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

[muscovychef]

This in my humble opinion is insane, Ive been doing alot of research and most people and hatcheries dont know. I have a small flock of show stock and planned on getting more this year from a breeder. .I understand the American Poultry Asc. is up in arms about this. I have lilttle hope of stopping this. The people that are pushing this law are the same ones that want to stop meat production. But they have not gotten that far on this breed yet. Once this is lost to us its only the start of what you wont be able to have. I went to culinary in louisiana , they brought in the nutra rat to help keep down the weeds and the animal took over. now they have hunting season and recipes and cooking contests to help slow their mistake. Why not do the same with feral muscovy?? Im reading reports that they are feral in michigan and other cold weater states. I live in NM and there is no way my birds could survive.We have a huge population of owls hawks coyotes . its dry here and freezing cold in winter with out protection and feed mine would die. My drakes are too heavy to get off the ground my hens after a year cant fly either. I have had muscovies 35 years . the show birds and wild are no longer comparable and I know that the farm muscovy the white heads etc. are lighter but still in cold climates I cant see them surviving with out being helped. In our rainy season my muscovy must get under shelter or they become water logged. muscovy can not shed water like mallard based breeds. If the feral population were cut back by hunting. And stop being fed. It would cut down. And leave us breeders alone.Who raise them for show, pleasure and food source. My flock will be grand fatherd in. I will keep promoting and raiseing this bird.

 

[Parrotchick]

I just spoke to a very old friend of mine who works in the Migratory Waterfowl division of Fish & Wildlife. She was not aware of any new regulations regarding muscovies and thought it sounded kind of far out. But she said she would look into it for me and would personally call George Allen if need be for further information. I'll post as I find out more.

 

[PineappleMama]

Nicarbazin? Is that like birth control for ducks? Doesn't sound very healthy.

Just my thoughts, but perhaps having LOCAL governments handle this would be better. The areas where this actually is a problem could handle it, the ones where it's not a problem don't have to. Simply banning MALES of this species would do it right? Doesn't seem any different than banning Roos to limit noise. And THAT is handled by local. State's rights are going to heck in a handbasket... and they don't even have any eggs for company.

One more reason to be a Libertarian.

 

[smithzoo100]

It's going to take all of us working together to bring attention to this ridiculous law in such a short amount of time. We need every person who has any interest in protecting not only our pets and lively hoods, but our basic freedoms concerning what we can do on our own land and put (or NOT put) into our own freezers and on our tables, to help us get the word out about this law!!! This one, seemingly simple law that would appear to some to have little to no impact on them, will open doors for other breed bans and threatens our ability to live a sustainable lifestyle as well as will ultimately threaten our ability to protect biodiversity.

This is so frustrating

!!!!! For this law (regulation?!?) to get this far and NO ONE has heard of it before it is days from becoming an actual law (regulation?!?) and many of us becoming criminals in possession of illegal waterfowl...OMG?!?!?!?! I have sent information in my everyone in my email address books, as well as posted links to my facebook and myspace pages. I will be posting this on craigslist as well since there is a growing interest in sustainable living in my area that the muscovy duck play a key part in.... I realize that then they will be covered by the "produced for food" part of the new law however, I can NOT seem to locate info on where to obtain a permit in my state!! Every search last night led me back to the state of Florida for permits. My original purpose for getting our muscovy ducks was to help with fly control. They are unsurpassed MASTERS at devouring flies, not to mention keeping many other bug populations under control, and allowed us an affordable solution to the problem brought in by a neighboring Equine Rescue. Prior to this, I had been purchasing fly predator wasps, and cannot afford to do so any longer (their numbers far surpass what my budget can handle). So, after April 1st, I will be forced to only breed my feathered fly predators after obtaining the necessary permits as food for my table?!?

Please make sure that you (and everyone you can think of to contact) sign the online petition, contact your local and state representatives as well as everyone listed in Duck_feeder's posts on this and the previous page, and notify absolutely everyone that you can possibly think of to do the same!!! Help us to get the word out!!! If anyone else can think of any other steps that we can take to help put a stop to this craziness, please let us know, but you've got to be quick since we only have 27 days to get anything accomplished.

Muscovychef, I understand that the birds we have now will be grandfathered in, but it is my understanding that we will still need a permit to breed them and can only do so for purposes of becoming food. Will people with a permit still be allowed to show them, or will that be a criminal activity as well? And, will you only be allowed to show them if you have a permit?!?

I was looking towards being able to show next year, but I have no tolerance for ridiculous laws and paperwork. I am not worried about the ducks that I have now, but my muscovy project helped to feed all of our critters on our little farm through sales of muscovies. That will become much more difficult now to say the least, if not outright impossible....

 

[TV]

Lets put a stop to this now! Go and sign the petition and send complaints and comments to the FWS folks below.



http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/do-not-outlaw-the-muscovy-duck

[email protected]

[email protected]

 

[downhome]

I have been on the phone to everyone I can think of, I spoke to one of the biologists and he told me that they would be rivising this rule,
yes folks its a rule to a law not a actual law, the law is the Migratory Bird Treaty act.

so its not like this is written in stone, the Fish and Wildlife service can change this and they have reversed rules before. I was also informed that they will be revising this latter this year.

they are claiming jurisdiction over the muscovys based on limited literature citations and public input, basically someone somewhere published a scientific article that the muscovys have extended their range into Texas ,making them a migratory bird therefore they fall under the MBTA and the jurisdiction of the FWS and all the public input was anti muscovy. but them claiming that they have jurisdiction is like my department natural resources claiming jurisdiction over domestic turkeys because there is a wild population of turkeys.

If you can produce any published scientific journals ,studies, books that say muscovys are not migratory they can be submitted and the FWS will have to consider them. or that the Texas ducks are but a feral population. I would also think if this where brought to court
it would be up to the fws agency to prove that the Texas population is indeed wild and not feral domestics.

I also wonder if the EU,Japan,Mexico,Russia,Canada are going to require the same as they are bound to this treaty also. I think not.
a good point to raise, contact your senators and congressman,representatives,agricultural departments,and any one else who can be a squeaky wheel to do the same.

for those in the EU and Canada can you contact those in your government and see if they will be requiring the same of you?

I hate to break it to you guys doing the online petition its a mute point, you need a real petition signed in black ink before anyone will bat a eyelash, don't email call and keep calling be civil be rational don't try to BS anyone,make idle threats or off the wall stuff that will just undermine any credabilityand most likely get you the phone run around, keep it straight and to the point,be polite sweet as sugar, call all those people I mentioned above and keep calling,its easy to ignore emails but when there phone banks are jammed and there voice mails over flowing that's a little harder to ignore. go ahead and email but do the calls send registered mail. that's the only way they will take notice.

did I mention Im ticked off !

 

[Duck_feeder]

Quote:
Do you have the titles of these people? I'll add it to the first post with all the other contact info if you can provide that to me.

 

[Cottage Rose]

I've heard that online petitions are worthless.
Does anybody know anything about this?

Ron as you know I live in Michigan and I never see Muscovies
on our many lakes, ponds and rivers.
I've seen some Pekins but no Muscovies.
I can understand that feral Muscovies can be an problem
in some southern states but I'd dare say nation wide its not.
A nation wide ban would be ridiculous!
This should be handled by the individual states.
As for Muscovies being "migratory" my drakes can't
even get off the ground let alone fly away.
This all boils down to responsible ownership.
Too bad theres so many idiots out there.

 

[Duck_feeder]

Quote:
The studies I've read about all indicate they don't sway the minds of decision makers, that's why I urge people to contact their federal representatives.
I included a link to the online petition in the first post as others wanted it included.

I've drafted a standard letter to send to your representative and senators. Feel free to use it or suggest changes to it. I will include it in the first post for convenience.

Dear Rep/Senator XXXX

I am a resident of (state or congressional district goes here). I am contacting you in regards to the recent regulation by the Fish and Wildlife Service (CFR 21.54) regarding Muscovy Ducks.

This new regulation makes it illegal for private citizens or organizations to possess muscovy ducks. While I understand the need to pass regulations that help control the feral muscovy duck problem in some communities in the United States, I feel that this new regulation overextends the rights of the FWS in regards to private ownership of muscovy ducks.

With the new regulation the following would no longer be permissible:
1. Owning muscovy ducks as pets. While it may seem odd that people would keep ducks as pets, there is a significant population in the US that does so. While we could have other ducks as pets, muscovy ducks tend to be more community friendly as they do not make loud vocalizations (quacks) that most other domestic ducks do.

2. Raising muscovy ducks for private consumption of meat or eggs. The new regulations only allows for possessing muscovy ducks for food production, but requires permits from the FWS. This effectively makes raising muscovy ducks impossible for non-business entities. As I'm sure you know, it is very important for the future of this country to develop sustainable food production. Backyard flocks of chickens and ducks, including muscovy ducks, can assist with sustainability as it allows for the use of residential land to produce food.

3. Raising muscovy ducks for competition. Muscovy ducks are a recognized breed by the American Poultry Associate (APA) and are used in competitions. The inability to breed muscovy ducks for any reason other than food production would take away the ability for breeders to continue breeding and showing muscovy ducks. I believe this flies in the face of one of the major tenets that this country is founded on - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I urge you to consider the detrimental effect the new regulations will have on your constituents and American citizens as a whole. I hope your conscience will guide you towards modifying this regulation to restore a small amount of freedom to duck loving citizens of our great nation.

I have also sent a copy of this letter to **insert your senators and representative here)*** as well as members of the House Committee on Natural Resources, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Thank you for taking the time to read my concerns. I am a registered voter and will take your actions on this matter into account when voting.

Sincerely,
xxxxx​

 

[downhome]

try these guys first

http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/ContactUs.html


Ken Salazar , Secretary of the Interior

DC Office:
702 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-0606
DC Phone: 202-224-5852
DC Fax: 202-228-5036
Web Email
Website

District Office- Colorado Springs:
3 South Tejon, Suite 300B
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Phone: 719-328-1100
Fax: 719-328-1129

District Office- Denver:
2300 15th Street, Suite 450
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: 303-455-7600
Fax: 303-455-8851

District Address - Durango:
835 East 2nd Avenue, Suite 203
Durango, CO 81301
Phone: 970-259-1710
Fax: 970-259-9789

District Office- Fort Collins:
11 Old Town Square, Suite 260
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Phone: 970-224-2200
Fax: 970-224-2205

District Office- Grand Junction:
400 Rood Avenue, Suite 213
Grand Junction, CO 81501
Phone: 970-241-6631
Fax: 970-241-8313

District Office- Pueblo:
129 West B Street
Pueblo, CO 81003
Phone: 719-542-7550
Fax: 719-542-7555

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240

http://www.fws.gov/duspit/contactus.htm

the guy in charge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Director Rowan Gould and of course I couldnt turn up a phone number!