Massachusetts Dog officer holding my Birds hostage !!

[Kloo]

I will try to make this short. My 3 peafowl were spooked when there was a coyote attack & luckily escaped ..unfortunatly they managed to fly beyond our 40 acres , into the next town over..which is Southbridge. well We looked everywhere & couldnt find the peas ..spoke to neibors..ect, nothing. Then a couple of weeks later I called the Dog officer & left a message.
Come to find out the one in the next town over had found & captured them . She refuses to give them back becuase she seems to think they are exotic & you need permits & to be licensed ..NOT. she also asked where they were kept..umm gee..howabout in the HUGE barn..that its impossible to miss right behind the house where she left her little note..its bigger than house. Not too happy with her..she seems to be incinuating that my birds are neglected or something.. so now shes bringing some sort of inspector to my house ..for what..theres nothing illegal..nothing that needs a permit ..nothing exotic here. Besides..she doesnt have jurisdiction in my town..she is the officer of another town ..not mine..she has SOME nerve holding my peas hostage as if im breaking the law. she is denying them of their home, stressing them out. theyve been here since they were eggs...ugh..what a nitemare. hmm..maybe she just wants the peas for herself???

 

[BonnieJean]

Wow... that is awful! Maybe she became attached to them and doesn't want to let them go now? Tell her to get her own and then join the forum

Good luck with everything and sorry she is making this so difficult for you. Keep us posted with how everything is going...

 

[dntd]

Get your city involved, find the city ordenance, peafowl are not normally an issue.

 

[jodief100]

Find the ordaninace in your town. Do not let them try to pull the "the law doesn't say you can have them therefore you can't" garbage on you. The law has to specifically say you CANNOT.

Get your own Dog officer involved. I would think at the very least she has to turn them over to whoever has jurisdiction. Get law enforcment involved as well, if she has no jurisdiction and no laws are broken, it is THEFT!

 

[usschicago1]

Where in Mass Are you? In this state, EVERYTHING is illegal, sadly

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Not necessarily. MANY cities have a stated rule of construction that specifies that only stated used are allowed, anything not stated is disallowed. However, if there is not a specific rule of construction on this, then you are correct that it must state that they are disallowed.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Her jurisdiction is her town where they were found, and assuming that they were indeed found in her jurisdiction, then she has a right to keep them until such time as she finds the lawful owners, or it is determined that they are kept in violation of state or county laws (which would turn jurisdiction over to THOSE agencies). Assuming that they are indeed legal in your location, you need to have your town officials to deal with her.

Specifically ask her to cite references showing that your birds require permits and licenses for your location. See about filing an injunction to force her to return your birds.

 

[Beth G.]

Quote:
Her post says she is from CT. Not sure which one but, if it borders the MA line then it's probably legal in those towns to own Peafowl. Most bordering towns are very rural. But, I'm not really sure. I hope she gets her birds back. It sounds like the Dog Catcher is trying to pull authority rank/power trip etc....

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Okay, I looked up Connecticut laws. I think she believes your birds to be partridge or pheasants. Here is the exact wording that clears them:

http://www.lawserver.com/law/state/connecticut/ct-laws/connecticut_statutes_26-40

Connecticut General Statutes > Title 26 > Chapter 490 > § 26-40 - Game breeders license. Possession of skunks or raccoons

No person, association or corporation shall possess more than one live specimen of, breed or propagate any wild game bird or wild game quadruped of the following species without a game breeder's license as provided herein: In the family Anatidae, all ducks, geese and swans; in the family Phasianidae, all quail, partridge and the following strains of pheasant: Blackneck, Chinese, English, Formosan, melanistic mutant and Mongolian or any cross-breeding thereof and for the purpose of section 22-327 all other members of this family shall be classed as domestic fowls; in the family Tetranoidae, the ruffed grouse; in the family Melegrididae, turkeys except domestic strains; in the family Cervidae, the sika and white tail deer; in the family Procyonidae, the raccoon; in the family Mustelidae, the otter; in the family Castoridae, the beaver; and in the family Leporidae, all species except domestic strains. The commissioner, upon written application and the payment of a fee of twenty-one dollars, may license any person, association or corporation to possess, breed, propagate and sell any birds or mammals specified in this section. Such license shall be annual and nontransferable and shall expire on the thirty-first day of December after its issuance. The commissioner may adopt regulations concerning the granting of such licenses and the sale, propagation and transportation of birds or mammals specified in this section propagated and possessed by any such licensee. All applications for such licenses shall be upon blanks prepared and furnished by the commissioner. Any person, association or corporation, licensed under the provisions of this section, shall keep a record of all birds or mammals specified in this section which are sold, transported or propagated by such licensee, whether the same are sold dead or alive, and shall report to the commissioner not later than the January thirty-first of the year following the expiration of the license period. Such report shall contain the number of birds and mammals procured, possessed and propagated and the name of each person to whom any such sale has been made and the date of such sale or transportation. Each package containing birds or mammals specified in this section, or any part thereof, so propagated or possessed and offered for transportation shall be plainly labeled with the name and license number of the licensee offering the same for transportation, the name of the consignee and a statement of the contents of such package. Any license granted under the provisions of this section may be revoked by the commissioner. No person, association or corporation may breed, propagate or sell any skunk or raccoon, except that such animals, with the approval of the commissioner may be kept in a zoo, nature center, museum, laboratory or research facility maintained by a scientific or educational institution. In no instance shall such animals be accessible to handling by the general public. No person may possess any skunk purchased in any Connecticut retail establishment after May 1, 1979, or any raccoon purchased after October 1, 1985. Any person, association or corporation which violates any provision of this section or any regulation issued by the commissioner pursuant thereto shall be fined not more than ninety dollars for each offense.

Peafowl are (from Wikipedia):

The term peafowl can refer to the two species of bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Galliformes

Family: Phasianidae

Genus: Pavo​

 

[Kloo]

I am from mass..dudley. this isnt even my usual username, but i havent been on in a longtime & MY old cookie folder thinks this is my username..i cant even remember what it is lol.