<P> The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act ( 16 U.S.C. 668 - 668d ) is a United States federal statute that protects two species of eagle . The bald eagle was chosen as a national emblem of the United States by the Continental Congress of 1782 and was given legal protection by the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 . This act was expanded to include the golden eagle in 1962 . Since the original Act , the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act has been amended several times . It currently prohibits anyone , without a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior , from `` taking '' bald eagles . Taking is described to include their parts , nests , or eggs , molesting or disturbing the birds . The Act provides criminal penalties for persons who `` take , possess , sell , purchase , barter , offer to sell , purchase or barter , transport , export or import , at any time or any manner , any bald eagle ... ( or any golden eagle ) , alive or dead , or any part , nest , or egg thereof . '' </P>
<P> The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act ( 16 U.S.C. 668 - 668d ) is a United States federal statute that protects two species of eagle . The bald eagle was chosen as a national emblem of the United States by the Continental Congress of 1782 and was given legal protection by the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 . This act was expanded to include the golden eagle in 1962 . Since the original Act , the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act has been amended several times . It currently prohibits anyone , without a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior , from `` taking '' bald eagles . Taking is described to include their parts , nests , or eggs , molesting or disturbing the birds . The Act provides criminal penalties for persons who `` take , possess , sell , purchase , barter , offer to sell , purchase or barter , transport , export or import , at any time or any manner , any bald eagle ... ( or any golden eagle ) , alive or dead , or any part , nest , or egg thereof . '' </P>
when did it become illegal to kill bald eagles
when did it become illegal to kill bald eagles
1940
1940