Abstract
During the past months since AB3397 was introduced into the California legislative process, many aviculturists and other interested persons have taken the trouble to write and to call their state legislators and voice their opinions regarding this proposed study on imported exotic birds. Assemblyman Campbell's office received a lot of mail on this issue. His aide, Cindy Williams, has been most helpful in working with our AFA representative. Janet and Gary Lilienthal carefully crafted four amendments for this bill which would provide for a more balanced study of legally imported quarantined birds, the availability of captive-bred birds and the problem of a possible increase in smuggled birds if a ban on importation were in place. The four amendments proposed by AFA were accepted by those most responsible for originating the bill, Fund for Animals and Defenders of Wildlife. The California Department of Fish and Game requested changes in those amendments, on the basis of reducing costs. The Department of Fish and Game wanted to put the responsibility on the Advisory Committee for the discussion of availability of captive-bred birds and how that would relate to banning importation and how that would relate to smuggling. This would reduce the costs to the department for the study and place more responsibility on the Advisory Committee.
