Ohio legislation could allow owls to be used for rabbit hunting

New Ohio Senate legislation has a high-flying goal: allowing falconers in the state to use owls to hunt for small game, such as squirrels and rabbits.

Senate Bill 380, introduced Tuesday by state Sen. Frank Hoagland of Jefferson

County, is the brainchild of Mick Brown, president of the Ohio Falconry Association. Brown, who lives in Martins Ferry, Ohio, said in an interview that he’s thought about the idea for a long time, noting that falconers in many other states are already allowed to use owls for hunting.

If the bill passes, only the 100 or so Ohioans with a state-issued falconry permit would be able to use owls for hunting. To become a licensed falconer in Ohio, people must first pass a written test and complete a two-year apprenticeship.

“There may be not that many who will do it,” Brown said. “It’s just, we’d like to be able to do it if we choose to do it, and it doesn’t seem like there’s a reason why we shouldn’t be able to.”

It’s generally against the law to keep owls as pets. SB 380 seeks to add falconry to the short list of allowed reasons for licensed and trained individuals to keep owls, which currently includes things like rehabilitation and breeding.

Falconers usually acquire birds by trapping juveniles and raising them, Brown said. Falconers

in other states, Brown said, have told him that allowing the use of owls in hunting doesn’t hurt the local owl population. Once a bird’s taken for falconry, Brown said, it “usually lives a long, good life” that includes food, vitamins, and medical care.

Brown said he couldn’t think of a particular benefit to using owls for hunting over hawks, falcons, or other birds already permitted to be used in falconry, other than that owls are nocturnal.

As the current Ohio legislative session ends in December, SB 380 would have to fly quickly through both the Senate and the Ohio House for it to reach the desk of Gov. Mike DeWine and be signed into law.