Are the Animals or Birds Amenable or Non-Amenable?

A farmer must determine the legal classification for her type of livestock or poultry. She must
decide if the animals being raised are amenable or not.

Amenable is defined as “answerable or accountable to higher authority.” The USDA lists the
animals and birds that are considered “amenable” and which must then be slaughtered and
processed under inspection by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). “Amenable”
indicates that the animal species is specifically mentioned in the Federal Meat Inspection Act
(FMIA).

Amenable livestock are those animals listed within the 9 CFR regulations of the FMIA.
Amenable livestock includes all cattle, sheep, goats, and swine.

Amenable poultry listed specifically in 9 CFR § 381.1 include “any domesticated bird
(chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guineas, ratites, or squabs, also termed young pigeons from one
to about thirty days of age), whether live or dead.” Ratites (ostrich, emus, and rhea) were also
added to the list of amenable poultry species. All these listed birds are considered amenable
species and fall under the jurisdiction of the FSIS. The slaughter and processing regulations
specified for them differ from those of livestock. Poultry slaughtering and processing statutes are
detailed in the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA).

Non-amenable livestock and poultry are those animals and birds that are not listed specifically
in Title 9 – Animals and Animal Products, of the Federal Meat Inspection Act. They are not
required to be processed under the Food Safety and Inspection Service, but are subject to FDA
regulations. For the most part, non-amenable species may also be considered game animals or
birds. Because they are consumed in limited numbers, the potential risk from consuming an
adulterated or unsafe product from a non-amenable species is minimal in comparison to an
amenable species.

Non-amenable species include mammals such as reindeer, elk, deer, antelope, water buffalo,
bison, squirrel, opossum, raccoon, rabbits, nutria or muskrat, and non-aquatic reptiles such as
land snakes. Even if a farmer raises a domesticated species, it is still considered non-amenable.
For example, farm raised White-tailed Deer or New Zealand rabbits are both non-amenable
species, though both can be found on farms across the state. Non-amenable poultry includes
game birds such as pheasant and quail. These birds can also be found on many farms.

Aquatic reptiles (turtles, alligator, water snakes, and frogs) are considered game animals by the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) classifies these aquatic reptiles as “Seafood” and they are therefore subject to the FDA’s
Office of Seafood regulations. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National
Oceanic Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce (NOAA) administers the
voluntary seafood inspection program to seafood processors and importers. 6

Game animal refers to an animal – the products of which are food – that is not classified as fish,
cattle, sheep, swine, or goat, as defined by the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Game animals are
defined in section 11-0103 of the NYS Environmental Conservation law. Wild game includes
game birds, big game, and small game. Game birds are subdivided into migratory game birds
and upland game birds. The term «upland game birds» (Gallinae) refers to “wild turkeys, grouse,
pheasant, Hungarian or European gray-legged partridge and quail.”7

Big game means “deer, bear, moose, elk, except captive bred and raised North American elk
(Cervus elaphus), caribou, and antelope.”8 Small game means “black, gray and fox squirrels,
European hares, varying hares, cottontail rabbits, native frogs, native salamanders, native
turtles, native lizards, native snakes, coyotes, red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and gray fox (Urocyon
cinereoargenteus) except captive bred red fox or gray fox, raccoon, opossum, or weasel,
skunk, bobcat, lynx, muskrat, mink, except mink born in captivity, fisher, otter, beaver, sable
and marten but does not include coydogs.”9

To qualify as domestic game, a major requirement is that the game “must be held in private
ownership” on a licensed premise by which there is no means of escaping into the wild.10 To
qualify as captive bred, the animal or bird must be “born in captivity.”11
Some wild game may be taken by lawful hunting including deer, bears, coyotes, and rabbit.
Trapping of game is also permitted but deer and bear may NOT be trapped. Some wild species
legally taken (legally hunted or trapped within the designated season) and legally possessed may
be sold.

Migratory game birds and beaver, fisher, otter, bobcat, coyote, fox, raccoon, skunk, muskrat and
mink may be possessed, transported and disposed of only as permitted by regulation of the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation.12 The flesh of cottontail rabbits, varying
hares, European hares, squirrels, bear and deer shall not be bought or sold.”

For more information, contact the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.