View Rule

FWS proposes to revise its regulations under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act regarding the common eider (Somateria mollissima). Common eider hens shed breast down during nesting to insulate the eggs and hatchlings. Eiderdown is used to make comforters, pillows, and similar items, and some countries allow the sustainable collection and exportation of eiderdown that does not result in the take of birds. However, import of these items into the United States for commercial purposes is prohibited due to current regulations, which limit commercial use of feathers to feathers of migratory waterfowl killed by hunting in the United States and personal use of feathers to feathers of lawfully taken migratory game birds. FWS proposes to allow commercial use of feathers lawfully hunted or harvested internationally and clarify that personal use of migratory game bird feathers may include feathers lawfully harvested from nests where authorized internationally.