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***UPDATE***
The Conures were taken off the PA bill!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!

Dear Readers and ATN Listeners, these letters came to us from our friend Maggie Wright, African Grey Expert:

The Nanday Conures in Pennsylvania need our help. On January 27th, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will be considering OUTLAWING them from the state, which also affects pet Nanday Conures. Pets will NOT be grandfathered!!! They will become illegal.

Even if you don’t have a bird, much less a Conure, and even if you don’t live in Pennsylvania, this still pertains to you. It starts here and over time, it builds to other species of bird, as well as to other animals…so we animal loving humans need to stick together.

The Federal government had passed legislation under the Clinton administration to establish policies against non-native/invasive species because of the many feral colonies that have formed. Some believe these feral colonies have damaged agricultural crops and some native wildlife. States appear now to be coming under compliance with that federal mandate. Quaker parrots have already been banned in Pennsylvania and other states, such as New Jersey and California. Certain other species are not allowed in New Jersey, unless permits are approved.

It appears that there is not proof that feral Conure colonies have formed in Pennsylvania; therefore, it is unclear WHY these people want to ban this parrot from existence in Pennsylvania.

We need to stay vigilant to protect our feathered community. Whether you live in Pennsylvania or not, it would be to everyone’s best interest to help the people here. The more states that pass legislation like this, the more difficult it is to fight it. And more and more bird species will be added to their lists. We would really appreciate help too from our dog and cat-loving friends: we are a community of ONE.

At the bottom of this email, there is a sample letter written by Genny Wall of the AFA (American Federation of Agriculture). I suggest that you create your own, but use this as a sample because it will make more impact when they see different people writing their own personal letters.

Thank you & Blessings,
Maggie Wright
www.MaggieWright.net

For reference, see below:

http://community.livejournal.com/parrot_lovers/3311238.html
http://www.hoobly.com/0/0/509463.html
http://www.nanday.com/messages/?m=6736
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YOU can help defeat the ban on Nanday Conures in Pennsylvania!

I apologize to those of you who got this twice because you are on two different lists. Forgive me! It is important to get out and time is limited. Ruth

Perhaps many of you have heard of the proposed ban on Nanday Conures being sold in Pennsylvania. There is already a ban on Quaker Parrots as we have here in California. The following is a letter written by Genny Wall of the AFA (American Federation of Aviculture) with something YOU can do to help. Please take a few minutes and help. Thank you.

There is a proposed ban on Nanday Conures being sold in Pennsylvania.

If this ban passes in Pennsylvania, it will be used as precedent to outlaw parrots in other states. The Nanday is not the only target in PA or elsewhere.

I have drafted a sample letter, which I am copying for you below. You can cut and paste it into your email to your members.

I am also providing the contact information for the Commission members below.

Urge your members to email AND fax the letter to the Commission at the email and fax at the top of the sample letter, and also FAX the letter each Commissioner at the Commissioner’s FAX shown below - the more stacks of paper on the desks of each Commission member the better. Have them sent to the Commission members before 1/27 (the meeting starts on 1/27).

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SAMPLE LETTER

To: PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION
2001 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg 17110-9797
By Fax to: (717) 772-0502
By Email to: pgccomments@state.pa.us

From:

Re: Game Commission Meeting January 27 - 29, 2008 - PLEASE VOTE NO on the proposal on the Agenda to amend 58 Pa. Code, §137.1 to prohibit the “importation, possession, sale and release of all non-human primates and the “Conure-Nanday, Nandayus nenday, sometimes referred to as the Black-hooded Parakeet”

Dear Sirs,

I understand that at the January 27 - 29 meeting of the Pennsylvania Game Commission the Agenda of Commission includes a proposal to “amend §137.1 to prohibit the importation, possession, sale and release of all non-human primates and the Conure-Nanday, sometimes referred to as the Blackhooded Parakeet, in response to human health/safety and wildlife habitat health purposes”.

The Nanday Conure does not pose a threat to either human health or wildlife habitat in Pennsylvania, or anywhere else in this country.

Laws should be based upon provable facts, not on hypotheticals. The concerns stated in the Agenda are not based on fact. Nanday Conures have been bred and kept as pets for decades, both in Pennsylvania and across this country, and they have not been shown to pose a threat to human health or safety, or to pose any threat to wildlife habitat, either in Pennsylvania or elsewhere in this country. This is demonstrated by the fact that after decades of Nanday Conures being kept in Pennsylvania, there are no groups or colonies of feral Nanday Conures in Pennsylvania.

In the rare event that a Nanday Conure might escape from its owners, it is unlikely that the bird would survive long enough in the Pennsylvania environment to reproduce. An escaped Nanday would be unable to find food to sustain itself, and even if it did, would not survive the cold winters, and would most likely be taken by raptors.

These same points apply to non-human primates. They have not been shown to pose a threat to human health or safety, or to wildlife habitat, in Pennsylvania.

Please vote NO when this item comes up on the Game Commission Agenda.

Thank you.

(Signature)

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GAME COMMISSION CONTACT INFORMATION

PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION
2001 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg 17110-9797
Phone (717) 787-4250
Fax: (717) 772-0502
pgccomments@state.pa.us

Carl Roe
Executive Director

Michael W. Schmidt
Deputy Executive Director
2001 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg PA 17110-9797
Phone: (717) 787-4250

The Pennsylvania Game Commission Members
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=481&q=151287

Thomas E. Boop, President of the Board of Directors
Northeast Regional Office
Box 220, R.D. 5
Dallas, PA 18612-0220
Phone 570-675-1143
FAX 570/675-2394

Roxane S. Palone, Vice President
Southwest Regional Office
4820 Route 711
Bolivar, PA 15923
Phone 724-238-9523
FAX 724-238-5127

Counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland

Gregory J. Isabella, Secretary
Southeast Regional Official Office District 8
448 Snyder Road
Reading, PA 19605-9254
Phone 610-926-3136
FAX 610-378-8835

Counties: Berks, Bucks, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill and York

Russell E. Schleiden
North Central Regional Office District 3
1566 South Route 44 Highway
Jersey Shore 17740-5038
Phone 570-398-4744
FAX 570-398-1632

Counties: Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga and Union

David W. Schreffler
South Central Regional Office District 4
8627 William Penn Highway
Huntingdon, PA 16652-0537
Phone 814-643-1831
FAX 814-643-2952

Counties: Adams, Bedford, Blair, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder

H. Daniel Hill
Northwest Regional Office I
1509 Pittsburgh Road
Franklin, PA 16323-2011
Phone 814-432-3187
FAX 814-437-5122

Counties: Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango and Warren

John Delaney
Northeast Regional Office 7
PO Box 220
Dallas, PA 18612-0220
Phone 570-675-1143
FAX 570-675-2394

Counties: Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Montour, Northumberland, Pike, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming
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Dear African Grey Lovers,

Our Grey companions’ wild cousins are in dire need of our help. As you know they have been poached so much for the pet trade that they are almost becoming extinct. I remember a few years ago, I was told that Grey parrots are the “most illegally poached wildlife species on earth.” But it appears that the African governments are doing more to try to stop the illegal trading, as evidenced by the more frequent news releases that poachers have been caught.

But it doesn’t stop there. They have been traumatized and are in need of care before being released to the wild. Some of them have been maimed by the poaching process and either will never be returned or need a longer period of convalescence. There was a recent “bust” in the news as seen at the link below:

http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/15066

Emergency funds are needed to help these birds. According to the World Parrot Trust, a core group of 417 of these birds cannot be released back into the wild due to either illness, emaciation and/or feathers cut or damaged by the horrible glue traps. You can donate to The World Parrot Trust to help them help these precious little creatures. See the link below:

http://www.parrots.org/index.php/ourwork/savewildgreys

The donations at WPT are in English pounds. Here is a link for the exchange rate information:

http://www.x-rates.com/

If you can, PLEASE donate something to help them help these birds, as well as future ones that are brought in. Thank you!

GREY’T Blessings,
Maggie-
www.AfricanGreys.com
www.MaggieWright.net
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