Best practices
for nuisance
wildlife control operators in New York State
Home | Wildlife control | NYS DEC | CCE | NYS IPM
|
Best practices |
Home | Wildlife control | NYS DEC | CCE | NYS IPM |
In New York State, all wild animal species have legal classifications that are described in the Environmental Conservation Law. Their legal status determines several aspects of control efforts. Most commonly, the question is, can a NWCO "take" this species in this situation
Legally, "take" applies to the pursuit, capture, or killing of wildlife. This covers shooting, trapping, netting, "and all lesser acts such as disturbing, harrying, or worrying." It refers to any device commonly used to capture or kill that species. The taking must be by lawful means, and in a lawful manner. (See the definitions in ECL 11-0103 on page 3-28).
There are many wildlife species that a NWCO can legally handle in New York State, so it’s actually easier to focus on the ones you cannot handle or must obtain special permits to handle legally.
In New York State, you may not handle or take endangered or threatened species. This includes species that are endangered or threatened only within New York State, and those that are in trouble on a national basis, too.
The federal government maintains a list of federally threatened and endangered species. Each state tracks those species that are rare only within its borders. This means there are two lists you have to keep track of: the federal list, and the New York State list. To make this a little easier, we’ve included a chart at the end of this chapter which lists all of the wildlife species that are endangered or threatened in New York—and has columns to show whether those species are also federally listed. Contact the NYS DEC to find out if there have been any updates to the lists. The DEC keeps current lists of NYS endangered and threatened species and fact sheets about many of these species on its website.
Perhaps—just perhaps—in one of those rare situations that are about as likely to happen as winning it big in the lottery, you might receive a special DEC permit that would allow specific nonlethal controls for a state threatened or endangered species. Your chances of securing a permit for a species on the federal list are even slimmer.
Another no-no for NWCOs in New York: you cannot capture or kill a pigeon if it’s wearing a leg band.
Domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, are not covered by the Environmental Conservation Law because they’re not wildlife species. They’re regulated under NYS Agriculture and Markets regulations, Articles 26 and 7. Even if they’re feral and behave like wild animals, they are still considered domestic species. Although every town is legally required to have a dog control officer the same isn’t true for cats. In some areas, there may be inadequate services and customers may turn to you for help with feral cats, but there are thorny liability issues that make this a complicated and risky business. Some of these issues are addressed in Appendix C.
Special care is given to the handling of mammals that are most likely to be carrying rabies. Known as "rabies vector species," in New York State the ones to watch are bats, raccoons, and skunks.
Before you respond to a call about bats, raccoons, or skunks, call the local health authority. That’s either the county health department or the district office of the state health department.
You are required by law to follow the health department's directions concerning the disposal of raccoons, skunks, and bats, no matter what the landowner requests. (Of course, you still have to follow DEC regulations, too). You are also legally required to follow any of the health department’s other directions related to the control of rabies. (If anyone disputes this, just show your NWCO license. It’s right there on the front page.)
The New York State Sanitary Code, which is enforced by the state health department, explains how to handle these situations in detail (see section 3 in this chapter).
Federally protected wildlife
In some circumstances, the landowners may receive permission to capture or otherwise harm a federally protected species. This is handled on a case-by-case basis. The landowners need special depredation permits from both the federal government and the state government. Federally protected wildlife include migratory birds and nationally endangered or threatened species, as described previously.
There are very few situations that justify the issuance of a special permit for an endangered or threatened species. You may not harm them in any way. You can’t harass them or disturb their habitats. Of course, you’re not likely to encounter them while on the job, either.
Chances are, you’ll only get calls about a few federally protected species, most likely, Canada geese, woodpeckers, gulls, cormorants, and some birds of prey (usually hawks and owls). Most of them are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act but not by the Endangered Species Act, so you may have some more options.
Try a combination of nonlethal control methods first. This may solve the problem and will save you the hassle of the paperwork. Because you don’t need permits for most nonlethal control methods, you can probably deal with the situation right away, which may be appealing to your customer. Just remember that you can't destroy eggs or disturb their young, or disturb a nest if there are eggs or young in it, because those actions are classified as "taking."
You may be able to persuade the birds to leave by hazing them with dogs or frightening them with devices such as noisemakers and scarecrows. Or alter the conditions that make the site attractive to them, for example, by removing unnatural food sources such as garbage. Exclude them from the site by erecting fences. If that approach doesn't work, call the DEC regional wildlife office to discuss the situation and seek the proper permits.
One postscript: the management of mute swans has changed, so NWCOs who have been in the business for some time may be used to an old approach. Previously, NWCOs were required to either kill mute swans or transfer them to a rehabber who had a special mute swan permit. Now, mute swans are managed like other migratory birds, so you need a federal permit to control them.
Game species
State and federal agencies manage game species primarily by controlling hunting and trapping. Some game species, such as muskrat, beaver, white-tailed deer, turkey, and black bear may become a nuisance on private property. What should you do if you’re asked to take care of a problem with one of these species? Tell the landowner to call the regional DEC wildlife office. If appropriate, the DEC will issue a special state permit that will allow certain control efforts.
NWCOs may take bears on residential land if they’ve first proven to the DEC that the animal is damaging the property or threatening public health or safety. Under those conditions, the DEC may issue a special permit. If the bear is killing or worrying livestock or destroying an apiary on cultivated land, the landowner (or you, as that person’s agent) may take the bear at any time. The landowner is then required to contact the DEC promptly, and to deliver the carcass to the DEC officer for disposal. If the landowner doesn’t want to get the state permit, you may once again use nonlethal control techniques. If the problem happens during a legal season for that species, you could advise the landowners to invite hunters or trappers onto their land.
If the landowner doesn't want to get the state permit, you may once again use the nonlethal control techniques. If the problem happens during the legal season for that species, you could advise the landowners to invite hunters or trappers onto their land.
Next Section (What's left?)
| © 2004 NYS Department of Environmental Conservation | Credits | support@nwco.net |