From the Editor's Desk

Abstract

Dear Editor:

The WA TCHBIRD has performed a significant service to the cagebird family by running Dr. Richard E. Baer's "The Perils of Buying Imported Birds" (DecJ an 78). It is, as your box implies, a controversial article. It should trigger considerable discussion, and that is what we need. I hope, however, that the discussion will keep his point in perspective: do not assume that you have healthy birds just because they have come through the current quarantine process.

By a curious coincidence my own column in the current AMERICAN CAGE BIRD MAGAZINE was on Pacheco's Disease and it carried essentially the same message. Dr. Baer's training and experience equip him immeasurably more than mine to say it, however. His is a professional opinion. We all should give it full credence.

In the heat of the discussion I fear a couple of important points need to be made explicit. Dr. Baer is NOT saying that all importers are scoundrels and their birds are infected. He IS saying that it is false security to assume that a period in present U.S.D.A. quarantine facilities has eliminated infectious diseases or parasites. Exotic Newcastle Disease, perhaps, but nothing else. And the current risks are disturbingly common through all parts of the country: ornithosis/psittacosis and Pacheco's Virus. These serious diseases are coming through precisely because the U.S.D.A. by law is prohibited from interfering with non-poultry disorders.

A second point that I hope does not get overlooked is this: we should gather our forces and support, not attack, the importers who are acting ethically. In the absence of other information I would assume anyone advertising in the WATCHBIRD to have the proper orientation toward the interests of the fancy. I urge you to enforce strictly the official policy that bans persons convicted of violating any state or federal law related to birds, and that when you receive a few convincing complaints against an advertiser (as solicited in the "disclaimer" paragraph) the ads be held up until the accusations are resolved. Members deserve that protection. ACBM has withheld ads in the past with reason, and I firmly support the policy.

If we all use good sense in the way we handle new birds in the collection, and if we buy cautiously from trustworthy sources, the risks will be reduced greatly. Our combined thanks should go to Dr. Baer for saying it so well.

Sincerely, Val Clear

 

Your thoughts on my article, "Perils of Buying Birds", which you appropriately identify in WA TCHBIRD as being strictly your own personal attitudes· toward the matter, are acknowledged and I should like to make a public response on what you wrote.

It appears to me that we are in agreement that diseased birds are a problem; that government does not guarantee the health of any birds put on the market; and, that isolation by quarantine is the most effective measure that an aviculturist can take for protection when he buys any bird. This last consideration cannot be over emphasized!

I concur with you that there are both good and bad importers just as there are both good and bad dealers and breeders. With some sixty approved quarantine stations now in operation and more in the offing, there are bound to be a few crooks. Unfortunately, the dishonest ones, no matter how few, cause the good and conscientious bird importers such as you describe to be stigmatized. It is always the law violator and the unscrupulous that make the need for laws and regulations.

Like you, I have received and continue to receive much verbal response to my article - sometimes more than a dozen phone calls in a day. These calls come from both breeders and dealers. These concerned people invariably ask: "Just who is a responsible importer?" or "Where can I buy birds with confidence?"

While I am sure that there are other honest bird importers in the industry, my reply to these questions is to refer them to our advertisers in WATCHBIRD. These advertisers acknowledge and comply with A.F .A.'s· code of ethics or we would not permit them to advertise in the magazine. Here is the best source of birds.

Besides, it behooves us to patronize those who support A.F.A., which for its part is defending both aviculture and industry against restrictive legislation and regulations. Without the strong defense of aviculture by A.F .A., where would industry be today? They are totally dependent upon a healthy and unrestricted captive bird population. Without A.F.A., they will go down.

With regards to your remarks on something for nothing, I, for one, never want anything for nothing as I never wish to be beholden to anyone. I do, however, want that which I bargain for - a good healthy bird for which I am paying a good healthy price.

It is hoped that your admonition not to seek something for nothing is always heeded not only by our membership but also by our representatives and delegates. The "getting of something for nothing" can result in conflicts of interest, loss of freedom of decision, and the surrendering of the independence to direct our organization towards those policies which are in our best interests. This, .indeed, is of grave concern to me.

The responsibility to shop wisely on the open market which you advocate is easier when one has ready access to that market and can see what he buys. When of necessity one must rely on mail order buying with payment in advance, once the birds have arrived, have been uncrated, and have caused disaster in your aviary, it is too late to be wise.

This brings us back once more to the problems of sick or diseased birds. While the conscientious importer does something about these problems, the unscrupulous does not. He must be enforced to do what is right. Proper supervision of the dishonest is not only in the interests of the aviculturist but also in the best interests of the good importer. Without proper controls, the whole industry is in danger of being lost. "While we are concerning ourselves with the price of milk, someone may make off with the cow." - The very same bureaucracy who through its dereliction in administering its own regulations is permitting the unscrupulous importer to get by without the proper treatment of his birds, may use the ensuing health problem of its own making as a pretext for covering up its own culpability and call for a total ban on importations. This would leave the importer without birds to sell, and we, the breeders, without a source from which to buy'

I hope that not only the conscientious breeder but also the conscientious dealer and the conscientious importer will respond to this serious problem.

Sincerely, Richard E. Baer, D.Y.M.

 

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