March 15, 2000

EDITOR,
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Dear Sir or Madam:

RE: PET PEEVES EDITORIAL

I was more than a little concerned after reading your editorial dealing with Manitoba's Bill 5, Wildlife Amendment Act. You jumped from banning penned hunting to banning people's pets as if they were somehow related.

Why would you want to regulate or prohibit ownership of budgies, lovebirds, canaries, parrots and other such birds? Like dogs and cats, they have been kept as companion animals for thousands of years and are important and cherished members of their owners' families. The ownership of dogs and cats is not regulated nor should the ownership of birds be restricted. They certainly are not a danger to anyone, are not a health hazard or a threat or even a bother to the general public.

If you are talking about regulating dangerous exotic animals like lions and tigers, that is a different story. However, all exotic animal legislation that we see misses that target almost entirely while trapping ordinary pets and aviary birds in its web.

You obviously are not aware of the thousands of people in your city and province who own tens of thousands of parrots and other birds. You obviously are also unaware that for more than a decade endangered birds have not been taken out of the wild for commercial trade in Canada, which has been strictly prohibited and regulated by federal legislation.

These birds are being bred domestically by responsible and reputable breeders throughout Canada who now satisfy the growing interest in them as pets and companions. By doing so, they not only meet a market need, but they also contribute to conservation and preservation by removing the demand for wild caught animals.

The Province of Manitoba does not need legislation controlling the ownership of "exotic" animals because federal legislation, the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (isn't that a mouthful), already does that very well. Manitoba may need some laws regulating dangerous animals but that is another issue entirely.

We work very hard to try to inform people of the importance of aviculture to all bird species and it is disheartening when the editor of a major newspaper makes comments that perpetuate myths and misinformation without taking the time to inform himself.

Thank you for the opportunity to at least partially set the record straight.

Yours very truly,

Christopher Holoboff - Director
Avicultural Advancement Council
of Canada