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Community => Taxidermy & Scoring => Topic started by: DoubleJ on August 03, 2011, 06:04:14 PM


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Title: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: DoubleJ on August 03, 2011, 06:04:14 PM
I'f I'm in the woods and find a dead by natural causes bald eagle still in good condition, is it legal to have it mounted?
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: rb2506 on August 03, 2011, 06:06:54 PM
don't think you can even touch it  :(
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: lokidog on August 03, 2011, 06:11:33 PM
Nope, can't even take a feather, in fact if you see a feather fall off a live eagle, you cannot legaly pick it up.  Even with a state/federal educational salvage permit, you cannot.
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: Wea300mag on August 03, 2011, 07:08:10 PM
You can notify WDFW and they will donate the feathers to the local natives. >:(
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: dreamunelk on August 03, 2011, 07:15:33 PM
Actually WDFW gives it to the USFS as per federal law!  The USFS service decides on what happens to it.
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on August 03, 2011, 07:22:55 PM
YOU CAN NOT EVEN HAVE A FEATHER  :o :yike:
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: flinger on August 03, 2011, 08:06:10 PM
You may even be investigated for bringing up the idea
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: DeerThug on August 03, 2011, 08:23:03 PM
Yup your toast.  I would get out to your freezer right away and get rid of the evidence cuz i just saw several black cars with black windows headed to where you live.  Expect a knock on your door in a few minutes.....
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: sebek556 on August 03, 2011, 08:28:09 PM
 :spank_butt:
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: Hyde on August 03, 2011, 09:36:21 PM
I have a friend who found one years ago in California, he got the authorities involved and was able to get it donated to a local museum.  He paid to have it mounted, with a permit of some sort.  But the one thing I remember is he didn't touch it until he was accompanied by a F&G warden, or some authority.  That is the first eagle I saw up close (after it was mounted), and was amazed at how big they are. 
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: lokidog on August 03, 2011, 09:51:45 PM
I netted one a couple years ago here on the island and got it to one of the rehab places.  It had a broken wing and was blind in one eye, probably the reason its wing had been broken, and healed, five or six other times.  It sucks that they ended up putting it down.  Not sure why some wildlife place wouldn't have wanted it.   >:(

They are definitely big birds and my hand took the sharp end of one of its talons... ouch!
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: Cascade on August 03, 2011, 09:52:38 PM
Wasn't there a taxidermist that got busted with one in his freezer a few year back in lakewood?
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: PlateauNDN on August 03, 2011, 10:15:06 PM
The laws regarding eagles apply even to Tribes and any part of an eagle has to go to a federal office back east and it is documented and stored for distribution to tribes nationwide.  They are then processed and handled by each Tribes Wildlife Program before going to the next family on their list.  We can't sell them and they can only be passed down as a gift to family members or very close friends and you have to be an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe to possess any part of an eagle.
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: DoubleJ on August 03, 2011, 10:33:00 PM
Wow, Thanks guys.  I had no idea
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: wsucowboy on August 04, 2011, 01:52:37 AM
Nope, can't even take a feather, in fact if you see a feather fall off a live eagle, you cannot legaly pick it up.  Even with a state/federal educational salvage permit, you cannot.
:yeah:
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: whacker1 on August 04, 2011, 04:07:29 AM
there is a business in Spokane that has one mounted, but the mount is from the teens or 20's if I recall correctly, and was prior to the law protecting the bald eagle.  And he has a permit grandfathering him in for the ownership of such mount.  He had WA Department of Revenue come through his business, and the employee through a fit about it and reported him to 4-5 other WA/Federal departments. Everything checked out for this gentleman, but he had 4-5 different departments wasting his time for multiple weeks.the only thing that came out of the interrogation was that he can't sell the  mount.  Which he already knew as it was part of the permit he had.

I have seen one other one that is also from the teens or 20's.  It was on loan to a cultural association from the owner that also owns the permit.
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on August 04, 2011, 05:14:59 AM
I just put it to ya this way.. I had a good friend who was a taxi... he bought all his owls hawks and ect. down from Alaska and when they saw all his sheet it took forever to get it cleared up ..finding all his permits and what have ya...not worth the efford....besides its all Federal and you think are wardens are bad ...you want nothen to with Federal guys  :bdid:
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: 724wd on August 05, 2011, 03:57:19 PM
all over a stupid bird...   :bash:
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: runamuk on August 05, 2011, 04:03:26 PM
YOU CAN NOT EVEN HAVE A FEATHER  :o :yike:

nope it sucks too because eagles feed in a tree on my dads property and among the duck parts and fish bits are occasionally eagle feathers...can only pick up the duck feathers .... I am still hoping through the antiquities trade to eventually have an owl my dad runs across them occasionally at estate sales and auctions ...
Title: Re: Bald eagle mount, legal?
Post by: Jason on August 05, 2011, 04:12:02 PM
Here's a few pics of my Taxi in the early stages of mounting up a Bald Eagle for an Oregon tribe. sorry I never got a finished pic before it was shipped out to the owner, I'll see if I could get a finished pic.
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