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

[Cottage Rose]

Quote:
Yes that would smack of NAIS which has hopefully been put to death.


I would also add, when contacting Dr. Allen keep your comments short and to the point.
This is what I wrote to him.
Even this might be too wordy:

Dear Dr. Allen,

Domestic Muscovy Ducks are an American Poultry Association recognized breed.
They are a very common and beloved waterfowl on many hobbyist farms across
the United States.
Muscovy Ducks are lean meat bird and are excellent for controlling flying
and crawling insects on the farm.
Domestic Muscovy drakes are too heavy to fly.
The females can fly but I have never heard of whole flocks
of females flying off. Ducks are grounded easily by annually clipping the wings.
Domestic Muscovy Ducks are not even remotely migratory.


If feral Muscovy ducks are a problem on public lakes, ponds and rivers that should
be dealt with on a local basis. I live in Michigan and travel around quite a bit and
have never seen any feral Muscovy Ducks even in places where I've seen
other domestic breeds of geese and ducks that have been dumped or allowed to
access public body's of water. I seriously doubt this is a national
problem other than isolated situations in the south.

Many Muscovy Duck fanciers are very concerned about this new regulation and we
would greatly appreciated it if this was re-worded so the the focus is on feral Muscovy Duck
populations and the people who release Muscovy Ducks on public waterways.
Thank you kindly for your consideration.
Vicky Thompson

 

[Davaroo]

I sent this:

"About the new law prohibiting the ownership of Muscovy ducks. The vast majority of Muscovy owners are not prone to releasing their ducks in the wild. Their birds are either favored pets or used as a source of food... or both. The duck is an efficient food producer on millions of farms and homes across the world. Some few people make a business of them, but most do not.

I agree that they can be a nuisance where uncontrolled. And like any natural creature, they can expand in areas where they are unmolested. So there is the answer - collect and remove them from areas where they are a problem. You can trust that the private Muscovy owner is not inclined to see their investment and efforts tossed lightly into the local golf course pond."

Thanks for this. Everyone should send this man a message - flood his inbox, and I don't even like the darn things! (This includes you, Buster) No standing on the sidelines on this one folks.

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
You don't like me?

Seriously, though, I don't know enough about the issues involved to make an informed decision one way or another. I think it is important that invasive species be controlled, but in this case I don't know the best way to go about that without going overboard. I'll leave it to the more informed among you.

 

[BirdBrain]

I didn't know Buster was an "in box".

 

[silkydragon]

.....so if anybody wants to ship me some hatching eggs ducklings or adult birds to ohio i would be happy i dont have much money though cuz i been on a buying spree and wasnt planning on buying ducks till here in a few months

pm me if you have some rly rly extremly cheap lol i was planning on getting ducks for eggs and meat but wasnt planning on getting licensed

 

[Mom 2em All]

Quote:
Good luck Silkydragon!
I have been searching since this was first posted and havent had any luck except one auction on ebay where the price went out of my price range.

 

[PamelaJaye]

Parrotchick or anyone else --
There are a lot of duck owners, including Muscovy owners, who don't know this board exists.
I sent a note to those I know on Facebook, but it takes time to get signed up (I think) and - my points is, is the info that this is being worked on available anywhere on the web where one doesn't have to sign up (or know it exists?) There are several duck groups on Facebook (too many, not centralized) as well as at least two or three duck groups on yahoo. and there is liveducks.com which is where I went for info when I got my duckling. Please don't flag me to coordinate as I have too many other projects, but someone should.

I couldn't find an email address for liveducks.com but I found a Twitter
http://twitter.com/liveducks

 

[muscovychef]

I still say paper trails are useless. You need vooices . Call him
I just got off the phone with Dave and Millie Holderreads, They only found out yesterday. I had to find some info for them and will send it now. Dave is going to call him.
Reguardless how any one feels about the Holderreads I have always been happy with them. I have delt with them sence I was 14 im 49 now. Dave is an ace in our pockets!!
I have Dave andersons info and will call him too see whats beingf planned.

Hey cottage you got kicked off because you know what your talking about. You my dear are not a LOON ...........................
I keep hearing this as well that they may not inforce this. THE MUSCOVY ISSUE IS NOT OVER INTERFEARING WITH WILD LIFE , iTS OVER THE COMPLAINTS OF PEOPLE
this is an issue they are going to start removing the birds after 31. We need to protect our selves.
We are dealing with feed back from city officials and rich. Who dispise muscovy like roaches, No other breed has had this happen.

 

[Buster52]

I was thinking about this issue when I was out repairing fences and an idea came to me.

If the feral population is the result of impulse buyers releasing pets, perhaps the only necessary steps would be to eradicate the feral populations and then ban their sale at brick and mortar retail outlets where impulse buys are most likely to occur. I seriously doubt the casual buyer would go through all the trouble of buying from a breeder, auction, or hatchery.

I'm guessing most of these people have no clue what they are getting into when they pick them up at the local feed or pet store, then find they are too much to handle or too expensive for upkeep, don't have the heart to kill them, and so turn them loose into the wild.

Seems to me that would be the least onerous approach that still has a shot at a solution to the problem.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Regulating their SALE is not appropriate. What is appropriate is regulating their RELEASE. Some reasonable steps are requiring a license to purchase and raise them in areas where they are an invasive problem (as occurs with other breeds of waterfowl), or requiring that purchasers sign a dated statement acknowledging that release into the wild is prohibited; that doing so can result in fines and/or prison (assuming that other Migratory Bird Treaty Act penalties are similar). States with invasive feral populations can institute a muscovy season as they can with other species of birds.