For those we are unaware... (for live links to all of the below: http://www.crazykfarm.com/MuscovyDucks.html)
As of March 31st, 2010, ownership, hatching and breeding of Muscovy
ducks became illegal with the passing of CFR 21.54 by the Fish
and Wildlife Service.
WHAT IS CFR 21.54?
On March 31st, 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a final rule, CFR 21.54, adding the Muscovy duck, which does not migrate from or to anywhere, to the List of Migratory Birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). In addition, a final rule was published restricting certain activities with Muscovy ducks and establishing a Control Order to manage feral populations. These combined regulations were proposed because the Muscovy duck has in some places in the US become a nuisance and the FWS wants to control their population (not, in fact, "protect" them).
Read regulation CFR 21.54 - Muscovy Duck
HOW DOES CFR 21.54 AFFECT ME?
In a nutshell, this regulation states that you can legally keep any Muscovy ducks you have owned prior to March 31st, but you cannot acquire any new ones by hatching your ducks eggs, purchasing eggs for hatching, or purchasing ducklings or ducks. You can no longer sell, trade or adopt out your current Muscovy ducks or show your Muscovy ducks in poultry shows. You can not sell your duck's eggs for eating or hatching. If you raise Muscovy ducks for meat for your family, you can no longer do so.
HOW DOES CFR 21.54 AFFECT MUSCOVY DUCKS?
Muscovy ducks are now considered a protected migratory bird and can not be released into the wild for any reason. The Control Order attached to 21.54 allows landowners, State, Federal and Tribal agencies, and others to remove or destroy these "protected" birds, their nests, and eggs, anywhere outside their very small natural range in the lower Rio Grande Valley, without a federal migratory bird permit, effectively making it open season on Muscovies. Your pet birds can legally be killed if they leave your property.
IS ANYBODY PROTESTING THIS REGULATION?
Yes! In fact, as a result of public protest, on April 1st enforcement of the regulation was officially put on hold and the agency has decided to reopen its rule-making and allow further public comment.
When we proposed this regulation, we had no idea, frankly, what was really out there, said Susan Lawrence, migratory bird permits coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service. We didnt reach out to the right communities, the farm communities. We didnt realize how many people keep these birds and are breeding them for various purposes.
In an unprecedented action, the agency has suspended its implementation of the rule except that it will begin enforcement of a provision that outlaws release of the birds into the wild.
The regulation is final, but were going to go back through the comment period, Lawrence said. Releasing them into the wild will definitely be part of the prohibition. I dont know where we will come down as people having them as pets... And the last thing we want to do is regulate food production.
This is your chance to affect how this regulation will be amended! Now is the time to make your views on this issue known to the Fish and Wildlife Service and other government officials.
Keep in mind that while the FWS will not be enforcing the new rule at this time, all Muscovy ducks -- including those maintained as pet and show ducks -- remain protected and subject to regulation in the USA. This law is still currently in effect. Only its enforcement is being temporarily suspended
Muscovy ducks have been domesticated since the 1500s. Numerous hatcheries in the US sell domestic Muscovy ducks, many bred from Muscovies from France. Muscovy ducks are raised as domestic livestock, pets and show birds around the world and the FWS has failed to recognize the long history of the domestic Muscovy. Domestic Muscovy ducks are domestic livestock, NOT migratory birds, and should not be subject to U S Fish and Wildlife regulations.
WHAT ACTIONS CAN I TAKE TO LEGALIZE THE RAISING OF DOMESTIC MUSCOVY DUCKS?
1. Contact the FWS:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
http://www.fws.gov/duspit/contactus.htm
In addition to submitting a comment to the FWS, there are several immediate actions you can take to make sure that this Order is revised in such a way that that we are able to continue to own, hatch, breed and show Muscovy ducks in the USA:
2. Sign and circulate this petition.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/481112174
3. Contact your Senators and Representatives. Even if you do not believe they will do something, you should contact them anyway so there will be a paper trail of support for repealing this law.
4. Contact additional people in Congress:
Senator Lincoln, Arkansas Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee
House Committee on Natural Resources.
If your representative is on this committee, point that out in your letter.
Also send letters to:
Nick Rahall (Chairman of the committee)
Doc Hastings (ranking minority member for the committee)
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
If your Senator is on this committee, point that out in your letter.
Also send letters to:
Barbara Boxer (Chairman of the committee)
James Inhofe (ranking minority member for the committee)
Benjamin Cardin (Water and Wildlife subcommittee chairman)
Mike Crapo (Water and Wildlife subcommittee ranking minority member)
5. The Fish and Wildlife Services reports to the Department of the Interior (Presidential Cabinet Department). Contact the current secretary with complaints:
Ken Salazar (Secretary of the Interior)
6. The following contact information was provided by FWS in their CFR 21.54 press release:
[email protected]
[email protected]
7. Because the FWS is leaving the enforcement of the regulations to local governments, it would be beneficial to contact your local government on this matter. If you do this, please request that the local government not waste any resources enforcing the regulations (except for the illegal release of muscovies). Do not ask them to ignore the FWS regulations or create laws that would make exceptions locally as this is not likely to work and may actually encourage them to enforce the new regulations.
8. Add your voice to those of others. Consider joining the American Poultry Association, or the Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities and support them in thier fight against this regulation.
9. And finally: circulate this information far and wide!
As of March 31st, 2010, ownership, hatching and breeding of Muscovy
ducks became illegal with the passing of CFR 21.54 by the Fish
and Wildlife Service.
WHAT IS CFR 21.54?
On March 31st, 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a final rule, CFR 21.54, adding the Muscovy duck, which does not migrate from or to anywhere, to the List of Migratory Birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). In addition, a final rule was published restricting certain activities with Muscovy ducks and establishing a Control Order to manage feral populations. These combined regulations were proposed because the Muscovy duck has in some places in the US become a nuisance and the FWS wants to control their population (not, in fact, "protect" them).
Read regulation CFR 21.54 - Muscovy Duck
HOW DOES CFR 21.54 AFFECT ME?
In a nutshell, this regulation states that you can legally keep any Muscovy ducks you have owned prior to March 31st, but you cannot acquire any new ones by hatching your ducks eggs, purchasing eggs for hatching, or purchasing ducklings or ducks. You can no longer sell, trade or adopt out your current Muscovy ducks or show your Muscovy ducks in poultry shows. You can not sell your duck's eggs for eating or hatching. If you raise Muscovy ducks for meat for your family, you can no longer do so.
HOW DOES CFR 21.54 AFFECT MUSCOVY DUCKS?
Muscovy ducks are now considered a protected migratory bird and can not be released into the wild for any reason. The Control Order attached to 21.54 allows landowners, State, Federal and Tribal agencies, and others to remove or destroy these "protected" birds, their nests, and eggs, anywhere outside their very small natural range in the lower Rio Grande Valley, without a federal migratory bird permit, effectively making it open season on Muscovies. Your pet birds can legally be killed if they leave your property.
IS ANYBODY PROTESTING THIS REGULATION?
Yes! In fact, as a result of public protest, on April 1st enforcement of the regulation was officially put on hold and the agency has decided to reopen its rule-making and allow further public comment.
When we proposed this regulation, we had no idea, frankly, what was really out there, said Susan Lawrence, migratory bird permits coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service. We didnt reach out to the right communities, the farm communities. We didnt realize how many people keep these birds and are breeding them for various purposes.
In an unprecedented action, the agency has suspended its implementation of the rule except that it will begin enforcement of a provision that outlaws release of the birds into the wild.
The regulation is final, but were going to go back through the comment period, Lawrence said. Releasing them into the wild will definitely be part of the prohibition. I dont know where we will come down as people having them as pets... And the last thing we want to do is regulate food production.
This is your chance to affect how this regulation will be amended! Now is the time to make your views on this issue known to the Fish and Wildlife Service and other government officials.
Keep in mind that while the FWS will not be enforcing the new rule at this time, all Muscovy ducks -- including those maintained as pet and show ducks -- remain protected and subject to regulation in the USA. This law is still currently in effect. Only its enforcement is being temporarily suspended
Muscovy ducks have been domesticated since the 1500s. Numerous hatcheries in the US sell domestic Muscovy ducks, many bred from Muscovies from France. Muscovy ducks are raised as domestic livestock, pets and show birds around the world and the FWS has failed to recognize the long history of the domestic Muscovy. Domestic Muscovy ducks are domestic livestock, NOT migratory birds, and should not be subject to U S Fish and Wildlife regulations.
WHAT ACTIONS CAN I TAKE TO LEGALIZE THE RAISING OF DOMESTIC MUSCOVY DUCKS?
1. Contact the FWS:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
http://www.fws.gov/duspit/contactus.htm
In addition to submitting a comment to the FWS, there are several immediate actions you can take to make sure that this Order is revised in such a way that that we are able to continue to own, hatch, breed and show Muscovy ducks in the USA:
2. Sign and circulate this petition.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/481112174
3. Contact your Senators and Representatives. Even if you do not believe they will do something, you should contact them anyway so there will be a paper trail of support for repealing this law.
4. Contact additional people in Congress:
Senator Lincoln, Arkansas Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee
House Committee on Natural Resources.
If your representative is on this committee, point that out in your letter.
Also send letters to:
Nick Rahall (Chairman of the committee)
Doc Hastings (ranking minority member for the committee)
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
If your Senator is on this committee, point that out in your letter.
Also send letters to:
Barbara Boxer (Chairman of the committee)
James Inhofe (ranking minority member for the committee)
Benjamin Cardin (Water and Wildlife subcommittee chairman)
Mike Crapo (Water and Wildlife subcommittee ranking minority member)
5. The Fish and Wildlife Services reports to the Department of the Interior (Presidential Cabinet Department). Contact the current secretary with complaints:
Ken Salazar (Secretary of the Interior)
6. The following contact information was provided by FWS in their CFR 21.54 press release:
[email protected]
[email protected]
7. Because the FWS is leaving the enforcement of the regulations to local governments, it would be beneficial to contact your local government on this matter. If you do this, please request that the local government not waste any resources enforcing the regulations (except for the illegal release of muscovies). Do not ask them to ignore the FWS regulations or create laws that would make exceptions locally as this is not likely to work and may actually encourage them to enforce the new regulations.
8. Add your voice to those of others. Consider joining the American Poultry Association, or the Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities and support them in thier fight against this regulation.
9. And finally: circulate this information far and wide!
