damage I think that the mounting process would be straight forward enough. It is currently frozen whole I just don"t want to get in any trouble over having it on my wall. I think that it would be a beautiful mount.

Thanks,
Wes

Return to Beginners Category Menu

Bad Idea

I think you could get in to alot of trouble for having it. I would call you states wildlife department and see if you can obtain a permit to posses it. they will probably send you in the right direction to get one. I hear that there hard to get.
Good Luck
Jeff C

IT'S A NO NO !

FIRST thing you need to do is call the local game comission , it is illegal to have in your posession , unless you have the correct permit for it, and then you can mount it but you will have to let it go and be displayed in a public bldg, or museum, with permission of the public rep..My brother was with the game comission and I think the law for this is federal, not state , b-cuz it falls under the protected spiecies laws..I also know this by dealing with DNR and mounting these types of things for public display..hope this helps and does not burst your hopes for a private mount...

toss it and don't look back

it's a shame but i wouldn't have even touched it. I remember getting lectured by my dad because you also can't put down a deer wounded by your car... now, with lower populations and widesoread poaching this might have made sense, but now it's just cruel.
I'm sure nearly everyone on this forum has heard about some incompetent sheriff or state trooper not having a clue as to how to humanely kill a wounded deer... the most recent story i heard involved the use of a 9 mm handgun on a fawn-- don't these guys have a knife and/or a shotgun?

IT IS

a shame, and i even asked dnr on the first owl i did, It was caught by a local trapper in a beaver trap, and i got it and called the dnr, the oficer was very good about listening to the story, and then told me you can't even see where it was hung up in the trap, and that i did a great job on it, but then he said the reason for the strick laws was just this reason, 'anyone that would shoot one of these owls can cover the holes and you would never know it, without tearing it apart and looking on the inside,' so even if it was hit or killed by mistake doesnt matter,, oh if you get caught with it ..my god have mercy on your soul! the fines can reach into the 10's of thousands, and jail time on top of it, the dnr doesnt play games when it comes to protecting those things.

you cant even...

You cant even posess a single one of it's feathers... it's all in the US law books. And yes they are federally protected - your DNR has nothing to do with it. In Canada they are deligated to the provincial level and you may in fact posess them if found, tho all other migratory birds are illegal to pick up here too.

Raptors

I'm not certain of your question Wes but if it is that mounting Owl is straight forward, yes it is. Also, metal detectors can indicate pellets in birds if shot.

I don't see the reasoning about not being able to keep road kills and many raptors are not migratory especially owls....?

Gordon, who said you need to "understand?"

It's FEDERAL LAW, just like shooting doves over baited fields or shooting ducks over live decoys or using punt guns, or killing deer out of season or at night.

Wes, you'd be very wise to listen to what these guys have told you. Can it.

Find a pubic school, libary or museum.

First; you need to notify the local game warden. Tell them you are going to donate the mount to a public library, school or museum.

Second; go to the links button above near the righ hand corner.
find the link for your regional USF&W office. Ask them how to handle the permit application.

Third; You will need a letter from that public library, school of museum stating you will be donating the bird to them on completion.

Fourth; You are named as the control person for transportation for any and all educational purposes outside of that institute, i.e. to another school for a nature lecture etc.

Normally these four steps are followed you will be issued a permit.

Good luck John C

Yea, go ahead and contact the DFW

Contact them & then in the future you may be paid a visit now they know what you want to do...
Throw it away,LOL
It's not worth the hassle, trust me, i'm in law enforcement !

All these posts

Have some Merit. U.S. fish and wildlife Can issue a permit to posses Protected species. form 3-201 Authority 16 USC 703-712 It is called a special purpose salvage permit. Aside from the standard 50 CFR 13 It only authorizes salvage of protected, and migratory birds Found Dead. In which the permittee or representatives thereof had no part in the killing or death thereof. The permit also goes on to state that the permittee must notify the game division in their locality Prior to collection. In other words. You must see the dead specimen, Call the DOW, then collect. Of coarse you must have the permit prior to doing any of this. And a state collection Permit must accompany the federal permit. After collection. The specimen, nest, or parts there of Must be used for educational purposes. and may at no time be displayed in a private home or residence. When the specimen is no longer needed, or usable. it must be disposed of in the described manor on the permit. On the premises of the permittee. I just took this info off the permit I have in My possession. So you decide

Thanks

Hello All,
Thanks for all the posts. I sort of expected that this would be one of those times when good laws get in the way of common sense. I just got home from disposing of it. I was not sure of what I should do with it but I figured that since I was not supposed to even pick it up I would just unwrap it and put it back where I hit it. I am sure that that was some sort of a violation also but it seemed like the only way to keep myself out of trouble.

Thanks Again,
Wes

So all federal laws are ok...?

If I am to follow laws I must understand! I am not one to follow orders or laws blindly... I was talking to Wes not you George...take your pills...not so paranoid like...gee...