Speak up- The Goverment is trying to regulate chicken owners

[Iluveggers]

I left a comment. Unfortunately it has to be reviewed before it can be posted. Should’ve copied & pasted it here for you guys to see.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I left a comment. Unfortunately it has to be reviewed before it can be posted. Should’ve copied & pasted it here for you guys to see.

It's fine.

I may comment later, or tomorrow if it's still open. I'm pretty tired today.

 

[McChooky]

The land of the free, isn't looking so free anymore.

Snow White and the 7 dwarfs is closer to the truth if you ask me.

 

[kerbotx]

There's nothing here of consequence for many backyard chicken owners.

The proposals govern: humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation

By: (this is the important part)

1. Dealers
2. Research Facilities
3. Exhibitors
4. Operators of Auctions
5. Carriers
6. Intermediate Handlers

I couldn't find a definition of "dealer" - it's probably linked in another document...

But there are plenty of exemptions from licensing, the other issue that also doesn't seem to affect the "casual" backyard chicken owner.

"Also exempted in this section are individuals who solely buy, sell, transport, or negotiate the sale, purchase, or transportation of an animal for food or fiber"

"An income threshold exemption applies to any person who sells or negotiates the sale or purchase of any animal except wild or exotic animals, dogs, or cats, and who derives no more than $500 gross income from the sale of such animals during any calendar year."

"Finally, any person who buys animals solely for his or her own use or enjoyment and does not sell or exhibit animals is exempt from licensing if not otherwise required to obtain one."

 

[MysteryChicken]

There's nothing here of consequence for many backyard chicken owners.

The proposals govern: humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation

By: (this is the important part)

1. Dealers
2. Research Facilities
3. Exhibitors
4. Operators of Auctions
5. Carriers
6. Intermediate Handlers

I couldn't find a definition of "dealer" - it's probably linked in another document...

But there are plenty of exemptions from licensing, the other issue that also doesn't seem to affect the "casual" backyard chicken owner.

"Also exempted in this section are individuals who solely buy, sell, transport, or negotiate the sale, purchase, or transportation of an animal for food or fiber"

"An income threshold exemption applies to any person who sells or negotiates the sale or purchase of any animal except wild or exotic animals, dogs, or cats, and who derives no more than $500 gross income from the sale of such animals during any calendar year."

"Finally, any person who buys animals solely for his or her own use or enjoyment and does not sell or exhibit animals is exempt from licensing if not otherwise required to obtain one."

Exhibit, as in Zoo, or Showing?

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

I'm not posting an opinion for myself, either. Still mulling it over.

With the Court's order, together with the perfectly normal and predictable desire of an Agency to increase its relevancy by increasing the things it has say over, it is virtually certain there will be *some* new regulations applying to all of us. I've been there, many times, on behalf of past employer(s) when contemplating proposed legislation.

Maybe in a few days, I'll have organized my thoughts into the lightest touch that might have a hope of passage - which *may* be a choice not to regulate very small flocks as unmanagable, ineffective, and costly, entrusting those decisions of space, etc to local zoning - many of whom already look to USDA "best practice documents" as guidance, per their code. I'm not sure this Administration is fond of Federalism, but mostly, neither was the last, or the one before that, or...

anyhows, that's my current mullings. I may have more of potential value to add later, but I sort of doubt it. I don't yet have a sense of the position of the other players, and I no longer have a way to find out.

I should probably mull it over longer, but here's something that caught my eye:

"An exemption is provided for dealers who maintain four or fewer breeding females of pet animals, small exotic or wild animals, and/or domesticated farm type animals and offer their offspring for sale."​

I would think that most of us on this forum fall under this category. In general, I'm not for adding more layers of bureaucracy: my initial impression is that we really don't need to add birds to the already unregulated group under regulation (think puppy mills, nasty pet shops, etc. . .). It's not worth my while to comment however unless they're asking if I'd like to take away already bloated regulations rather than add to it.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I should probably mull it over longer, but here's something that caught my eye:

"An exemption is provided for dealers who maintain four or fewer breeding females of pet animals, small exotic or wild animals, and/or domesticated farm type animals and offer their offspring for sale."​

I would think that most of us on this forum fall under this category. In general, I'm not for adding more layers of bureaucracy: my initial impression is that we really don't need to add birds to the already unregulated group under regulation (think puppy mills, nasty pet shops, etc. . .). It's not worth my while to comment however unless they're asking if I'd like to take away already bloated regulations rather than add to it.

Are you saying you think most here keep 4 or fewer hens?

 

[3KillerBs]

"An exemption is provided for dealers who maintain four or fewer breeding females of pet animals, small exotic or wild animals, and/or domesticated farm type animals and offer their offspring for sale."
I would think that most of us on this forum fall under this category.

Speak for yourself.

I've got 21 hens at the moment and, though my first eggs from my flock are currently in the incubator, I've paid for my chicks by buying twice what I wanted and selling the extras as started pullet.

4 or fewer is tiny number -- not enough eggs to feed a family except maybe during peak production in the spring.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I should probably mull it over longer, but here's something that caught my eye:

"An exemption is provided for dealers who maintain four or fewer breeding females of pet animals, small exotic or wild animals, and/or domesticated farm type animals and offer their offspring for sale."​

I would think that most of us on this forum fall under this category. In general, I'm not for adding more layers of bureaucracy: my initial impression is that we really don't need to add birds to the already unregulated group under regulation (think puppy mills, nasty pet shops, etc. . .). It's not worth my while to comment however unless they're asking if I'd like to take away already bloated regulations rather than add to it.

Here's what's got me:
"In a final rule published on June 4, 2004 in the Federal Register (69 FR 31513-31514, Docket No. 98-106-3), we amended the definition of animal in the AWA regulations to make it consistent with the revised definition of animal in the Act by limiting the exclusion to only those birds bred for use in research ( i.e., breeding stock). On the same date, we published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (69 FR 31537-31541, Docket No. 98-106-4) notifying the public that we intended to extend enforcement of the AWA to birds not bred for use in research that are sold as pets at the wholesale level, or transported in commerce, or used for exhibition, research, teaching, testing, or experimentation purposes."
[...]
Beginning in 2013, several animal welfare organizations filed lawsuits against USDA for failure to promulgate regulations for birds not bred for use in research. As a result of one of those lawsuits,[2] on January 10, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that the AWA requires APHIS to issue standards applicable to birds not bred for use in research and that APHIS has not issued such standards. [...] We published the notice for a listening session, discussed below, on August 20, 2020, which under the Court's order requires that we publish the proposed rule no later than Tuesday, February 22, 2022.[3]
[...]
Beyond the Court's requirement that we publish a proposed rule, we believe there to be a significant welfare-based need for regulating birds and agree that this rulemaking is necessary.
[...]
Accordingly, we are proposing to establish new regulations and standards and amend existing regulations governing the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of birds covered by the AWA. [...]


TL;DR? They already have the authority, the Courts have ordered them to exercise it, they want to exercise it, and now they are merely going thru the motions before exercising it to control all aspects of keeping birds not for research purposes.

and no, I don't think "four birds or fewer" represents the majority of BYC members, though I could be wrong. Fewerr than a dozen birds *probably*, but four or fewer? Too many places require that you purchase birds in minimum numbers at least that high for four/less to represent either the mean or the median.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

and if you keep reading...

"Veterinary requirements applicable to all animals covered under the Act are located in § 2.40 of the regulations. These require that each facility maintain a program of veterinary care and have an attending veterinarian, as we acknowledge from commenter input to be the current practice for many facilities that would be affected by the proposed standards. Under the regulations we propose, birds covered under the Act would be subject to veterinary requirements to ensure animal welfare.

Several commenters stated that veterinary care should be a requirement for all birds that are subject to AWA regulations. Several such commenters proposed that regulated facilities be required to maintain a program of preventative veterinary healthcare for regulated birds, with annual physical exams for each bird and health records maintained for each regulated bird and available for review by APHIS. Many commenters called for health certificates for birds as is the case for covered animals currently."

BYC is the closest thing many of us have to a program of Veterinarian care. I am *quite* rural, and there is NO chicken vet anywhere within several counties of me. Annual Inspections? Are you F'n kidding me? The cost of maintaining birds will jump at least $35 per bird! Assuming I can find a vet to come to me. I'm not cutting a $2,500 check for a vet to visit my property and poke around, but the idea of transporting 70, 80 birds the 40 minutes to the closest vet and taking up his day with individual inspections??? Hells, I can't afford 80 individual cages (and they can't have wire floors - those are out, too - so forget most off the shelf solutions, or building their equivalent.)