Title 16 — ConservationRelease 119-73
§705 Transportation or importation of migratory birds; when unlawful
Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 7— - PROTECTION OF MIGRATORY GAME AND INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY › § 705
Summary
It's illegal to send or carry any bird, or any part, nest, or egg, from one State, Territory, or district to another, or into a foreign country, if it was caught, killed, or taken in a way that broke the laws where it came from. The same rule makes it illegal to import any bird, or any part, nest, or egg, from a Canadian province if it was caught, killed, or taken in violation of that province's laws.
Full Legal Text
Title 16, §705
Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
It shall be unlawful to ship, transport, or carry, by any means whatever, from one State, Territory, or district to or through another State, Territory, or district, or to or through a foreign country, any bird, or any part, nest, or egg thereof, captured, killed, taken, shipped, transported, or carried at any time contrary to the laws of the State, Territory, or district in which it was captured, killed, or taken, or from which it was shipped, transported, or carried. It shall be unlawful to import any bird, or any part, nest, or egg thereof, captured, killed, taken, shipped, transported, or carried contrary to the laws of any Province of the Dominion of Canada in which the same was captured, killed, or taken, or from which it was shipped, transported, or carried.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1969—Pub. L. 91–135 repealed second par., which prohibited shipment of wild game mammals or parts thereof by any person of the United States to and from Mexico, except by permit from the Secretary of the Interior. 1936—Act June 20, 1936, inserted last sentence.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1969 Amendment Pub. L. 91–135, § 11, Dec. 5, 1969, 83 Stat. 282, provided that: “The provisions of sections 1 through 10 of this Act [enacting sections 668cc–1 to 668cc–6 of this title and amending this section, section 851, 852, 852a, and 852d of this title, and section 43, 44, 3054, and 3112 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure] shall be effective one hundred and eighty days after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 5, 1969].”
Effective Date
of 1936 AmendmentAct
June 20, 1936, ch. 634, § 4, 49 Stat. 1556, provided in part that the amendment by section 4 is effective as of the day aforesaid (
June 30, 1937). See note under section 703 of this title.
Executive Documents
Transfer of Functions
of Secretary of Agriculture to Secretary of the Interior by Reorg. Plan No. II of 1939, see
Transfer of Functions
note set out under section 701 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
16 U.S.C. § 705
Title 16 — Conservation
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73