§703. Taking, killing, or possessing migratory birds unlawful

Unless and except as permitted by regulations made as hereinafter provided in this subchapter, it shall be unlawful at any time, by any means or in any manner, to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, capture, or kill, possess, offer for sale, sell, offer to barter, barter, offer to purchase, purchase, deliver for shipment, ship, export, import, cause to be shipped, exported, or imported, deliver for transportation, transport or cause to be transported, carry or cause to be carried, or receive for shipment, transportation, carriage, or export, any migratory bird, any part, nest, or eggs of any such bird, or any product, whether or not manufactured, which consists, or is composed in whole or part, of any such bird or any part, nest, or egg thereof, included in the terms of the conventions between the United States and Great Britain for the protection of migratory birds concluded August 16, 1916 (39 Stat. 1702), the United States and the United Mexican States for the protection of migratory birds and game mammals concluded February 7, 1936, the United States and the Government of Japan for the protection of migratory birds and birds in danger of extinction, and their environment concluded March 4, 1972 ¹ and the convention between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the conservation of migratory birds and their environments concluded November 19, 1976.

(July 3, 1918, ch. 128, §2, 40 Stat. 755 ; June 20, 1936, ch. 634, §3, 49 Stat. 1556 ; June 1, 1974, Pub. L. 93–300, §1, 88 Stat. 190 ; Dec. 13, 1989, Pub. L. 101–233, §15, 103 Stat. 1977 .)

Amendments

1989-Pub. L. 101–233 struck out "and" after "1936," and inserted before period at end "and the convention between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the conservation of migratory birds and their environments concluded November 19, 1976".

1974-Pub. L. 93–300 substituted "any part, nest, or eggs of any such bird, or any product, whether or not manufactured, which consists, or is composed in whole or part, of any such bird or any part, nest, or egg thereof" for "any part, nest, or egg of any such birds", and included the convention between the United States and the Government of Japan concluded March 4, 1972.

1936-Act June 20, 1936, made changes in phraseology.

Effective Date of 1974 Amendment

Section 3 of Pub. L. 93–300 provided that: "The amendments made by this Act [amending this section] shall take effect on the date on which the President proclaims the exchange of ratifications of the convention between the United States and the Government of Japan for the protection of migratory birds and birds in danger of extinction, and their environment, concluded March 4, 1972, or on the date of the enactment of this Act [June 1, 1974], whichever date is later."

Effective Date of 1936 Amendment

Section 1 of act June 20, 1936, in conjunction with sections 2 to 5 of that act, provided that the amendment of this section and sections 704, 705, 707, 708 and the enactment of section 709a of this title by that act, are effective as of the day on which the President shall proclaim the exchange of ratifications of the convention between the United States and the United Mexican States for the protection of migratory birds and game mammals concluded February 7, 1936, or on June 20, 1936, whichever date is later. Such proclamation was made on June 30, 1937.

Short Title

See section 710 of this title.

Appropriation

Authorization of appropriation, see section 709a of this title.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 704 of this title.

¹ So in original. Probably should be followed by a comma.