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| Photo copyright 2011 by Helenah Swedberg |
Now that you have a good handle on what to buy and you know some basic tactics to for hunting your neighborhood nuisance geese for food, we need to talk about the legal stuff.
Lets start with the theory. Migratory birds in the US are regulated by the federal government by the fig leaf of authority vested in the commerce clause of the US Constitution. Because migratory birds cross state lines while migrating, this supposedly makes them part of interstate commerce.
During the late 1800's and early 1900's there was large-scale commercial hunting of waterfowl and other migratory birds taking place and we were in serious danger of seeing many species go extinct. This prompted a series of federal laws that slapped a lot of tight regulation on the hunting of birds. The federal government gets to make a lot of rules about how and when migratory waterfowl are hunted and then the states can make further restrictions.
Federal law regarding the hunting of Canada geese dictates the following important things:
1. A federal waterfowl stamp is required to hunt Canada geese or any other waterfowl. This is a literal stamp that can be purchased at any post office. It costs around $15.
2. In addition to a long season for Canada geese that runs through late fall and winter, each state has the option of holding a September goose-hunting season that is intended to target resident nuisance geese (as opposed to migratory geese). Bag limits are very high for this September season.
3. Federal law also limits 'means of take' by specifically excluding certain weapons. Rifles are specifically forbidden to use for hunting waterfowl (which is a shame because they would work very well for culling geese in fields). Shotguns that are larger than a 10 gauge are forbidden (remember that the larger gauges have smaller numbers. A 12 gauge is smaller than a 10 gauge). There is no federal exclusion for using archery tackle to hunt geese.
4. Lead shot may not be used to hunt any migratory waterfowl. You will have to purchase steel shot or one of the various non-lead alternatives for hunting waterfowl. This requirement was made out of concern that popular hunting areas were ending up with massive amounts of lead shot in the water and ducks were picking it up off of the bottom and eating it. A worthy concern, but in the case of geese they are very often hunted over the same fields where deer, doves and turkeys are hunted with lead and the rule makes little sense there. Nevertheless, the law says you have to use non-lead projectiles to hunt Canada geese.
5. You may not sell migratory waterfowl that have been harvested in the wild. At all. However, you can give it away for free.
6. Electronic calls are usually illegal to use for hunting migratory waterfowl, but the federal government now allows states to make it legal to use electronic calls for Canada geese if they choose to. Not every state has done so.
7. Anyone who wishes to hunt migratory birds of any kind is required to register for a Harvest Information Program (HIP) number. This is free. They just want to keep track of how many individuals of a given species that you got. There is no hassle to this whatsoever.
This is not an exhaustive description of all of the federal law regarding Canada geese, but those are some things that you definitely need to know about.
The next thing to worry about is state law. Most states require that you buy a hunting license in order to hunt geese. There are some exceptions. For example, here in my home state of Virginia a hunting license is not required to hunt solely on land owned by you, a spouse, your parents, your grandparents, or your spouse's parents or grandparents. But you do need a license to hunt on anyone else's private property or on any public land.
In any state, even if you are license-exempt you still need to get a HIP number and arguably a federal waterfowl stamp as well.
Most states have gotten in on the waterfowl stamp deal as well. You may be required to purchase a state waterfowl stamp in addition to the federal one. Usually this costs a lot less than the federal stamp. In some cases this is still a literal stamp that you affix to the license. More often its just an extra fee that you tack on when you buy your hunting license.
In order to get your first hunting license you will have to present a hunter's education certificate proving that you have passed a safety course. In every state I am aware of, this class is offered free of charge. Check your state regulatory agency's website for details about when and where to take the class.
States will sometimes have special fees that they charge you for setting up a proper blind to hunt waterfowl from. The fees for this get ridiculous. In Virginia its something like $300. As far as I'm concerned, for that kind of money the game warden had better come out here and personally construct the blind for me. One more reason for locavore hunters to avoid conventional tactics. Check your state's game laws before building a goose blind or you might get slapped with a hefty fine.
Local laws are the final thing to look into. I cannot even consider writing up a review of every possible local law about hunting and gun use/ownership. I have a partial guide to those laws that the BATFE sent me some years ago and its about two inches thick. Make sure that there is not some inane local law against discharging a bow or a shotgun in the place where you intend to hunt.
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