Preamble

Whereas migratory birds move across the territories and waters of Newfoundland, Canada, and the United States and cannot be responsibly managed by one country acting alone;

Whereas Newfoundland, Canada, and the United States are parties to a shared North American migratory-bird convention and have undertaken to protect migratory birds, nests, eggs, and lawful harvest traditions;

Whereas Canada administers similar obligations through its Migratory Birds Convention Act, and the United States administers similar obligations through the Migratory Bird Treaty Act;

Therefore this Act implements the Republic of Newfoundland’s convention obligations while preserving lawful hunting, food harvest, Indigenous rights, and practical rural and coastal life.

Administered by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Part I — Purpose and Application

1. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to protect and conserve migratory birds as populations and individual birds, including their nests and eggs, while permitting lawful harvest under regulations.
2. Application. This Act applies throughout the territory, inland waters, coastal waters, and maritime zones of the Republic to the extent recognised by law.
3. Covered birds. Covered migratory birds shall be listed by regulation, with regard to the shared treaty lists and flyway management practices of Newfoundland, Canada, and the United States.
4. Relationship to Wild Life and Fisheries Act. The Wild Life and Fisheries Act applies generally to food harvest, while this Act controls where migratory birds, nests, eggs, seasons, and treaty obligations are specifically involved.

Part II — Species and Schedules

1. Species schedules. Regulations may list migratory birds by common name, scientific name, family, species group, or treaty category.
2. Game birds. Migratory game bird schedules may include ducks, geese, brant, snipe, woodcock, murres, sea ducks, mergansers, rails, coots, gallinules, and other species open to harvest by regulation.
3. Protected and closed species. Regulations may list species for which no open season exists, including species at risk, rare visitors, swans, cranes, raptors, songbirds, seabirds, shorebirds, or other protected birds.
4. Sea ducks and murres. Sea ducks and murres may be managed by coastal zone, island zone, Labrador zone, vessel rules, and annual harvest notices reflecting Newfoundland’s coastal hunting traditions.
5. Annual lists. The Department shall publish an annual migratory-bird notice listing open species, closed species, zones, seasons, daily bag limits, possession limits, and special conditions.

Part III — Lawful Harvest

1. Authorised seasons. Migratory birds may be hunted, taken, or possessed only during authorised seasons, in authorised areas, and within harvest limits established by regulation.
2. Food and tradition. Regulations shall recognise hunting for food, family provision, cultural practice, sport, and rural tradition, consistent with conservation and treaty obligations.
3. No commercial sale. Migratory birds and eggs taken under personal or food-harvest authority shall not be sold or used for private commercial dealing, except where Indigenous rights, treaty rights, or specific law provide otherwise.
4. Sharing allowed. Lawfully harvested migratory birds may be shared, gifted, prepared, or served within families, households, community events, and to persons in need, provided there is no disguised sale.
5. Humane methods. Regulations may establish humane hunting methods, non-toxic shot requirements, retrieval duties, bag limits, possession limits, tagging, and reporting rules where needed for conservation.
6. Identification retained. Harvested migratory birds shall remain reasonably identifiable by species or species group until prepared for immediate consumption, delivered to the harvester’s home, or delivered to a person lawfully receiving them.
7. Shipping and transport. A person transporting or shipping harvested migratory birds for another person shall ensure the package is marked or accompanied by the harvester’s name, harvest area, date, and species group where practical.
8. Retrieval duty. A harvester shall make reasonable efforts to retrieve a migratory game bird that is killed or wounded, where retrieval can be done safely.

Part IV — Lawful Methods

1. Permitted arms. Regulations may authorise shotguns, bows, crossbows, or other humane hunting methods for migratory game birds.
2. Shotguns. Shotguns used for migratory game birds may be limited by gauge, shell capacity, shot type, and safety rules set by regulation.
3. Non-toxic shot. Non-toxic shot may be required for waterfowl, wetlands, coastal zones, or other areas where lead deposition presents a conservation risk.
4. Decoys and calls. Regulations may permit artificial decoys and manual calls, and may prohibit live decoys, recorded electronic calls, baiting, or other methods inconsistent with treaty standards.
5. Boats and retrieval. Regulations may permit boats for transportation, placement, and retrieval, and may restrict shooting from moving powered vessels where needed for safety or fair chase.
6. Hunting hours. Hunting hours may be set by regulation, including sunrise, sunset, coastal safety, or zone-specific rules.

Part V — Protection of Birds, Nests, and Eggs

1. General protection. Except as authorised by regulation, permit, Indigenous right, emergency order, or lawful excuse, a person shall not deliberately kill, capture, wound, disturb, destroy, possess, traffic, buy, sell, barter, or commercialise a protected migratory bird, nest, or egg.
2. Incidental encounters. A person who accidentally encounters, disturbs, or discovers a bird, nest, egg, feather, or carcass while acting innocently and without commercial purpose shall not be treated as a criminal absent intentional harm, trafficking, fraud, or reckless disregard.
3. Problem birds and safety. Regulations may authorise practical measures for aircraft safety, public health, agriculture, property protection, conservation conflicts, and injured or dangerous birds.
4. Sanctuaries. The Minister may designate migratory bird sanctuaries, refuges, nesting areas, or seasonal closed areas where evidence shows protection is needed.
5. Habitat stewardship. The Minister may promote habitat conservation, wetland protection, coastal nesting protection, and voluntary stewardship agreements with landowners and communities.
6. Closed areas. A sanctuary, refuge, nesting island, wetland, shoreline, estuary, or coastal zone may be closed to taking, disturbance, landing, or vessel approach where needed to protect birds, nests, eggs, moulting areas, or staging areas.

Part VI — Murres and Coastal Seabird Harvest

1. Murre tradition recognised. The Republic recognises the Newfoundland coastal tradition of lawful murre harvest, subject to treaty obligations and conservation of murre populations.
2. Zone-based management. Murre seasons, zones, daily bag limits, possession limits, transport rules, and vessel rules shall be set by annual notice.
3. Species and identification. Regulations may distinguish common murres, thick-billed murres, and closed seabird species, and may require harvested murres to remain identifiable until delivered home or prepared for consumption.
4. Safety and retrieval. Murre hunting regulations may address coastal weather, vessel safety, retrieval, and safe shooting direction.

Part VII — Treaty Cooperation

1. International cooperation. The Republic may cooperate with Canada, the United States, Indigenous governments, flyway councils, conservation bodies, and scientific institutions to manage shared migratory-bird populations.
2. Data and science. Management shall consider population surveys, banding data, habitat conditions, harvest reports, Indigenous knowledge, local knowledge, and North American flyway science.
3. Consistent standards. Regulations should remain broadly compatible with Canada and the United States where needed for treaty performance, while respecting Newfoundland’s Constitution and food-harvest traditions.
4. Indigenous rights preserved. Nothing in this Act abrogates or diminishes Indigenous rights, treaty rights, land-claims rights, or culturally protected harvest practices recognised by the Constitution or laws of the Republic.
5. Annual coordination. Before issuing annual migratory-bird notices, the Department should consider Canadian and United States frameworks, shared flyway data, local harvest needs, and treaty obligations.

Part VIII — Permits and Exceptions

1. Permits. The Minister may issue permits for scientific study, rehabilitation, education, museum use, banding, conservation management, airport safety, agricultural protection, or other reasonable purposes.
2. Prompt and practical administration. Permit rules shall be practical, clear, and timely, and shall not be used to prohibit ordinary lawful hunting by administration.
3. Emergency care. A person may take reasonable steps to protect an injured migratory bird or prevent immediate danger to persons, aircraft, livestock, or property, and should notify the Department where practical.
4. Depredation permits. Permits may authorise limited control of birds causing serious crop, livestock, aquaculture, aviation, public-health, or property damage, using the least harmful practical method.
5. Research and banding. Scientific and banding permits may authorise capture, handling, marking, sampling, temporary possession, or release under humane and professional standards.

Part IX — Penalties and Guardrails

1. Penalty guardrail. No person shall be penalized for innocent possession, accidental disturbance, honest mistake, ordinary observation, rescue in good faith, or technical noncompliance absent intentional harm, unlawful sale, fraud, reckless endangerment, or knowing breach of a conservation closure.
2. Commercial trafficking. Commercial trafficking in protected migratory birds, nests, eggs, or parts is a serious offence.
3. Knowing unlawful take. Knowingly taking migratory birds outside authorised seasons, areas, or limits may be punished proportionately, with higher penalties for organised or repeated conduct.
4. Nest and egg destruction. Intentional destruction of protected nests or eggs without lawful authority is an offence.
5. Illegal sale. Buying, selling, bartering, or offering for sale migratory birds, eggs, nests, or parts taken under personal harvest authority is an offence unless specifically authorised by law.
6. Fraud. Knowingly false records, false permit information, false package markings, or fraudulent harvest reporting are offences. Honest mistake is not an offence.
7. Proportionate enforcement. Education, warning, restoration, or civil measures should be preferred for minor first-time errors without sale, fraud, intentional harm, or conservation damage.

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