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TESTIMONY OF MARSHALL P. JONES, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR 

 INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, 

 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

 FISHERIES, WILDLIFE AND OCEANS, HOUSE RESOURCES COMMITTEE, 

 REGARDING THE WILD BIRD CONSERVATION ACT OF 1992 AND ITS 

 IMPLEMENTATION 



SEPTEMBER 28, 1995 



Mr. Chairman, I am extremely pleased to be here today to address 

 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's implementation of the Wild 

 Bird Conservation Act of 1992 (WBCA) and its effectiveness. The 

 Service supports the reauthorization of this Act without any 

 amendments. This Act is important to the continued survival of 

 many of the world's most beautiful and impressive bird species. 



The Wild Bird Conservation Act was signed into law on October 23, 

 1992. The WBCA was enacted to promote the conservation of exotic 

 birds listed under the Convention on International Trade in 

 Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora by ensuring that all 

 imports into the United States are biologically sustainable and 

 not detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild and 

 to assist (where possible) wild bird conservation and management 

 programs in the countries of their origin. 



It is important to note what the WBCA does not do: it does not 

 regulate the interstate or intrastate commerce, or breeding of 

 exotic birds within the U.S.; nor does it regulate the export of 

 exotic birds from the U.S. The WBCA specifically exempts 10 

 families of gamebirds and ratites (such as ostrich) , as well as 



