You may have heard the urban legend. One day a guy is hiking along a trail and he spots a gorgeous-looking feather on the ground. He picks it up and carries it around in his hand, looking at it with wonder and curiosity. That’s when he’s arrested and fined $100,000 for possessing a feather illegally.
Sounds preposterous right?
Wrong. While the details of the urban legend may be exaggerated, it is in fact illegal to collect certain bird feathers thanks to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
The nearly 100-year-old act was put into place to protect birds that migrated between the United States and Canada because of a decline in bird populations. Hunting was fairly rampant because the fashion during that time featured hats adorned with bird feathers.
The treaty makes it unlawful to hunt, take, capture, kill, or sell migratory birds. The statute extends to any bird part, including feathers, eggs, and nests.
It seems harmless to pick up a nest or feathers you find on the ground, but it’s against the law because it’s difficult for enforcement officers to figure out whether it was obtained through ignominious or accidental means. So they put the burden on the carrier of the feather and took away the question.
More than 800 species are currently on the list, including the Bald Eagle, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, American Crow, Canada Goose, Mourning Dove, Barn Swallow, Cedar Waxwing, Barn Owl, and more. That means the feathers of all of these birds are forbidden.
An exemption to the act does exist, however. The Eagle Feather Law allows the collection of Golden Eagle and Bald Eagle feathers for religious purposes by Native Americans. In order to quality, individuals must have certifiable ancestry and be enrolled in a tribe.
Despite sounding a tad ridiculous these days, the roots of the law are sound and still serve a purpose.
You might also be asking yourself what about the bird feathers you see at stores.
Since certain species aren’t protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, picking up and possessing their feathers is perfectly legal. That means nonnative species like House Sparrows and European Starlings aren’t covered, along with nonmigratory birds like turkeys, chickens, Mute Swans, quails, and the like.
So the next time you see a bird feather on the ground, you’d better be sure it’s from an invasive species or nonmigratory bird or leave it alone.
189 Comments
Just like our representative government. They all suck. It’s time to take back our nation from these imbeciles.
Yeah cause keeping a feather that was found on the ground is killing eagles all around the world. You are a total libtard…… Next time just tell us where the bad girl touched you and stop sounding like a lil girl. Your feelings don’t stop anyone’s rights.
Yeah they can eat a D,,,,,,,,ick. You do realize the law is unconstitutional and the jurisdiction is not there. See we the people are governed by consent of the people. The government job and only is to protect the god given rights spelled out in the contract under oath to protect and serve the people and their rights.not restrict the people who are the true government. not elected representatives/ agents. Study law, understand your rights. and the jurisdiction of what they may govern. I’m an elected representative, I study constitutional law. And I win in federal courts because of the color of law, fake law that is out there that if you only knew was crap and fraud the elected scum, fraud you out off. Article 6 sec 2,3, binds them to the supreme law of the land. It also puts their life on the line as for if they war against the constitution they have committed treason and you know what that means. And we are a representative Republic not a democracy. Our elected government in congress and the house are the most stupid of the 335 millions of the americans in the USA. Find a feather keep it Full them. They work for you and I. We own them. We tell them what we expect of them. They don’t listen they pay dearly.