North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Kieran &/or Donna" <holycow@frontiernet.net>]

I was one of those people who were horrified and contacted F&WS.  I also 
contacted hatcheries who had muscovy ducklings for sale and had no idea that 
suddenly they were supposed to have their customers fill out forms, and that 
in fact no more muscovy ducks were to be raised in the USA except for 
registered producers, and all those backyard birds that were "grandfathered 
in" were supposed to stop reproducing too.  Those of us who discussed this 
all agreed that only protection from predators kept our muscovies alive. 
Down in Florida they can be a nuisance, and in Texas some have naturalized. 
The F&WS were apparently equally shocked to discover that muscovies have 
been around for so long in so many places without making trouble.
   I guess muscovies are a lot like goats.  If sufficiently protected and 
fed, they can take over and eat everything.  If insufficiently protected, 
they can die out.  To be practical and be worth the effort, they should be 
used.  They are excellent meat birds with excellent foraging capacity, are 
terrific mothers, are much less wasteful of water than quack ducks, and are 
very pleasant to have around.  The mature drakes are quite uncouth, but you 
only need one.  Donna