Feral pigeons illegal to shoot or capture.......here we go again

[MJB]

I don't know what changed but this is beyond dumb....

The Dept. in Sacramento has declared it illegal due to missing language in regulations and stands by a section states if it does state it is allowed it is illegal.

Email
I am thrilled that someone has asked the question.

Rock dove (domestic pigeon) do not have a specific statute/regulation for take. As you know the hunting/fishing laws are written in the fashion that it is illegal to hunt/fish except... then every legal allowance for the take of wildlife is specifically listed with method of take, season, bag and possession limit, etc. There is not, and has not ever been, a specified legal take of rock dove, but because they are mostly a nuisance, no one pays much attention to it. It only becomes a problem if someone is cited for it. I have been attempting to correct that by including the legal take of rock dove, and the detail of such take for the last several years. There is no biological reason that rock dove cannot be harvested. It just needs to be specified in law.

With that, it is currently illegal to harvest rock dove. But, I think we will get that all straightened out within the year.

Karen

Karen R. Fothergill
Senior Environmental Scientist
Upland Game, Wildlife Branch
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
1812 9th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
916 716-1461

 

[Big Jim]

Thanks Karen, i'm one of those hunters that play by the rules, 10 years ago owners of feed lots welcomed us during the off season to shoot those pesky poopin birds, man they are good eating, I would love to be able to have a pile of them back on my dinner table. Keep up the good work.

 

[Snake Charmer]

I have had several interactions with different folks at the dept over the years and can tell you from my experience it depends on who you talk to and their understanding of the law. As far as rock dove go I spoke with a warden here in San Diego a couple of years ago and they told me that they are considered a non game species and therefore not subject to regulation by the dept of fish and wildlife. This is not the first time I have had employees of the dept differ with each other on issues such as these. I would say make sure when you ask for a clarification on any reg that you make a note of who you spoke with and when so that if a conflict arises that you can make reference as to who you spoke with previously, It may not get you out of a bind but it might be enough to sway the conversation favorably or convince a judge you did your due diligence.

 

[MJB]

Well said.....^^^^

 

[Bowman]

hahahahaha here we go again.

Ghost

 

[MJB]

Well now they are good to hunt due to being a dfw nonregulated bird.......I guess the complaining worked

 

[El Matavenados]

A couple guys recently got in contact with Lt. Mike Ference from DFW regarding this. His reply was:
""rock doves" (Columba Livia) are the feral progeny of domesticated pigeons, and their take is not regulated by the Fish and Game Code."


Back in 2014, I contacted the head warden, and he referred my question to Lt. Ference. He replied with this section of code:

Fish and Game code section 3800 Definition of Non-Game (a) All birds occurring naturally in California that are not resident game birds, migratory game birds, or fully protected birds are nongame birds. It is unlawful to take any nongame bird except as provided in this code or in accordance with regulations of the commission or, when relating to mining operations, a mitigation plan approved by the department.

They are not found in the list of resident game birds, they are not migratory game birds, so I asked for the list of fully protected birds, and he referred me to this link: http://dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/

That page contains a link to fully protected species, and under birds, it lists the following:
American peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus anatum
brown pelican (=California brown pelican) Pelecanus occidentalis (=P. o. occidentalis)
California black rail Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus
California clapper rail Rallus longirostris obsoletus
California condor Gymnogyps califonianus
California least tem Sterna albifrons browni (=Sterna antillarum browni)
golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos
greater sandhill crane Grus candadensis tabida
light-footed clapper rail Rallus longirostris levipes
southern bald eagle (=bald eagle) Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus
(=Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
trumpeter swan Cygnus buccinator
white-tailed kite Elanus leucurus
Yuma clapper rail Rallus longirostris yumanensis

So, they are nongame birds by definition. And since no provision is made for taking this nongame bird, taking them is prohibited according to the code listed above. I asked Lt. Ferel to clarify, and received no reply. In my opinion, this issue is not resolved.