182 



26 October 1995 



Congressman H. Jcunes Saxton 



House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans 



United States House of Representatives 



Hl-805 O'Neil House Office Building 



Washington DC 20515 



Dear Mr. Chairman and Subcommittee Members: 



I am writing to you regarding the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 

 (WBCA; Public Law 102-440) and the Public Hearings held on 28 September 1995. 

 I request that this letter be included in the Congressional Hearing as a 

 written testimony. 



I strongly urge you and your committee members to support the continued 

 implementation of the WBCA in its entirety. The WBCA was designed to protect 

 exotic birds from inhumane treatment and over exploitation from their native 

 habitats. The WBCA has had a monumentally positive impact on the conservation 

 of exotic birds in foreign countries. Prior to its enactment, the U.S. 

 appeared analogous to a large vacuum cleaner removing natural treasures such 

 as exotic birds from their countries of origin. We cannot return to that 

 irresponsible international distinction. 



Prior to the WBCA foreign countries were faced with overwhelming 

 pressure from the U.S. to export their native birds. Authorities in these 

 countries are now more effective in restricting or banning the exportation of 

 their birds. I am a research scientist and I have worked on parrot 

 conservation with Government and National Trust biologists in the West Indies. 

 They are working hard to preserve their birds. They do not have the manpower 

 or resources to monitor the poaching of birds for export to the U.S. Poachers 

 destroy nests by cutting-down trees, killing many young birds and destroying 

 nesting sites for subsequent years. These countries need our support by 

 maintaining strict regulations at U.S. borders. 



The Act has provided incentives for captive breeding within the U.S. 

 Aviculturists in New Jersey are thriving. In my home town, an aviculturist is 

 doing so well that he doubled his facilities this year. 



I listened to and have closely studied the testimonies given during the 

 WBCA Hearings from those individuals and groups supporting the Act and those 

 opposing it. I was impressed with those statements presented by the WBCA 

 supporters; their main interest was clearly the continued protection of exotic 

 birds . 



I was dismayed with what I heard from those who testified for the bird- 

 breeding industry. Their testimonies appeared self serving, and in many cases 

 put their interests ahead of the birds that they profess to be protecting. 

 Conservation is not taking birds from the wild, it is not weakening 

 regulations for captive breeding facilities in foreign countries, and it is 

 not making it economically convenient to import birds for a few. They claimed 

 that "the regulations are burdensome and restrictive" . Regulations are 

 restrictive because we, as a species, are greedy. Weakening the provisions of 

 the Act will open loopholes for the illegal importation of wild-caught birds. 



The representative for the Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV) 

 stated that she "opposes the current language in the WBCA that requires that 

 all birds exported from an approved captive breeding facility be bred at that 



