A New Year For Aviculture - 1999
BY LAURELLA DESBOROUGH
Copyright Laurella Desbrough (eclectusbreeder.com).
All rights reserved by the author.
As 1999 moves forward into the
next century, aviculture is
poised at a critical point in
its development from a hobby to
an income-producing hobby to a
recognized industry. At present,
several serious problems face
bird breeders. Three highly
visible problems are: (1)
proposed restrictive state and
local regulations, (2) the
on-going animal rights agenda
and (3) the lack of good public
relations for aviculture.
However, the most important
underlying problem is the lack
of an officially recognized
proactive core group of
knowledgeable and respected
professionals in the field of
aviculture.
A core industry leadership group
is desperately needed to serve
as spokesmen for the industry
and to take action to solve the
problems before us. When there
is no unified active group
leading the industry, other
organizations outside the
avicultural community, but with
concerns associated with
aviculture, will be making the
important decisions for us.
These decisions will have a
serious impact on the keeping
and breeding of birds in the
United States. The old saying,
"Nature abhors a vacuum" applies
here. When aviculture is not
organized and proactive, those
other organizations that are
organized and proactive will
certainly obtain rules and
regulations governing the
keeping and breeding of birds
which will not necessarily be to
the liking of the avicultural
community.
For the most part, aviculture is
practiced by hobbyists who enjoy
their birds; many aviculturists
who breed birds are also
generating some income from
these birds. A few bird farmers
work at breeding birds full
time, earning the major portion
of their income in this manner.
Looking at these three sectors,
we see why we have problems
within the avicultural
community. The commonality is
birds, the differences are in
the purposes for which we keep
birds. These different purposes
may have a profound influence on
the depth of our commitment to
the future of aviculture. These
differences are also part and
parcel of what makes it
difficult for us to join
together to work for our mutual
benefit and achieve common
goals.
When we keep birds as pets and
perhaps a few breeding pairs, we
may not have an in-depth
exposure to the problems facing
the industry. Or, we may have
some exposure to those problems,
but it may come from a narrow
perspective, rather than a broad
one. Furthermore, our views may
be influenced by the highly
publicized perspectives of
animal rights or conservation
organizations. We may perceive
some overlap in their goals and
ours. We may confuse animal
rights issues with animal
welfare issues. We may confuse
conservation of birds in the
wild with breeding the same
species in a domestic
environment.
The animal rights story line can
confuse or misinform those who
are not knowledgeable about the
full spectrum of bird keeping
and breeding—from keeping pet
birds to displaying zoo birds to
breeding birds on farms. The
conservation concerns regarding
birds in the wild can be
confused with avicultural
management concerns with
domestically bred birds. In
addition to the foregoing,
people who keep birds are now
being subjected to a constant
barrage of proposed regulations
designed to provide additional
revenue to cities, counties and
states. Officials seek to
establish permit fees based on
regulations that restrict or
prohibit possession and/or
breeding of all animals (which
includes birds). The bottom line
is that we who are involved with
keeping and breeding birds are
now being targeted by regulatory
bodies who are being influenced
by the animal rights agenda and
by a variety of state and
federal agencies concerned about
threats posed by the
introduction of non-native
species into the environment.
When these three concerns,
(animal welfare, protecting
native species and raising funds
for official use), are combined
into a jointly approved
regulatory package that has the
support of a well-organized and
politically experienced
coalition, aviculturists are at
a great disadvantage. Working
together, animal rights, animal
welfare, conservation
biologists, and state or local
government agencies are very
effective in putting through
restrictive legislation on
non-native species. In contrast,
bird owners and breeders are
virtually helpless because they
do not have an officially
recognized organization that can
act as an industry spokesman and
which has the widespread support
of the avicultural community. I
believe the American Federation
of Aviculture comes the closest
to meeting this need.
