Sponsors (17)
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This section provides that, notwithstanding the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), a covered person may take (including kill or disperse) certain black vultures and transport carcasses under specified conditions. The provision creates an exception to the Act's prohibitions as applied to covered persons; it does not recodify or explicitly amend the text of 16 U.S.C. 703 in this section.
This section adopts the definitions of 'livestock' and 'livestock producer' as provided in 7 U.S.C. 1471 for purposes of defining covered persons and livestock; it does not amend 7 U.S.C. 1471.
Allows livestock producers and their employees to capture, kill, disperse, or transport black vultures when those birds are causing, or are reasonably believed will cause, death, injury, or destruction to livestock. It bans the use of poison, requires annual reporting of any such takes to the appropriate U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regional office once a reporting form is available, and directs the USFWS Director to create that reporting form within 180 days of enactment.
Black vulture means the bird species Coragyps atratus.
Covered person means either (A) a livestock producer, or (B) an employee of a livestock producer when the employee is actively engaged in livestock production.
Director means the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Livestock has the meaning given in section 602 of the Emergency Livestock Feed Assistance Act of 1988 (7 U.S.C. 1471).
Livestock producer has the meaning given in section 602 of the Emergency Livestock Feed Assistance Act of 1988 (7 U.S.C. 1471).
Directly affected: livestock producers, ranchers, and farm employees gain a clear, federal-authorized option to remove black vultures that threaten livestock, reducing uncertainty about legal liability for such actions. The prohibition on poison reduces risks to non-target wildlife, pets, and human health compared with poison-based methods. The annual reporting requirement will create a modest administrative burden for producers who exercise the authority and will generate data for USFWS that could inform population or conflict-management decisions. USFWS faces a short-term administrative task to develop and distribute a standardized reporting form within 180 days, and an ongoing responsibility to receive and manage annual reports. Wildlife and conservation stakeholders may be affected through permitted increases in authorized lethal or disruptive actions against black vultures, which could influence local vulture populations and management practices. The section does not provide funding or detail enforcement mechanisms, so implementation could require USFWS to allocate existing resources to meet the 180-day form deadline and to handle incoming reports.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced May 20, 2025 by Markwayne Mullin · Last progress May 20, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate
