I am new a taxidermy and I was wanting to know what the law was on the number of birds you could have that are for your own mounting needs. I live in Texas and I was told it was the daily bag limit or something like that. Does that include the ones I already have mounted for display or just what is in the freezer with my name on it. Thanks for your help.
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HEllo John,
I'm quite certain that it will be what you have in your freezer and not on the wall. Just be sure that you have all fowl properly tagged and have accurite records for all, including for the ones you have on you display wall.
As far as limits, just to be on the safe side, it would be best for you to make a phone call or a trip out to your local DNR or Game Fish & Parks and ask one of the officers what the limit realy is. Better safe than sorry and I dont like gong by just "Hear Say"!
Have a great day,
Dave
John, to mount,retain whole or in part of any migratory game birds you have to first apply and maintain a Migratory Bird Permit available through the United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service . It will detail all what you must do for taxidermy purposes. In addition in the state of Texas all game retained for taxidermy is covered on page 70 of the 2000-2001 Texas Parks and Wildlife hunting regulations.
Migatory Bird/Permits Division
Po Box 709
Albuquerque,New Mexico 87103- 0709
If the birds you have were legally taken by you, and you intend to do the taxidermy work yourself for yourself, you do not need any permits. If you read the TP&W book or talk to a game warden you will see that possession terminates when you reach a final destination.(ex. your home)Your possession limit is twice the daily bag limit. Lets use a pintail for example. If you go hunting everyday during the duck season, you can kill one pintail eveyday. You can bring that one pintail home every day and put him in the freezer for your use.(to consume or mount)You can even bring one a day to another taxidermist to mount for you if you fill out the federal paperwork, and a Wildlife Resource Document. Possession limit only comes into play when you are transporting the game from the hunting area to the final destination. This is what was explained to me by a warden, and if you read the book carefully you will se it there.
John, I just covered this with the local Texas parks and wildlife in my area. You do not need any permit or paperwork to possess birds legally killed by you, However, I was told that if you conducted taxidermy work for the public you would need to store the birds in another freezer and not the freezer you store your customers work.
I would suggest that you contact the Local TP&W Department in your area, they might tell you something different than what the Officer told me.
Good luck, J.L. Mooney
The truth is - it really depends on what the game warden standing in front of you at the time says. Both State and Federal laws are totally interpretive - and the interpretation is going to be made by the officer in front of you at the time - PERIOD. I have been told a number of things. It appears to be safe - you should never have in your possession more birds than your state (Texas) allows; in this case the possession is six per day - twelve in possession. Be sure you do not have too many of one species of bird. I have been told that once you consume the meat of the carcass, the remaunder is not considered any part of your possession limit. I also had a USF&W officer named Pye tell me all birds were part of your possession until they were hung on the wall - mounted ! Better safe than sorry when it comes to game laws and taxidermy. Most wardens do not even know the laws well enough to justify the badge they wear. The rest have "little man syndrom" - if it weren't for the badge and gun - they'd be getting their collective asses kicked regularly. They are great game officers, but too many of them now are zealots looking to write tickets to enhance their egos ! Be careful and abide by ALL laws.