Originally Posted by
MT Chambers
Congrats, where I am you can shoot crows anytime, no season, yet Ravens are protected, same bird only bigger.
I wish Maryland would omit the 1918 federal law here (Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918). We were good until 1972 when the law was amended to include Crows.
However, Crows are a Federally protected migratory species and are only allowed to be hunted in any state no more than 124 days in any calender year. No state in the U.S. has a 365 day season on Crows. If you assume this in your state, you better dig into your states laws because no state is year-round on Crows. See #2 and #3, otherwise you are breaking the law.
Additional information:
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was enacted, principally, between Great Britain (for Canada) and the United States and was intended to give Federal protection to most birds in the United States but did not include crows or other birds in the Corvidae family. Various treaties were made with different countries and in 1936 the Migratory Bird and Game Mammal Treaty with Mexico was adopted. This protected certain migratory birds in the U.S. and Mexico and amended the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The Treaty was further amended on March 10, 1972. This amendment finally added 32 additional families of birds including eagles, hawks, owls and the Corvidae family…which includes the crow species.
Therefore, crow hunting regulations are handled differently and are subject to different restrictions than hunting regulations for other birds. Crows are not considered a game bird and Corvidae is not included in the list of families under the definition of game bird. However, there are two provisions specifically for taking crows under Federal regulations (50 CFR Parts 20 and 21).
Section 20.133 provides States with the opportunity to set sport-hunting seasons without notifying the service. These seasons must comply with certain restrictions:
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Crows shall not be hunted from aircraft.
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The hunting season or seasons on crows shall not exceed a total of 124 days during a calendar year
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Hunting shall not be permitted during the peak crow nesting period within a State and
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Crows may only be taken by firearms, bow and arrow and falconry