[mou] Re: Exotic Species Law

[Laura Erickson]

I don't think "most" people bring in exotic birds, though obviously a
significant number of people do.  Every facility has to do a certain
amount of "triage," and the care of some rare, threatened, or endangered
species is obviously given priority over that for more common species. 
All rehab facilities have to have delicate ways to telling people that a
given bird doesn't have a very good chance of survival, and apparently
many facilities also have ways of explaining that they can't care for
every bird, and can't take some species--I've heard from many people over
the years who found an injured Ring-billed Gull and couldn't find a rehab
facility that would take it.  Most people DO understand that with a tight
budget, rehabbers have to prioritize.  And as with birders and all
conservationists, rehab facilities do bear a responsibility to provide
some public education.  There are gentle but clear ways of discussing the
problems with exotic species, and maybe making the case that a facility
just can't take care of pet birds and other exotics.  The nice thing about
a fairly strict law is that rehab facilities will have an extra cushion of
protection--Sorry--the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doesn't allow us to
take care of that species because it's not a native bird, and as an
invasive exotic species causes too many problems for native birds.  When I
was a rehabber, it was against federal law for me to care for any game
species.  I think that was harder to explain than this would be.

It's always been legal to keep starlings, house sparrows, and pigeons as
pets.  I'd rather people kept these than imported exotic parrots, so I
don't see this as a problem. Again, it's important for us to ALWAYS be
promoting education of these difficult issues.


Laura Erickson
Duluth, MN

Staff Ornithologist
Binoculars.com
www.birderblog.com

There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. 
There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of
nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the
winter.

			--Rachel Carson


> I am really appreciating the civil discussion about this issue.  There are
> so many angles to this.  One of my concerns is that if people take the
> house sparrows or starlings to a rehab center and are told that the birds
> can't be released, will people start keeping them as pets?  Also, will it
> turn kids off to wildlife that are told that the house sparrow or starling
> they brought in can't be helped?
>
> I'm not asking these questions to start a fight, I'm just trying to work
> my way through this.  I know all too well the damage that house sparrows
> cause, I remember finding a freshly killed adult nuthatch with a puncture
> mark in the back of its head.  I looked up and found a nest hole with a
> sparrow sticking out of it.
>
> I can see that there's an argument for not wasting funds that a rehab
> facility gets on exotic species but most people bring in exotic species
> and give donations as a result.  Could rehab facilities still survive if
> they lose the donations that come in with exotic species?  So if rehab
> places have to close as a result wouldn't that be worse?
>
> Again, I'm not trying to start fights, I'm just working my way through
> this.
>
> Sharon Stiteler
> Minneapolis, MN
> www.birdchick.com
>
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