31 Tex. Admin. Code § 65.264 - Permit Application Requirements
(a) All permit
applications shall be made using forms supplied by the department. An
application shall contain a signed and dated statement showing that the
applicant agrees that the permittee's falconry facilities, equipment, and
raptors may be inspected without advance notice by the department. If the
applicant is not the owner of the property where raptors are housed under this
subchapter, the application shall contain a signed and dated statement showing
that the owner of the property agrees that the falconry facilities, equipment,
and raptors may be inspected without advance notice by the
department.
(b) Educational or
school programs may not be used to satisfy the experience requirements of
paragraphs (1) - (4) of this subsection.
(1)
An applicant for an apprentice falconry permit must be at least 12 years of
age.
(A) If the applicant is under the age of
18, a parent or legal guardian must sign the application. By signing an
application, a parent or legal guardian agrees to be legally responsible for
the actions of the applicant with respect to the requirements of this
subchapter. Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to relieve any
person under the age of 18 of any legal responsibility for failure to abide by
the provisions of this subchapter.
(B) An application for an apprentice permit
must be accompanied by:
(i) a letter from a
general falconer with at least two years' experience at that level, or a master
falconer, stating that the person agrees to be the applicant's sponsor;
and
(ii) an original, signed
certification that the applicant is familiar with the federal falconry
regulations in Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations and is aware that
submission of false information is an offense under
18 U.S.C.
1001.
(C) The department will not issue a permit at
the apprentice level until the applicant's facilities have passed an inspection
conducted by a department representative or designee. All inspections shall be
in the presence of the permittee or the property owner (if the facility is
located on property that is not owned by the permittee).
(2) An applicant for a general falconry
permit must be at least 16 years of age.
(A)
If the applicant is under the age of 18, a parent or legal guardian must sign
the application. By signing an application, a parent or legal guardian agrees
to be legally responsible for the actions of the applicant with respect to the
requirements of this subchapter.
(B) An application for a general permit must
be accompanied by a signed attestation from the applicant's sponsor, who must
be a general or master falconer, that the applicant has maintained, trained,
flown (which may include releasing to the wild) and hunted with raptors trapped
from the wild by the applicant for at least four months in each of at least two
years during which the person has been permitted to practice falconry. The
trapping requirement of this subparagraph does not apply to a raptor trapped
under the provisions of 65.271(e)(3) of this title (relating to
Trapping).
(3) An
applicant for a master falconry permit must have been permitted to practice
falconry at the general level for a minimum of five years.
(4) An applicant for a raptor propagator
permit must:
(A) be a resident of
Texas;
(B) be 18 years of age or
older;
(C) have at least five years
of experience in the practice of falconry; and
(D) possess a valid general or master
permit.
(5) An applicant
for a nonresident trapping permit must possess a license, issued by their state
of residence, equivalent to a Texas falconry permit.
(c) The department will not issue an
apprentice permit if the applicant has not taken a department-administered
examination and scored at least 80.
(d) The requirements of subsections (b) and
(c) of this section do not apply to applications for a nonresident trapping
permit.
(e) A person who has
allowed a falconry permit to expire is entitled to permit issuance at the level
the person held at the time of permit expiration, provided not more than five
years has elapsed from the date of expiration. If more than five years has
elapsed since expiration, the person must take a department-administered
falconry examination and record a score of at least 80.
(f) The department will not issue a permit
under this subchapter to a person who has relocated to Texas while holding the
valid equivalent of a permit issued under this subchapter issued by another
state, territory, or tribe until the applicant's facilities have passed an
inspection conducted by a department representative or designee. All
inspections shall be in the presence of the permittee or the property owner (if
the facility is located on property that is not owned by the
permittee).
Notes
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