Take Action: Banning non-cat/dog pets

[asterroc]

The House of Representatives is currently working on a bill that would outlaw all non-native species of animals in captivity - that is, anything other than cats and dogs - whether as pets, for research, or for education. I urge you to contact your Representatives about this bill because it would not only decimate zoos and scientific research, but it would also severely limit the rest of my life with my bird Kappa.

Write your Legislators:
http://www.capwiz.com/naiatrust/issues/alert/?alertid=13098456

More detail and links - feel free to forward this to friends, family, and coworkers, and to copy or draw inspiration from my text to write your own letters.

H.R. 669, Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act, would ban the breeding, sale, gifting, transportation, and possession of any species that is not native to the USA. Species exceptions can be made by the Secretary of the Interior, but all non-native species are by default illegal. Importation exceptions can be made on an individual basis by the SI for zoos, education, or scientific research, but there are no exceptions for breeding or transport across state lines. US zoos would no longer be able to breed non-native endangered species for research or for reintroduction to the wild. That's right folks, no more panda cubs. And don't forget that sun conures were recently declared an endangered species - their large population as pets in the US may be crucial to their continued existence in the wild.

The "grandfathering" clause is severely limited - people are allowed to retain any non-native species pets they currently have, but they are not allowed to cross state lines with the animal, they are not allowed to give up the animal to a shelter or a rescue, and they cannot transfer possession of the animal through a will. The bill specifies civil and criminal penalties for any persons found violating the law; the bill does not specify the fate of the animal in question though euthanasia is often the most expedient solution, especially if the species is not threatened in the wild.

I currently own a non-native species: Kappa, a dusky conure, is native to South America. Her life expectancy is 20-30 years. If this law passed I would be unable to leave the state of Massachusetts until I am 50-60 years old - it would be illegal to bring Kappa across state lines so I couldn't move for my career, and it would be impossible to find responsible care for her while I was on vacation or even visiting my family. In addition it would become increasingly difficult to find experienced veterinary care for Kappa as she aged, and I would have to make her diet entirely from scratch.

In case you think I'm overreacting when I mention how it will influence parrot ownership, today's House Subcommittee meeting on the bill did hear discussion about Quaker parrots specifically, saying they would be the first species to be banned (before even invasive plant species, which this bill is claiming to be primarily targeting).

Write your Legislators here:
http://www.capwiz.com/naiatrust/issues/alert/?alertid=13098456

Summaries about the bill:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-669
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.00669:

List of cosponsors:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR00669:@@@P

Video of the Subcommittee hearing:
http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=32&extmode=view&extid=246
(Quaker parrots mentioned around 24-25 minutes.)

Edit: amavia, guinea pigs are not among the exempt species (despite the fact that they are domesticated), so you might want to get your networks cracking on this.

Thanks for your time!

Comments

[q10.livejournal.com]

i would point out that there are invasive feral populations of quaker parrots - but not of dusky conures, in the US, so it's hard to tell exactly how worried you should be.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

You are correct that there are invasive feral populations of Quakers (aka monk parakeets). However, in the 12 states in which they are banned as pets, it is my understanding that the basis for banning them was fear of crop destruction (which has never been documented) rather than the reasonable fear of large nests causing damage to utility poles. (It's my understanding that most of the laws banning Quakers predate utility poles.) It's also worth noting that in many of the places where Quakers have established themselves, (for example, Brooklyn, NY) they fill the same niche as (and therefore their primary competitors are) pigeons (aka rock doves), which are also an invasive feral species - they are not threatening any native species. My point is that I don't feel decisions to ban species of parrots have been made on a reasonable basis at the state level in the past, and I do not think they will be made on a reasonable basis at the federal level in the future.

Even if they decide duskies are entirely exempt and quakers are not, my next worry is about enforcement. While I expect state border enforcement to be sporadic and lax, I expect airport enforcement to be rigorous and uninformed. I fully expect that many TSA agents will be unable to tell the difference between duskies and Quakers visually. If they also have to be able to distinguish many other green parrots such as Nanday conures and Indian Ringnecked Parakeets, I have serious doubts about whether the average security officer will be able to appropriately enforce these laws, and therefore I worry about Kappa's life if I have to travel by air with her even if duskies end up exempt.