Taxidermist record document instructions

The taxidermist must ensure that all information is entered in the Taxidermist, owner and Customer (if applicable).

If the customer is not the owner of the migratory birds/eggs, they must sign “Section 3: Customer” of the page and provide the taxidermist with a signed statement from the owner that includes the owner’s full legal name, mailing address, email address and telephone number. The statement must also contain the permit number, the date, the place and the circumstance(s) in which the migratory birds or eggs were taken.If the customer isthe owner, then the taxidermist must request a statement containing all the information indicated above. The onus is on the taxidermist to ensure that this information and a signature have been obtained.

In accordance with section 79 of the Migratory Bird Regulations, 2022 (MBR), every taxidermist permit holder must keep detailed records on the migratory birds and eggs they receive, the information of the individual(s) who killed or took them and the individual(s) from whom they received the birds and eggs (see below). The permit holder is also responsible for submitting an annual report to their regional Canadian Wildlife Services (CWS) permitting office containing these records.

Notice

A federal Migratory Game Bird Hunting (MGBH) permit allows a hunter to possess a migratory game bird lawfully killed, and donate it to another person in accordance with subsection 54(1) of the MBR. The migratory game bird must also be transferred in compliance with section 50 of the MBR (see below).

Migratory bird specimens and eggs may also be accepted for taxidermy purposes from Indigenous persons who do not need a permit to exercise their traditional hunting rights.

If a person presents a migratory bird not held under the situations mentioned above, or the bird is not labelled as per section 50, inform them of subsection 5(1) (below) and do not accept the specimen.

Excerpts from the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022:

Section 5:

5(1) Prohibitions: A person who does not hold a permit authorizing one or more of the following activities or who is not otherwise authorized by these Regulations to carry out that activity must not:

1. capture, kill, take, injure or harass a migratory bird or attempt to do so;
2. destroy, take or disturb an egg; or
3. damage, destroy, remove or disturb a nest, nest shelter, eider duck shelter or duck box.

Section 48:

48(1) Temporary third-party possession: Any person may temporarily possess a migratory game bird on behalf of the owner.

48(2) Exception: However, a person must not possess a migratory game bird for “the purpose of performing taxidermy for profit, unless they hold a taxidermist permit.”

Section 50:

50(1) Prohibition – transfer of possession: A person who kills or takes a migratory game bird must not allow it to enter the possession, including the temporary possession, of another person unless it is labelled or preserved.

50(2) Labelling obligation of possessor: A person who possess a migratory game bird that is not preserved and that was taken under a migratory bird hunting permit or as an exercise of a right referred to in section 21 must ensure that it is labelled unless that person took that bird themselves.

50(3) Exception: Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply if the bird was killed or taken by an individual who is exercising a right referred to in section 21 and the done may also exercise such a right.

50(5) Labelling requirements: The label must

1. Indicate
   1. the full name and the contact information of the individual who took the bird;
   2. the date the bird was taken; and
   3. the number of the migratory game bird hunting permit under which the bird was taken; and
2. be signed by the individual who took the bird.

Section 79:

79(1) Records: Every taxidermist permit holder must keep records showing, in respect of the migratory birds and eggs they have received:

1. the number of each species and the number of birds and eggs belonging to each species
2. the date, place and other circumstances of the killing or taking of the birds and the taking of the eggs
3. the date on which the birds and eggs were received; and
4. the full names and contact information of the owners of the birds and eggs, the permit numbers under which they were killed or taken and the persons from whom they were received by the taxidermist.

79(2) Report: Every person to whom a taxidermist permit is issued must submit an annual report to the Minister respecting the information referred to in subsection (1) and any other reports as the Minister requires.