does a person have to have a federal waterfowl taxidermy license to perform taxidermy on their own personal legaly harvested ducks.these are for my own display not for a customer?
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As long as you operate under the parameters you describe, you're entirely legal.
a conservation officer checking my specimens confinscated the bird in question stating that it was not lagal for me to mount any waterfowl without a federal taxidermy license.i belive that he is wrong though about my personal birds.
Federal regulations 50 CFR 20, Subpart J - Feathers and Skins, par. 20.92 Personal use of feathers or skins : Any person for his own use may possess, transport, ship, import, and export WITHOUT A PERMIT (my caps) the feathers and skins of lawfully taken migratory game birds.
I just got off the phone with the supervisor of law enforcement at the USFWS office in Newtown, Massachusetts. He agreed that this is the defining exemption for just what you described. He remarked that he was "puzzled" how any conservation officer would not understand that.
I know of a few people that were told by the conservation officer "I don't care who's they are, if you're gonna have birds in your freezer, then you'd better have a federal permit". I wasn't there but that is what I was told by them. My local officer disagreed (saying you don't need a permit)when I called him, but one guy was fined. That's what kills me, I have called my local guy for the past 2 years wanting him to come by and get the runaround. I go over his head and the Sgt gets upset with me. I don't know all the laws but I can't get a straight answer unless I find it myself. It very frustrating to try and stay within the law, when you can't find out the law. Heck, I had a guy wanting me to mount a chipmunk, I didn't know they were protected in VA and NC, but how do you find out. My states ass. president has tried for 2 yrs. to get a list of what is protected, and can't get one. But yet they'll sure fine your a$$ off and ignorance is no excuse.
I have seen in a few cases where the officer is totaly out to lunch and wrties tickets that he has no business writing. I fimly believe that they think that if they writer a usless ticket that 1) It is their way of punishing you 2) They know it will consume your time. 3) If the alleged offence is bad enough they know it will cost you money for a lawer. 4) Many think that you may just roll over and take your licks even if they are not justified.
I have been there and defended 2 different tickets and won them both. I am convinced it is just one way for a a$$ hole cop to just make you miserable. Unfortunatly there are to many stupid and bad cops out there.
My experience with these guys is that they dont warrent the energy and time to piss on them if they are on fire. Do not back off. Go get them.
Any of you who want to suck up to your CO had better be smart enough to know HIS job as well as your own. This is exactly the case with many beginners OR for guys like me who decide to move to another state and don't get educated on all their issues. Sure they can ticket you and fine you and even get pissed that you went over their head, but they only get away with that kind of bullsh1t when we aren't educated enought to challenge them and take THEM to court if necessary. Trust me, if you're wise to all the legal issues and call them to task when they've violated your rights, it won't take long for the word to get around. I respect them, socialize with them, I joke with them, and I get along well with them, but I never confuse issues about whose job is whose. I keep my end up straight and I expect them to do it as well.
In your case, your state association president needs to send them a registered letter requesting the clarifications. Then send a copy of the letter to all your local politicians who are active in the hunting and fishing arenas along with an explanation that they are trying to make criminals of honest, hardworking stiffs like us. Once you get the list, give it to every member along with the letterhead stationery it came with. Then let the CO try and make a case when you know you're in the right.
Greg, I presented this perticular question (along with a couple others) to my local (State) Warden, and the one thing he admitted to me, is that they are specifically trained on the state laws in which they are serving, and are very naive to the Federal laws. I think it took some great courage on his part to admit that, and I commend him for that. He did answer all my questions, and he did have to do some detailed research, and told ME thankyou when he was done answering all my questions. He was appreciative in the fact that he learned a few new things as well. By the way, he felt prior to actually truely knowing the answer that a person performing their own, I repeat only their own taxidermy would need a Federal permit as well, but he wasn't too manly enough to admit that he was mistaken. Be very careful of the possession limits of your state. A bird is a bird is a bird even if it is in skin form when it sits in your freezer! You are only allowed twice the daily bag limit in you possession at one given time sitting in your freezer.
Pete-Wisconsin
have called this officer on several occasions.first call he stated that he would be here within 48 hours,you guessed it,no show.have called him several times since and left messages with his office and he hasnt returned a call yet.so who knows