Muscovies to Be Gased In Ocala.

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It's well and good to say they ought to be processed and eaten, but I live in the area (neighboring county) and can say there is no place to take them to be processed. If you have a slaughter facility in your area that will process small numbers of birds then count yourself lucky because they do not exist in Florida that I am aware of. Most especially not any that are government inspected which is what it would have to be for a government such as the city of Ocala to give away the meat. The fact that these are waterfowl only complicates things.

Not that I would want to eat one myself anyways. No telling what they've eaten living in a city park.

As for giving them away it's not that simple. There are (seemingly contradictory) state and federal regulations concerning Muscovy ducks that the city is now forced to contend with. This is a municipal government and they are not allowed to do things secretly under the table. If we have folks that want the things then go and bag all you want, but the city simply cannot come out and say "come and get them!".

Bottom line is city parks are there for the enjoyment of the city residents. A certain number of ducks, geese, etc are tolerable and even pretty. But being living animals they are going to do what comes natural and that is reproduce themselves. This is made even more of a problem by foolish, well intentioned people who insist on feeding them so that they now have the resources to reproduce wildly. Pretty soon there is manure on the sidewalks, tables, every where that the city then has to pay to clean off and sanitize (pressure washers and Clorox) in addition to the complaints they receive from the city residents about the mess that has been made.

This sort of thing happens periodically every where there is a public body of water with limited predators and abundant food supplies (those foolish, well intentioned people who feed them). The population explodes and something has to be done to reduce it. Whether it's deer in suburban areas, Mute Swans in the Chesapeake Bay area, coons and possums in campgrounds, or Muscovy ducks in city parks it is largely people that create the problems so therefore it is people who will have to solve it.

If you don't want ducks to be euthanized then strongly encourage every one you know to STOP FEEDING THEM. There are not enough natural resources in those parks to support more than a minimal waterfowl population. It is people feeding them that makes it possible.

I can think of several public ponds here in Gainesville that have gone from being pretty and seeing much public use to being nasty and a place to avoid because the local waterfowl population was allowed to over breed to the point it began to look more like a manure lagoon than a landscaped pond in a public park. Eventually the city or whoever has to step in, reduce the population, clean things up to make it usable for people again.

At least until the people who insist on feeding the things have bred up a large enough population to start the cycle all over again.
 
A.T. Hagan :

STOP FEEDING THEM. There are not enough natural resources in those parks to support more than a minimal waterfowl population. It is people feeding them that makes it possible.

I so agree with you on this point!​
 
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I do need to say having grown up and lived in Florida for most of my life, the Muscovy here (at least in part) are smaller than the domestically raised. They do fly and fly well. I have heard no concrete evidence as to how the first muscovy arrived here but it is not out of the question that they migrated here on their own.

There are always irresponsible people. There are many parks that have some very interesting mixes of duck in them.

I must agree that the state does not need to kill them if anything, if they do then the meat should be used that is just wasteful. My biggest problem with the label of "invasive" is that it gives people (anyone) the right to do whatever they want to these birds. They can be killed as long as it is done "humanely" which basically excludes those that go at them with baseball bats.

The main reason that I hear down here that residents don't like them is because they poop on their driveways. Apparently in Florida Muscovy poop is toxic.
 
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I so agree with you on this point!

I agree with this too!

If there is no processing plants nearby, I am sure a few mobile processors would be willing to step up to the plate for a lot less for the price of gassing them. I am sure a few BYCers would be able to process them as well. As for hunters, I am sure they are much more numberous and the city would reap benefits in passing out the hunting permits and out of state hunters probably would jump on the bandwagon for an easy catch than the wild.
 
If there are any mobile processors in Florida or Georgia I am not aware of them. And they almost certainly would not be inspected if they did exist. Sure wish we did have some as then I would not have to build my own plucker now that my parts have come in.

So far as hunting is concerned these are CITY parks. One does not go hunting in city parks. Trapping them yes, hunting them with guns, no.

Stop feeding the things and encourage everyone you know to stop feeding them and this problem will not occur.

If rats were cute we'd have folks out feeding them too. Which is why so many parks are badly overpopulated with squirrels too.
 
A.T. Hagan :

If rats were cute we'd have folks out feeding them too. Which is why so many parks are badly overpopulated with squirrels too.

Those cute rats are called squirrels. My neighbor feeds them by the ton.​
 
A.T. Hagan :

It's well and good to say they ought to be processed and eaten, but I live in the area (neighboring county) and can say there is no place to take them to be processed. If you have a slaughter facility in your area that will process small numbers of birds then count yourself lucky because they do not exist in Florida that I am aware of. Most especially not any that are government inspected which is what it would have to be for a government such as the city of Ocala to give away the meat. The fact that these are waterfowl only complicates things.

Not that I would want to eat one myself anyways. No telling what they've eaten living in a city park.

As for giving them away it's not that simple. There are (seemingly contradictory) state and federal regulations concerning Muscovy ducks that the city is now forced to contend with. This is a municipal government and they are not allowed to do things secretly under the table. If we have folks that want the things then go and bag all you want, but the city simply cannot come out and say "come and get them!".

Bottom line is city parks are there for the enjoyment of the city residents. A certain number of ducks, geese, etc are tolerable and even pretty. But being living animals they are going to do what comes natural and that is reproduce themselves. This is made even more of a problem by foolish, well intentioned people who insist on feeding them so that they now have the resources to reproduce wildly. Pretty soon there is manure on the sidewalks, tables, every where that the city then has to pay to clean off and sanitize (pressure washers and Clorox) in addition to the complaints they receive from the city residents about the mess that has been made.

This sort of thing happens periodically every where there is a public body of water with limited predators and abundant food supplies (those foolish, well intentioned people who feed them). The population explodes and something has to be done to reduce it. Whether it's deer in suburban areas, Mute Swans in the Chesapeake Bay area, coons and possums in campgrounds, or Muscovy ducks in city parks it is largely people that create the problems so therefore it is people who will have to solve it.

If you don't want ducks to be euthanized then strongly encourage every one you know to STOP FEEDING THEM. There are not enough natural resources in those parks to support more than a minimal waterfowl population. It is people feeding them that makes it possible.

I can think of several public ponds here in Gainesville that have gone from being pretty and seeing much public use to being nasty and a place to avoid because the local waterfowl population was allowed to over breed to the point it began to look more like a manure lagoon than a landscaped pond in a public park. Eventually the city or whoever has to step in, reduce the population, clean things up to make it usable for people again.

At least until the people who insist on feeding the things have bred up a large enough population to start the cycle all over again.

thumbsup.gif
 
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If rats were cute we'd have folks out feeding them too. Which is why so many parks are badly overpopulated with squirrels too.

What?? rats aren't cute? I love them! Of course, domestic are best.​
 
How about shoot netting style?

You mean rocket nets? You couldn't pay me enough to set one up in an urban area, they're risky and dangerous enough in large private ot public areas away from visitors. A net gun has it's own limitations.

Clint
 
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