Conference 7.286::pet_birds

320.0. "Buyer Beware" by MEMV01::COMPTON () Mon Feb 19 1990 16:52

    Reprinted without permission from the Boston Globe, 2/14/90:
    
    		           Felonious Feathers
    
    What cold be more innocent than a batch of colorful feathers with a
    live bird wrapped inside?  Lots, according to the Department of
    Agriculture, which has warned the public about the risks of buying
    smuggled tropical birds that may be carrying diseases highly
    threatening to wild and domestic birdlife in the US.  Consumers tempted
    by such creatures will do well to discourage such illicit imports by
    refusing to buy them.
    
    Some birds, brought in illegally frm South America, are infected with
    diseases like Exotic Newscastle, lethal to other birdlife.  One
    outbreak caused the death or preventive destruction of more than $50
    million worth of commercial poultry in California in the early 1970's.
    At today's prices, that would approach $200 million in value.
    
    Wildlife birds, harder to keep track of, are similarly in danger of
    infection from carrier birds.  Loss of their life as a consequence of
    unthinking or venal importers would be an ecological and aesthetic
    disaster. 
    
    Reputable pet dealers offer vetted birdlife, and their sales represent
    no threat to domestic fowl.  Such birds carry a leg band, approved by
    the Department of Agriculture, indicating that they have been found
    free of dangerous diseases. 
    
    Street dealers, however, may not be as scrupulously careful about
    avoiding the risk and may be superficially more attractive to potential
    customers if their prices are below those of established dealers.
    
    Although the diseases potentially fatal to other birdlife are not
    equally threatening to human beings, nminor health problems may result
    from contact with infected birds, including inflammation of the eyes --
    hardly worth the transitory joy of admiring the birds' appearances.
    
    Even without the discomfort to human beings from such afflictions, all
    efforts to stave off tainted imports are fully worthwhile in terms of
    their potential costs to other creatures and the economic impact of
    epidemics among poultry.
    
    End of article.....