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is wholly unreasonable. Aviculturists and conservationists agree that there is no practical 

 method for distinguishing a captive-bred bird from a wild-caught bird. Therefore, should 

 such provisions be implemented, birds that were removed from the wild could easily be 

 smuggled into the U.S. under the false claim that they were bred in captivity. Operation 

 Renegade-an ongoing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigation into the trade in exotic 

 birds-reveals that smugglers commonly disguise illegal, wild birds as captive bred in order 

 to access the United States pet market. 



Contrary to statements made during the oversight hearing, captive-bred birds are now 

 entering the United States. The Act contains several mechanisms to ensure the 

 continuation of such imports, such as the "clean list" in Section 106 and the exemptions 

 outlined in Section 112. In addition, the Act has no effect upon the importation of 

 captive-bred birds of species that are not Usted under the Convention on International 

 Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Admittedly, the Service 

 does need to finalize the regulations for the approval of foreign captive breeding facilities, 

 but until these regulations are complete, aviculturists can import captive-bred birds 

 through the above mechanisms. 



Listed below are additional proposed changes to the Act that surfaced during the 

 oversight hearing, followed by our rebuttals. Those within the animal protection and 

 conservation community that are truly interested in the conservation of exotic wild birds 

 oppose these changes to the Act. We compromised a great deal during the negotiation 

 process leading up to the implementation of the Act and we would find any further 

 weakening of its provisions completely unacceptable. 



Proposed Change : Amend the Wild Bird Conservation Act so that species listed on 

 Appendix III of CITES are only included within the scope or the Act for those countries 

 unilaterally listing the species. 



Limiting the current scope of the moratorium upon importation of Appendix III bird 

 species would violate the intent of the Act by significantly reducing protections for 

 hundreds of thousands of wild birds and by promoting smuggling. Section 105(c) of the 

 Act states that "the importation of any exotic bird of a species that is listed in any 

 Appendix to the Convention is prohibited." The American Federation of Aviculture 

 (AFA), Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) 

 have requested that this language be "clarified", suggesting that the import moratorium for 

 Appendix III birds should be limited to those birds originating from countries which have 

 unilaterally listed the species on Appendix III. Yet the U.S. District Court for the District 

 of Columbia already "clarified" this issue in 1994 with its ruling in The Humane Society of 

 the United States, et al. v. Bruce H. Babbitt et al. The Court found that the import 

 prohibitions in the Act are stated in a clear and unambiguous manner, and that the Act 

 restricts the importation of any species listed on any Appendix to CITES, regardless of the 

 country of origin. 



