Birds & More | Take Action on Animal, Environmental and Health Issues!

Email Karen,
The Parrot Lady™

Dear Viewers,

Welcome to our new "Take Action" page. We hope that you will take just a few moments of your day to check in with us occasionally and act on these important pieces of legislation, petitions, or to lend a hand simply by clicking on a site to feed an animal, save the rain forest or get critical info on health issues that can affect you and your family. We at Birds & More would like to thank you for your participation and concern for the welfare of animals and the planet on which we live!

Sincerely,
The Staff of Birds & More

Animal Issues | Environmental Issues | Health Issues

WE NEED YOUR HELP - WHETHER YOU OWN AN "EXOTIC" ANIMAL OR ANY OTHER ANIMAL.
HR 669 IS SET FOR HEARING ON 4/23/09.
WE ALL NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO KILL HR 669 NOW.

" ONE GENERATION AND OUT" is not just limited to purebred dogs and cats. Now our "non-native" species" are targets of the animal prohibitionist agenda. Under HR 669, "non-native" basically means if a species of animal didn't live in the US before the arrival of Columbus it is "non-native", and if HR 669 passes, most non-native species of animal (i.e., exotic animals) won't remain in the US much longer. That means your exotic pet bird, reptile, fish, or mammal.

HR 669 is a very serious and harmful animal prohibition proposal. HR 669 is not needed to protect our environment. HR 699 is the legislative equivalent of a nuclear bomb that is aimed at the entire US exotic pet industry, all US exotic pet owners, and all exotic animals in the US.

HR 669 is an "anti-animal bill". There is no amendment that can fix this bill. HR 669 will hurt everyone who owns an animal, and it will hurt our animals. Breeder, pet owner, rescuer, rehabilitator, zoo, service or product provider - it doesn't matter - we will all be hurt by this bill. HR 669 needs to be killed at the April 23rd hearing - not amended, not "made better" - HR 669 NEEDS TO BE KILLED. Please contact the Representatives hearing this bill NOW and ask them to KILL HR 669 (see below for contact information).

All import, export, transport across State lines, selling, buying, bartering, or offering to sell, buy or barter, and all breeding, and release, of all non-native species not on the "approved list" will be prohibited - even by zoos, sanctuaries, and licensed breeders. Permits authorizing only "importation" may be issued to "zoos, scientific research, medical, accredited zoological or aquarium display purposes, or for educational purposes that are specifically reviewed, approved, and verified by the Secretary". There is no requirement that any permits be granted.& nbsp; Even if these institutions are able to obtain the required permits, where will they obtain their imported animals? Habitat for many species is declining worldwide, many species are endangered or threatened in the wild, and many species cannot be imported to the US under the CITES treaty. The result of this bill will be to put a stop domestic breeding of most endangered or threatened species in the US for zoos, conservation, or reintroduction programs. Zoos are not immune from the animal prohibitionist agenda.

If you "possess" a non-approved species "legally" prior to enactment of the law, you will be allowed to keep it, but all of the other restrictions pf HR 669 will still apply to your species - you will not be allowed to sell, transfer, transport across State lines, export, barter, trade, breed, or give that animal to anyone else.

Pet owners will not be allowed to take their non-approved pets with them if they move to another state, and they will not be allowed to transfer them to anyone else who can care for them. Those pets will be euthanized when their owners move, die, or can no longer keep their pets for whatever reason. Pet owners and their pets are not immune from the animal prohibitionist agenda.

" Rescue" and "sanctuary" will not be available for any non-approved species unless the rescue or sanctuary keeps only species found within their respective States. That result has been contemplated for years. Rescues and Sanctuaries are not immune from the animal prohibitionist agenda.

Any person or company manufacturing or selling food or products for non-native (exotic) species will be affected by this act. &nbs p; If non-native (exotic) species cannot be legally possessed, bought, sold, or transferred, there will be no incentive for manufacturers of food, caging, and supplies for these animals to remain in business. Where will non-native (exotic) animal owners obtain the food and materials needed to keep their animals?

Freeflight of exotic birds will be prohibited.

THE LEGAL DETAILS OF THIS BILL

Under existing federal law, it must be shown that a species is harmful before it is prohibited. That approach is reasonable, and has worked reasonably well for many years. In essence, HR 669 turns that reasonable approach on its head, and substitutes the unreasonable and unjustified approach of "bomb first, ask questions later".

HR 669 requires the government to create an "approved" list of "non-native" species that will be allowed in the US. Any species not on the "approved" list will be prohibited. Under HR 668 the "approved" list shall include "nonnative wildlife species that the Secretary finds ... based on scientific and commercial information .... (A) are not harmful to the United States' economy, the environment, or other animal species' or human health; or (B) may be harmful to the United States' economy, the environment, or other animal species' or human health, but already are so widespread in the United States that it is clear to the Secretary that any import prohibitions or restrictions would have no practical utility for the United States."

It takes time and money for the government to study any species and make a "finding". Time and money are always in short supply, and are especially in short supply in this economy. If your species is not included on the original "approved list", then under HR 669 you can try to get your species "approved" by paying a fee and submitting a proposal to our government to include it on the "approved list". Your proposal "must include sufficient scientific and commercial information to allow the Secretary to evaluate whether the proposed nonnative wildlife species is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to other animal species' or human health." While your proposal is being "evaluated" by our government, you and your animals are still subject to the restrictions of HR 669. Whether your proposal will ever be granted is pure speculation.

There a re more than 9000 bird species, and thousands of species of birds are kept in the US. There are many other non-native (exotic) species owned by animal lovers across the US. How many bird or other non-native (exotic) species do you think our government can afford to study and determine that they can be added to this newly created "approved list"?

If the required study can't be made of a species, and the required finding isn't made about a species, the animal won't make it to the approved list. That applies to every species of non-native (exotic) animal.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP KILL HR 669

Contact your Representatives NOW

1. You can use NAIA's Capwiz tool to send an automatic email or fax to each of the Representatives who will hear this bill to ask them to KILL HR 669. Here's the link to send your email using Capwiz:
www.capwiz.com/naiatrust/

2. PIJAC has provided us with a PDF flyer which explains to pet owners how HR 669 will hurt all of us and our animals. The PIJAC PDF flyer is attached to this email. The PIJAC PDF flyer provides you with contact information - use it. Please contact your own Representatives NOW, and tell them to KILL HR 669. Be polite and respectful, but be clear and firm in your opposition to this bill. Be brief, and tell them a few reasons why you think it is a bad bill. Short and to the point works best. If you have time, you can also contact all of the other Representatives in your State.

Write to your Representative using their contact pages on their websites. Unfortunately, it is sometimes hard for us to contact some of our Representatives - emails don't often go through, letters aren't read, and we sometimes have to write individually to our Representatives using the contact pages they put up on their websites. PIJAC has done the work to give us links where needed for these contact pages for these websites so that we can make those contacts (see the attached PIJAC PDF flyer), and NAIA is making "Capwiz" available for the one-shot contact - go to the Capwiz webpage at www.capwiz.com/naiatrust/

Call and Fax your Representative at the numbers provided on the attached PDF PIJAC flyer.

Be sure to contact the local office of your own Representative by phone, and if you can, make a personal visit. Our congressional representatives are now on recess, and will return to their work at the Capitol next week. Let your Representatives' local offices know NOW that you want them to KILL HR 669. If the local staff hear from enough constituents that they want a bill killed, they will let their Representatives know that their constituents hate this bill.

3. Distribute this email, NAIA's link, and PIJAC's PDF flyer widely to everyone you know who loves animals and wants to keep them in our lives. In particular, send it to any pet lists you are on. This bill will impact almost all non-native animals. Ask them to contact the representatives and ask them to KILL HR 669.

You can see PIJAC's earlier alert on HR 669 here:
http://www.pijac.org/files/public/US_HR_669.pdf

You can see the full text of the bill here: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h669ih.txt.pdf

4. If you have a website or belong to a discussion list, post this Alert and the PDF attachment. Ask your friends to do the same.

A NOTE ALL ANIMAL OWNERS, AND ESPECIALLY TO BIRD OWNERS

Does the Pennsylvania Proposed Ban of the Nanday Conure of 2008 ring a bell for anyone?

For those bird owners who fought so hard and so well for the Nanday in Pennsylvania in 2008 - that was just target practice.

HR 669 IS THE ANIMAL PROHIBITIONIST NUCLEAR OPTION - STOP IT NOW.

Get your phones, emails, and faxes working and get our troops marching again. We need every one of you to help again, and we need the help of everyone you know. It doesn't matter if they own a bird, a dog, a cat, a turtle, a hamster, a fish, a snake, a tiger, a monkey, or any other animal. We are all affected by this bill. Don't let the animal prohibitionists force their agenda on the rest of us.

Thanks,

Genny Wall
Attorney at Law
Legislative VP, AFA, NAIA

Laurella Desborough
Legislative Chair, ASA, NAIA

www.afabirds.org
www.asabirds.org
www.naiaonline.org

With great thanks to Marshall Meyers of PIJAC for providing their materials and for working on behalf of all of us.
www.PIJAC.org

" The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. They recognized the significance of man's spiritual nature, of his feelings and of his intellect. They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure and satisfactions of life are to be found in material things. They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations. They conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone - the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men. To protect that right, every unjustifiable intrusion by the government upon the privacy of the individual, whatever the means employed, must be deemed a violation of the Fourth Amendment. And the use, as evidence in a criminal proceeding, of facts ascertained by such intrusion must be deemed a violation of the Fifth."
--Justice Louis Brandeis OLMSTEAD v. U.S., 277 U.S. 438 (1928)

" In our country are evangelists and zealots of many different political, economic and religious persuasions whose fanatical conviction is that all thought is divinely classified into two kinds -- that which is their own and that which is false and dangerous."
-- Justice Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954), U. S. Supreme Court Justice

Pets & Animals in Distress (the banners above) is a marketing, advertising and educational organization that assists private and public shelters by providing free shelter marketing and pet adoption advertising to the public through their PAW (Pet & Animal World) publication, newsletter and website. Pets & Animals is also circulating a National Spay and Neuter Petition to get public funded kill shelters to offer Free Spay / Neuter programs available to the community public.

The FOTP’s purpose is to protect, promote, and ensure the preservation of the wild peafowl in PVE for future generations of property owners to enjoy as part of the natural character of our semi-rural coastal city. We further exist to uphold the Peafowl Management Program adopted by City Council in 1986, which provides a specific plan for the city to maintain sustaining levels of birds in two flock areas known as Espinosa Circle and Malaga Cove Library areas. Please help us preserve these beautiful birds for future generations. Visit our site today!

Endangered Species Act Turns 30

The Endangered Species Act Turns 30 The Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, helping turn the tide against extinction for many species. But over its 30 years, the act has had a mixed record. While it has prevented the extinction of nearly all the species it protects, it has been less successful in recovering species to the point where they are no longer endangered. However, Environmental Defense is working to increase the act's effectiveness and recover endangered species through unique, incentive-based programs like Safe Harbor, which helps private landowners maintain critical habitat for endangered species on their land. Read the full story online.

Many members of Congress told us they voted against our animal-protection amendments because of pressure from special interest groups like the NRA. It’s going to be a tough fight, but now is the time to let your legislators know that animal-protection advocates are numerous and determined and won't give up, even in the face of opposition from the animal abuse industries. Give your legislators a call and let them know how you feel about their votes on these issues. All federal Reps. can be reached through the Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121. If you need to look up the names of your U.S. Rep., go to www.Congress.org, or call The HSUS at 202-955-3668.

ASPCA's Animal Advocacy Center

Audubon Society: Judge Upholds Stop Order on Navy Landing Field
to Protect Tundra Swans & Snow Geese

Humane Scorecard for the 108th Congress

Humane Society's
Citizen Lobbyist Center

FEW VICTORIES FOR ANIMALS ON ELECTION DAY 2004

In Tuesday's election, unfortunately, animals had several defeats and few victories. Trophy hunters were able to defeat Ballot Measure 3 in Alaska and Question 2 in Maine, both of which would have banned cruel and unsporting methods of hunting bears. Although hunting groups hugely outspent ban supporters, the Alaska measure gained 41% of the vote and the Maine referendum received 47% of the vote. These close votes--in the face of fearmongering, scare tactics, and major revenue streams from out-of-state trophy hunting groups and gun manufacturers--demonstrate that citizens find bear baiting and other cruel and unsportsmanlike practices unconscionable.

In Florida, the vote for Amendment 4 went down to the wire and ended with a stunning recount. Unfortunately, the measure, which allows slot machines at south Florida greyhound tracks, was approved by a razor-thin margin (50.7% to 49.3%). The greyhound racing industry spent $25 million on this one race, and the pro-animal vote came incredibly close to winning. Slots at dog tracks will prove a massive new revenue stream for wealthy greyhound track owners and prop up this inhumane industry.

These heartbreaking losses illustrate two important points in the fight to protect animals: the importance of running well-funded campaigns to counter the massive spending by trophy hunters, dog tracks, and other cruel and exploitive industries, and the need to elect pro-animal legislators. Fortunately, many good state and federal candidates either won new office or were re-elected this November and a few particularly anti-animal legislators were sent home. The Fund for Animals, as a nonprofit charity, is not involved in elections of candidates, but you can find information from other groups such as HumaneUSA PAC about favorable candidates who were elected and harmful ones who were defeated.

Click here for results of 2004 ballot initiatives.

Click here to go to HumaneUSA PAC's website.

SIGN THE PETITION FOR POULTRY AND HELP PROTECT BILLIONS OF BIRDS

Even though chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys make up the overwhelming majority of animals killed for food in the United States (9 billion a year), they have no protection under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. To get Congress to amend the law to provide the same basic protections for poultry that cows, pigs, lambs, and other livestock have, we need to demonstrate widespread support as quickly as possible.

Please join the thousands of people who have signed the Petition for Poultry. Help gather 25,000 signatures by Thanksgiving, the day when millions of birds have nothing to be grateful for. It will only take a minute of your time to help billions of animals. Please ask your friends and family members to sign, too.

Click here to sign the Petition for Poultry.

SUPPORT "THE FUND FOR ANIMALS"
AND
HELP US SPEAK FOR THOSE WHO CAN'T

Whether we are rescuing and caring for abused animals at our Black Beauty Ranch sanctuary or helping to pass stronger animal protection laws, The Fund is there for animals, and we need you there with us. Thank you for helping us "speak for those who can't."

Contributions online through our secure server are always welcome.

Thank you for your support!

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Environmental Defense Advocacy Center

Drop used cell phones in collection boxes at stores and kiosks where cell phones are sold, or send old phones to organizations such as Charitable Recycling. For every phone it receives, Charitable Recycling will make a donation to NWF or another charity of your choice. Send this printable NWF mailing label (this label is in Adobe PDF format) with your donated phones to The Charitable Recycling Program, 794-A Industrial Court, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302.

Donate now to ensure a future for America's wildlife and wild places.
The Charitable Recycling Program
794-A Industrial Court
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302

Help save Noah's B'ark homeless doggies and kitties by recycling your ink and laser cartridges. Drop them off when Noah's B'ark does their adoptions at Petco in Torrance(24413 Crenshaw Blvd) on any Saturday from 12 noon to 4pm.

Empty ink jet and laser cartridges can be recycled and re-used. For each recyclable cartridge you give us, Noah's B'ark will receive up to $4.00 for each ink jet and $1.00 to $12.00 for each laser cartridge. It doesn't take long for that to add up. Please ask your friends, relatives, and neighbors to save their empties too!

Thank You, Shelly Gomez of Noah's B'ark

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Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act

Important info for all women and men too!. This is a time when our voices and choices should be heard. This takes about 30 seconds to vote on this issue ... and let others you know who will do the same. There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy" wherewomen are forced to go home hours after surgery against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on. PLEASE! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below and help women with breast cancer get the care they need and deserve! There is no cost or monetary pledge involved. You need not give more than your name and zip code number. Thank you!

http://www.lifetimetv.com/reallife/bc/pledges/bc_mast_pledge.html

Padget's Disease: New Rare Form of Breast Cancer Discovered

This is a rare form of breast cancer, and is on the outside of the breast, on the nipple and aureola. It appears as a rash, which can later became a lesion with a crusty outer edge. Sometimes, it itches and is sore, but other than that it seems harmless. It is frequently thought to be a skin inflammation or infection, leading to unfortunate delays in detection and care.

What are the symptoms? The symptoms include:

1. A persistent redness, oozing, and crusting of your nipple causing it to itch and burn.

2. A sore on your nipple that will not heal.

3. Usually only one nipple is affected.

How is it diagnosed?

Your doctor will do a physical exam and should suggest having a mammogram of both breasts, done immediately. Even though the redness, oozing and crusting closely resemble dermatitis (inflammation of the skin), your doctorshould suspect cancer if the sore is only on one breast. Your doctor should order a biopsy of your sore to confirm what is going on. This message should be taken seriously and passed on to as many of your relatives and friends as possible; it could save someone's life.

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