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I have had the opportunity to read some of the newsletters that 

 the America Federation of Aviculturists has sent to its members 

 concerning this act, as well as the public comment in the Federal 

 Register. In this material, I find no objection to the primary- 

 purpose of the act, which is to curtail the commercial trade in 

 wild-caught birds for those species in jeopardy. Therefore, I 

 think we can all agree that this conservation objective is 

 biologically and politically correct. 



What I do read, however, are three major areas of concern 

 regarding regulations needed to enforce the act. The first issue 

 involves the documentation to be provided by overseas breeders in 

 order to prevent laundering of wild-caught birds and to create a 

 list of qualifying overseas breeding facilities (section 107) . 



Second is the issue of the possibility of marking and record 



keeping allowed in section 115 of the act; and third, is the 



concern that the act will curtail captive breeding of exotic 

 species in the United States. 



I will address each of these issues, because I have heard them 

 all before in NJ. 



The first issue is the need to scrutinize documents for imported 

 captive bred birds in order to regulate the trade in wild-caught 

 birds . 



Some testimony heard today may declare that this is beyond the 

 scope and intent of the WBCA. I argue that it is an essential 

 and necessary wildlife management tool, without which, the 

 objective of the WBCA can not be accomplished. 



Requiring a paper or document trail to distinguish between legal 

 and illegally obtained wildlife is a long standing practice 

 which is basic to wildlife management throughout North America. 

 For example, hunters are required to tag their harvested big 

 game; and commercial fishermen are required to log their 

 landings. Throughout the processing of privately or commercially 

 harvested wildlife, documents proving legal possession must 

 accompany the product . 



The New Jersey Wild Bird Act requires purchasers to produce a 

 receipt that indicates that the bird was domestically bred. 

 Birds held prior to the act may be legitimized by dated 

 photographs, veterinarian records or sworn statements. Proper 

 documents protect the law abiding public and make it easier for 

 law enforcement personnel to investigate questionable activities. 



In New Jersey, hobbyists owning exotic birds must obtain a 

 possession permit. Of the 4,000 bird applications received so far 

 this year, only 10 applicants have yet to provide us with the 

 required documentation. Initially there was some confusion in 

 New Jersey concerning what was legitimate documentation. Most 

 questions involved pre -act birds. However, now our pet stores 

 and private breeders have been educated and our constituents are 



