Due in part to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, no venture for profit (i.e. commercial, television show, movie, print ad, etc.) can use any bird native to North America. In fact, it is illegal to even possess these birds without proper licenses and/or permits (which are almost impossible to acquire).

What is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act?

Around the turn of the 20th century, the beautiful long breeding plumes and colorful head and body feathers of many bird species, were used as highly prized women’s fashion accessories. Most often used for women’s hats, feathers became a status symbol coveted by the new mass market and were produced on an industrial scale which reached an all time peak during the plume trade of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.

Thousands of birds were indiscriminately killed for this purpose. The number of bird species were being so over hunted (many having already been killed in numbers so great, they were considered extinct) and many others were close to extinction.

The statute makes it unlawful to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, or sell nearly 1,100 species of birds listed therein as migratory birds. And the statute does not discriminate between live or dead birds. It grants full protection to any bird parts including feathers, eggs, and nests.  It even includes and prohibits the taking of naturally molted feathers that you may find laying on the ground.

What is the purpose of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act?

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is intended to ensure the sustainability of populations of all protected migratory bird species. The law has been amended with the signing of each treaty, as well as when any of the treaties were amended, such as with Mexico in 1976 and Canada in 1995. Simply put, the MBTA is a law that protects our native North American birds from people.

In the years since The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (which was signed jointly by the USA and Canada) into law in 1918, this conservation act is directly attributed in saving millions, and possibly billions, of birds.

But what does the MBTA actually protect and how does this act prevent the use of migratory birds for use in the entertainment industry and private events?

Most simply put, the MBTA prohibits the taking and or keeping of native birds for any “for profit” usage. Advertising, film and television production and live events and shows would all fall under ‘for profit’ and therefore make it a federal offense to use a native North American bird for those purposes.

However, there are licensed/permitted facilities and people who can (and do) use many types of native (typically non releasable) birds, for not-for -profit/ outreach and educational purposes. You can observe live presentations with our native North American birds at schools, sporting events, presentations at fairs and even on educational television shows.

Although we can bring those birds out for awareness and to help educate children and adults, we cannot charge or make a profit for their appearances.

For this reason, we have many birds from all over the world that resemble our North American species. We also have birds that are similar and can be safely colored to look almost identical to many of our native species. These birds are part of our incredibly vast collection of  available trained birds for hire.

*Links to articles about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918:

https://www.audubon.org/news/the-migratory-bird-treaty-act-explained

https://www.fws.gov/birds/policies-and-regulations/laws-legislations/migratory-bird-treaty-act.php