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

[houndit]

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Yeah! You said it! At least it looks like we will be able to raise them without a permit. I appreciate all the work everyone did to get us this far!

 

[sandspoultry]

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I hate to say this but it was up for notification TWO years ago and if I remember right from what I read 14 people responded. No law can go on the books without public input.

And until the regulation is changed and on the books it still takes effect March 31st as it is written right now

You can't sell
you can't breed
you can't buy



Sharon

 

[houndit]

Quote:
I hate to say this but it was up for notification TWO years ago and if I remember right from what I read 14 people responded. No law can go on the books without public input.

And until the regulation is changed and on the books it still takes effect March 31st as it is written right now

You can't sell
you can't breed
you can't buy



Sharon

sandspoultry read post 500

Nature's_Hatchery :

Our staff contacted George Allen this morning, and spoke to him on the phone. He says that this regulation will go into effect, but there will be no enforcement until an amendment will be put together that allows Muscovy raisers to keep their birds without a permit. As of 3/18/10, any persons trying to enforce this law should be directed to him for further information. He is currently putting this in writing and will send you a copy upon request once it is completed. His office, he says, has no time or desire to extract Muscovy permits from anyone or to regulate Muscovy raisers this extensively. The law was made for feral populations. They are currently working on a clause that will allow domestic Muscovies, and anyone on his emailing list (Those who have contacted him regarding this regulation by email) will be sent a notification when the amendment is completed. It will then be open for comments for a short period of time, and he requests that all Muscovy raisers let him know by email before the completion of this clause what they think the law should entail, and give suggestions for this new draft. He says that he is not willing to drop the regulation altogether, as there certainly is a localized issue in places, but he now understands that domestic Muscovy populations need to be taken into consideration.
In summary, this regulation is on hold as of 3/18/10 and will not be presently enforced until a new draft of this regulation is completed. Please send your comments to [email protected].


Reeve O'Neill
General Manager
Nature's Hatchery

www.NaturesHatchery.com
Toll free (877) 90-BIRDS
[email protected]​

 

[Danaus29]

And in those 2 years where were the notifications about the Muscovy???? No one knew about this legislation. There is a huge difference between nobody responding when it was widely publicized and no one even knowing this was pending.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

They followed normal notification procedures, and most organizations concerned with wilfdlife, specifically migratory birds, would have had their lobbiests verifying the details and determining whether they felt the wanted to provide input. The problem is that muscovies are mostly domestic, not wild, and so organizations that deal with domestic animals were not on the lookout for now regulations.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

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Dr. Allen told me last week, FWS DID NOT know there were any exhibition poultry. Seems that those opposed to feral muscovy forgot to inform FWS of the existence of other type of muscovy ducks. Dr. Allen fully understands that we did not respond because we did not know to respond. That is why the FWS is taking care and caution to write an admendment to the regulation, and to suspend enforcement until the admendment is written. They have heard us and are listening. We have been told that should any wildlife officer attempt to enforce this upon a backyard/exhibition flock, to have the officer call Dr. Allen.

If I had any muscovy ducks, I would add Dr. Allen to my speed dial!

 

[Dances with Ducks]

As someone already pointed out, a simple google search on Muscovy would have plainly revealed the huge numbers of domestic muscovy owners. Regulatory agencies need to update their procedures to identify affected constituencies. The usual process of simply posting it in whatever federal book is not good enough. Just look at what happend in this case!

 

[savingdogs]

As a new owner of 13 muscovy ducklings, I need to insert a question into this discussion.

Just how do we prove we own muscovy prior to March 31st? We got in under the deadline on purpose after reading this thread. We had planned on adding ducks to our barnyard later in the spring and came to the conclusion we wanted muscovy prior to hearing about the ban.

While we plan on using them for personal use, we would like to be able to prove we have them legally should we be challenged. We chose a very domesticated type (large, white, designed for raising for meat) on purpose. Also white will stick out in our forested area and make them easier to locate and not LOSE. We do have our paperwork and box from the hatchery.

From reading this thread I believe what we plan on doing is completely legal if we owned them prior to 31st, correct? But how exactly is that determined, does anyone know? Take a picture of these ducklings on top of a dated newspaper? lol

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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That should cover you.

 

[sandspoultry]

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Dr. Allen told me last week, FWS DID NOT know there were any exhibition poultry. Seems that those opposed to feral muscovy forgot to inform FWS of the existence of other type of muscovy ducks. Dr. Allen fully understands that we did not respond because we did not know to respond. That is why the FWS is taking care and caution to write an admendment to the regulation, and to suspend enforcement until the admendment is written. They have heard us and are listening. We have been told that should any wildlife officer attempt to enforce this upon a backyard/exhibition flock, to have the officer call Dr. Allen.

If I had any muscovy ducks, I would add Dr. Allen to my speed dial!

Seems DR Allen is telling everybody the same thing but one thing is missing...... there is nothing in writting. One thing I have noticed from contacting DR Allen personally is when you ask spefic questions or something on paper the subject gets changed, he becomes vague or doesn't answer at all. I very much hope that I am wrong about the feeling I am getting from the FWS but March 31st is 8 working days away and I see no written admendment yet.

Sharon