Muscovies in US - REGULATION CHANGES OPEN FOR COMMENTS - 10/1 update

[keeperofthehearth]

Thanks for bringing this back to our attn., Duck_feeder. There were posts on this back in 08 and I did a seach last year but didn't find any follow-up on the proposed law. Looks like it made the books. SIGH!!! There is a lot to wade through but it does look like you can keep a small backyard flock. It will be up to the individual states & communities to regulate it. There is a good chance that the smaller communities out in the boonies are going to be your best bet for keeping these much beloved ducks. Does look like we won't be allowed to ship eggs, ducklings etc. Like I said,a lot of reading to wade through. Bother........ Well, my DH will love this... he likes to be "politically incorrect". It's time to get me a second drake before March 31, looks like.

I've watched my Scovies, they don't do well in colder climates without human intervention & I don't believe would "endanger" native populations in said cold climates. There is just to much predation, esp. in our winters, without a warm, safe place and a protien enriched diet.

Time to contact my Rep.'s I'd be interested in a good form letter that holds some weighted facts if someone comes up with one. SIGH!!

Love my Scovies.

 

[Iheart'scovies]

Quote:
you shouldn't have any trouble finding a drake! Maybe ask the wildlife rescuerers in your area, sometime they hear of ones in need but they can't take them in, etc. Sounds like you'll have to do it soon, though, geez. They might also take to a non-scovy drake, though I guess it is not a good sign that they are ignoring your current boys :-( Good luck!

 

[Baybrio]

If I had muscovys I would just say I was raising them for food. To me a duck egg is food, the law is not specific about raising them for meat. Couldn't an ad just make it clear that the eggs and meat are tasty and leave it at that?

I'm sure the focus will be on folks who raise them to release and then hunt. Of course if someone like a neighbor wants to challenge someone raising show or pet ducks I suppose they could bring this law up.

What really annoys me is that they didn't just make it illegal to release them, which is the real problem. Or that states or groups of states in the warmer climates did not just take responsibility and police their own duck populations.

 

[houndit]

I contacted my congress men and said the following.

Dear Sir.
We just found out about a new law that is being passed pertaining to the raising of Muscovy ducks. [FR Doc. 2010–3284 Filed 2–26–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
This is a very harmful law. It says that they are trying to control the Muscovy ducks in Florida particularly. They are talking about the wild population. If these are a problem I think the people in Florida have every right to take care of it. However, they will be mandating that we in Missouri sell them for meat only. The Constitution of the United States of America states in the 10th amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to it by the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. If Florida has a problem let them take care of it. A small farm in Missouri should not be affected. The Muscovies pose no problem here whatsoever. The bill states that they frequently escape into the wild and propogate. We have never once had a duck escape into the wild. If they leave the hen-house, they are promptly devoured by predators. Simple wing clipping grounds them for a year. We do sell them for meat, but they have many other uses. We sell eggs to a lady who is allergic to chicken eggs. I can no longer do this because they can only be sold for meat. Many people like keeping them as pets. Many more use them for broody ducks. They hatch more young than almost any other bird, and will readily set other types of eggs. They are cheaper to maintain than incubators. This is yet another example of a government stepping out of its legal bounds. I implore you to do whatever you can to stop this.
Thank you.
Sincerely,


Please everyone contact your congressmen! I called Dr. George T. Allen. He said I can still sell birds off the farm alive if I document that they will be used for meat. I think I can still sell eggs as well. The law states
(g) You may not acquire or possess
live muscovy ducks, their carcasses or
parts, or their eggs, except to raise them
to be sold as food, and except that you
may possess any live muscovy duck that
you lawfully acquired prior to March
31, 2010. If you possess muscovy ducks
on that date, you may not propagate
them or sell or transfer them to anyone
for any purpose, except to be used as
food. You may not release them to the
wild, sell them to be hunted or released
to the wild, or transfer them to anyone
to be hunted or released to the wild.

You can not have them except to use for meat. I am not sure how to document that they are for meat only. I can tell the customers that they are for meat, but I can not control what my customers do. My customers might just keep them. I would not care, but they might get in trouble.

Please contact your congressmen! This law is not even constitutional according to the 10th amendment.

 

[houndit]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention duck feeder!

 

[duckluck]

Iheart'scovies :

I wrote this to my rep/congresswoman... I don't know if it is any good, but any one who does want to write to their rep is free to use it


Dear Congresswoman,

Please intervene to stop the new regulation that prohibits the possession of Muscovy ducks and allows them to be irradiated on public lands recently put in place by the DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Fish and Wildlife Service (50 CFR Part 21[Docket Number FWS–R9–MB–2007–0017;91200–1231–9BPP]RIN 1018–AV34).

This is a gross violation of individual rights, and is nothing more than state sanctioned animal cruelty. I am so angered by this, and I very much hope that, as my representative, you will step in to make a difference here. Please use your power to speak up for me, your constituent, and the many intelligent, sensitive animals that will be slaughtered as a result of this frivolous legislation!

Thank you!

And the bureaucracy runs wild yet again...instead of just shooting the feral population, let's murder lawful pets too. I'm not even going to tell them that there are feral populations of all kinds of fowl out there, because maybe then they will just outlaw all domestic birds, period. You just can't trust the people behind the curtain, folks.​

 

[Duck_feeder]

Quote:
The law explicitly makes it illegal to release muscovies into the wild:

You may not acquire or possess
live muscovy ducks, their carcasses or
parts, or their eggs, except to raise them
to be sold as food, and except that you
may possess any live muscovy duck that
you lawfully acquired prior to March
31, 2010. If you possess muscovy ducks
on that date, you may not propagate
them or sell or transfer them to anyone
for any purpose, except to be used as
food. You may not release them to the
wild, sell them to be hunted or released
to the wild, or transfer them to anyone
to be hunted or released to the wild.​

 

[Davaroo]

The way I read this:

"1. You may not acquire or possess live muscovy ducks, their carcasses or parts, or their eggs, except to raise them
to be sold as food,
2. and except that you may possess any live muscovy duck that you lawfully acquired prior to March 31, 2010.
3. If you possess muscovy ducks on that date, you may not propagate them or sell or transfer them to anyone
for any purpose, except to be used as food. You may not release them to the wild, sell them to be hunted or released
to the wild, or transfer them to anyone to be hunted or released to the wild.is you can have them if you are raising them for food or to sell as food."

...is that it really solves your problems with Muscovies. Just eat them or their eggs and sell a few ducks or eggs - as food - to your neighbors for $1.
Print some business cards on your computers that say "Mighty Muscovies, LLC", etc.
Bammo, you're in the duck business!

Oddly, I find it interesting no one cares that they poison the waters around Chicago to kill thousands of tons of Asian carp each year - which are also an alien, invasive and potentially highly nutritious food source, which we ourselves imported.

 

[Parrotchick]

I'll make sure that my Muscovy drake knows that he is not allow to propagate or he will be breaking the law. I'm sure he'll be most amenable to that.

Oh, but he's supposedly a mule, so I guess he's OK, even though he looks totally Muscovy to me.

Drats, I wanted to get some more young ladies for him. I guess I better hurry up and order some ducklings, even if they are straight run. So all those hatcheries will have to destroy the eggs that would not already have homes in two weeks?

 

[Duck_feeder]

Only drawback about selling ducks or eggs as food as a loophole - you'd be required to get a permit from FWS...

(c) You may not transfer or dispose of
captive-bred birds or their eggs, whether
alive or dead, to any other person unless
you have a waterfowl sale and disposal
permit (see § 21.25 of subpart C of this
part).​