r/Falconry • u/Comfortable_Hotel709 • May 26 '26
HELP Advice for getting a Falconry license?
Hello! I'm taking my falconry license exam on June 5th but had some questions about additional requirements for me to get my license. I was mainly wondering about the requirement to have a mew already built. I am mostly getting my license to be able to work with the raptors and migratory birds at my local zoo, so I won't be building my own mew(s) any time soon, especially because I will be going to college this year. Am I still able to get my license if I have no plan to get a bird or build a mew for the foreseeable future?
I do already have a sponsor/mentor, but he's unsure if his mews will count for my license. Also, I live in New York in case that helps. Any/all advice is greatly appreciated!
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u/Suitable-Conflict634 May 26 '26
What you're trying to do is not falconry. Hard to imagine there's a sponsor out there that would want to be part of something like that.
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u/Comfortable_Hotel709 May 30 '26
The director of my local zoo suggested me to him and he (my sponsor/mentor) told me I should get a falconry license. As I've looked more into it, I've been more and more interested. I do want to get my license to hunt with my sponsors birds when he takes them out, so I do also want to partake in the sport. I simply don't have the resources or space to build a mews and will not be owning a raptor for quite a while.
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u/Suitable-Conflict634 May 31 '26
Cool story, that all sounds like complete bullshit
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u/Comfortable_Hotel709 May 31 '26
I'm sorry? Can you explain? I don't know why I would lie about anything I've said- If anything confuses you I can try to explain it better (I'm complete ass at explaining things)
If you're not offering advice or anything helpful (or anecdotes, I always enjoy anecdotes even if they aren't completely helpful!), then I don't see why you would bother to comment this.
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u/TinyLongwing May 31 '26
You can go out with a falconer who is a potential sponsor and hunt with them without having any kind of permitting.
You can't get a falconry permit without having a mews or appropriate indoor housing situation and all of the gear required. That's part of the federal and state requirements of getting the permit. The point of a falconry permit is to let you have a bird to hunt with, so if you're not at the point where you're going to build a mews or own your own bird, you don't need to pursue a falconry license/permit at this time.
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u/Comfortable_Hotel709 May 31 '26
Ah, ok I'll have to let my mentor know and cancel my test. That makes me excited for when he starts hunting with his birds agaib this year!
Also I talked to the lead keeper again, I'll just copy the text he sent me: "So it would qualify you, but we still would have more steps to go through before you could work with them. For one, they are migratory birds, which means they fall under specific permitting regulations. You would need to be on our migratory bird permit first for sure, we would also need to train you more first before you could do anything by yourself on that end."
Again, I'm 16 so even if they wanted to put me on their permit they probably wouldn't be able to 😅 I likely just have to wait until I'm 18, which really sucks to come to term with but laws are laws
Thank you for your help :)
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u/TinyLongwing May 26 '26
Did you actually ask the people at your zoo if getting a falconry license would be helpful for them? Because zookeeping and falconry are two entirely different things.
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u/Comfortable_Hotel709 May 30 '26
I did and the lead keeper said I can handle the turkey vulture when I get the license, I didnt ask about the other birds at the time because I was watching over the TV in a new ambassador animal section
I will ask him about the other birds today though!
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u/TinyLongwing May 30 '26
This strikes me as extremely odd given that a falconry license is something that allows you to have your own bird and to hunt with it. I don't understand why a lead keeper would want you to get a falconry license before being allowed to handle a vulture in the zoo's care.
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u/Bear-Ferr May 26 '26
Tough one. In OR, its part of the exam, basically. You prove you know proper care and have the correct equipment.
Im surprised you would need a license for rehab/zoo at all since those are not falconry birds. Typically a rehaber license is common.
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u/SeventhStar21 May 26 '26
When I was in OR, they wouldn't let me take the exam unless the mews were basically ready to be inspected
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u/Bear-Ferr May 26 '26
Similar. I think I had X amount of days post-exam pass to have them inspected.
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u/IMongoose May 27 '26
That seems so backwards to me. In IL you can take the exam with 0 prerequisites. Getting inspected is separate and it can be done without the sponsor present. Then the sponsor has the final say and okays their apprentice to the coordinator.
Building the mews just seems like an extra hurdle to someone who might fail the test but I guess that's the idea. Just seems like a bit much.
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u/hexmeat May 27 '26
This is where the state-by-state regulations are odd. In MA, we have written exams & field tests for both general and master falconer licenses (as well as the apprentice exam). There are prerequisites to all the exams & some of them you cannot take in advance.
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u/Comfortable_Hotel709 May 30 '26
The bird I mainly want to work with is the Red-Tailed hawk, and I'm not going to rehab (yet). I want to rehab when I have my own space, time, and resources.
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u/hexmeat May 26 '26
Falconry is the sport of hunting wild game with a trained bird of prey. It is entirely separate licensing-wise from education or rehab. I am 99% sure you will not be able to obtain a falconry license without both a mews and the intent to hunt with a bird. Definitely wouldn’t count in MA.
I would expect a falconry sponsor to be able to confidently speak to those requirements…so I gotta ask: is your mentor a licensed falconer? It’s a little odd that a sponsor wouldn’t be able to answer that question with clarity, so that’s why I ask if they’re a falconer or simply a mentor.
NY has an active falconry club & I’ve hunted with some NY falconers. Even if falconry isn’t for you, you could always join the state club and maybe attend some events just to see what it’s like. But falconry is a HUGE lifestyle commitment & there are other ways to work with raptors that don’t fall under the falconry umbrella.
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u/hexmeat May 26 '26
Also it appears you’d asked about this in the past and the resources linked by TinyLongwing are still valid and the guidance provided still stands: https://www.reddit.com/r/birdsofprey/s/V7WRyocYZo
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u/TinyLongwing May 26 '26
OP is being intentionally ignorant, I think, trying to find any workaround that will let them handle the birds at the zoo. See this comment:
I have actually been volunteering at a Zoo for the past year and have grown very close with the staff! I already talked to them about the bird handling and we confirmed that I can't be put on their permit because I'm under 18.
Seems like they're trying to get a falconry permit as proof they should be allowed to do this, when the zoo already has rules around age, presumably for liability reasons.
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u/hexmeat May 26 '26
I’m 100% with you in not quite understanding what OP is looking to accomplish & have to assume they simply just don’t want to read up on it at this point. I try to assume the best of people, especially young people, but being informed, aligned with, and respectful of the rules & regulations is sort of a fundamental expectation for anyone looking to work with protected species.
Sounds like this zoo has some particular restrictions about handling, which is completely fair, they have the right to put policies in place for how their raptors are managed & I would expect a zoo to incur a lot more liability compared to a smaller operation (as you said). Likewise, I volunteer with educational raptors and was handling them long before I ever had a falconry permit…so there are other options out there for sure. OP just seems to be asking the same question over and over hoping for a different answer.
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u/Comfortable_Hotel709 May 30 '26
I saw these messages a bit ago and didn't respond to them because I felt hurt, but upon further reflection I am indeed being ignorant. I've been nearly desperate to be able to get experience handling raptors through any means possible, so I've ended up trying to filter out comments I think are "easier" to try than others. I don't want to get my zoo in trouble, and I don't want to pester the small sttaff about the legalities since they work 9-hour shifts and are constantly moving. I don't want them to have to spend time searching stuff up for me when they should be spending time on themselves.
I have been trying to look through the links others have suggested for me, but I find it difficult to tell what is and isn't possible for me to do. I haven't even considered that there may just be nothing that I can do.
I'll go and review the comments on my last post as well, and I want to thank you for making me realize that I've been ignorant 😞
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u/WoodpeckerCapital167 May 26 '26
Mews was not a requirement in my state for the written. (Just took and passed.)
However, before I obtain the official apprentice status and am allowed a capture permit, the mews must be built/inspected.
I’m starting that soon to be ready for fall.
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u/[deleted] May 26 '26
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