BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana residents who hunt with a trained bird of prey may soon have less paperwork and be able to keep more raptors.
Falconers must currently get state and federal permits and a state game breeder's license. But starting in 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service won't issue falconry permits. It has set minimum standards for states wishing to keep falconry programs.
Louisiana's Wildlife and Fisheries Commission plans to merge its rules with federal rules, using the game breeder's license as a falconers' license.
There would still be apprentice, general and master falconers.
Apprentices would remain limited to one raptor, but could choose from more species. General falconers could possess three raptors instead of two, and master falconers could possess five instead of three.