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The Drafting of a Solution 



In order to address the problems associated with the United States trade in exotic wild birds, a 

 Cooperative Working Group on Bird Trade was convened in 1988. Participants included 

 representatives from conservation and animal protection organizations, the pet trade, 

 aviculture, avian veterinarians and the zoological community. After agreeing that the United 

 States demand for exotic pet birds resulted in harm to wild populations and unacceptable levels 

 of mortality, the group began drafting legislation to restrict importation for commercial trade. 

 Though it was agreed that the goal of such legislation should be to end market reliance on wild 

 birds for pets, the constituent groups could not reach a consensus on issues such as the time- 

 frame for ending the trade or exemptions for wild imports. 



As a result of these differences, two bills addressing the wild bird trade were introduced 

 simultaneously in the United States Congress in 1991. The United States Wild Bird Protection 

 Act, which called for an immediate ban on imports of wild birds, was supported by more than 

 200 conservation and animal protection groups, ornithologists and scientific organizations. The 

 United States Exotic Bird Conservation Act called for a five-year "phase -out" of imports and 

 contained numerous loopholes, which would permit large-scale trade to continue under other 

 pretenses. This legislation was supported by the American Federation of Aviculture (AFA), 

 the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), which represented the major commercial 

 importers, and the Worid Wildlife Fund (WWF). 



After a year and a half of intensive lobbying and hard work, the opposing bills resulted in a 

 virtual standstill. Finally, a delicately-crafted compromise bill, the United States Wild Bird 

 Conservation Act, was introduced as a result of intense negotiation. The Act passed by 

 unanimous Congressional consent and later, signed into law by President George Bush on 

 October 23, 1992. 



A Remarkable Success 



Since its implementation in 1992, the United States Wild Bird Conservation Act has resulted in 

 a dramatic reduction in the number of wild birds imported into the United States. Whereas in 

 1989, approximately 365,655 exotic bird were imported into this country, a recent analysis of 

 United States Department of Agriculture quarantine forms reveals that in 1994, roughly 81,000 

 birds were imported. Many of these imports were birds receiving an exemption under the 

 WBCA or those not included on CITES, and therefore not included in the scope of the 

 WBCA. Furthermore, the WBCA has halted the enormous numbers of wild birds which had 

 in the past died in exporting countries, in holds of airplanes and in private quarantine stations 

 as a result of United States demand for cheap imports. Over the years, these mortalities 

 amounted to many millions of wild exotic bird.s-a tragedy that remained unseen by American 

 consumers until the campaign for national legislation. 



The WBCA is indisputably having a positive result worldwide by providing wild bird 

 populations with a critical reprieve from the capture of massive numbers for the American pet 

 market. Just one example of a species benefitting from WBCA implementation is the blue- 

 fronted amazon parrot of Argentina. The WBCA ban on importation of wild birds is providing 



