176 



enviranmental investigation agency 



The Honorable James Saxton 



Chairman 



House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans 



Hl-805 O'Neill Building 



Washington, DC 20515 



October 27, 1995 



Dear Mr. Saxton: 



I am writing in response to a September 27, 1995, letter from Mr. Frank Curie, President of 

 Zoological Birds Import of Franklin Park, Illinois. Representative Henry J. Hyde (R-111, 6th) 

 submitted this letter into the record of the oversight hearing on the U.S. Wild Bird 

 Conservation Act (WBCA). In his accompanying letter Mr. Hyde stated that the WBCA has 

 "punished" Mr. Curie and that the Aa needs to be "fixed". However, Mr. Curie's list of 

 "complaints" involve violations of federal laws and regulations totally unrelated to the 

 WBCA. In fact, the majority of his referenced "problems" actually occurred before the Act's 

 passage in October 1992. 



Mr. Curie can hardly be described as a "law abiding citizen". The majority of his claims of 

 abuse and harassment involve monetary fines Mr. Curie was ordered to pay in compensation 

 for blatant and continuing violations of the federal laws and regulations which govern the 

 wildlife import industry. As he describes in his own letter, Mr. Curie has a consistent 

 history of violating the federal regulations governing the humane transport of wildlife. 



Because of the low prices paid for most bird species in developing countries, insuring 

 humane care for these animals becomes an unnecessary inconvenience for many importers. 

 Mr. Curie's cruel treatment of these birds begins with his numerous violations of transport 

 standards and ends after the 30-day required quarantine with death for large numbers of birds 

 at his facilities. In 1994, the most recent year for which data is available, over 4,000 exotic 

 birds died in Mr. Curie's possession. His company holds one of the highest rates of 

 mortality for exotic birds imported into the United States - 18% of his birds imported were 

 either dead on arrival or died during quarantine. 



Mr. Curie mentions the Environmental Investigation Agency in his letter to Mr. Hyde. In 

 1994, I witnessed the arrival of a large shipment of wild birds in New York and the 

 unpacking of these birds in a conmiercial quarantine station. The shipment violated 

 numerous federal regulations governing the humane transport of these birds. As a result, 

 dozens of dead birds were removed from the crates during unpacking. In addition, the 

 required procedures for insuring secure quarantine of the birds (in order to prevent the spread 

 of harmful disease) were violated repeatedly. Such infractions are a severe threat to the 

 multimillion dollar poultry industry here in the United States. 



1611 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 3B • Washington, D.C 20009 Tel: (202) 483-6621 • Fax:(202)483-6625 

 Directors: Susan Fountain, Jennifer Lonsdale, Allan Thornton 



