I?m Jeff Maxwell, the actor and parrot owner reported about in the Los Angeles Times article. I worked very hard to get the Times to pay attention to the problem we bird owners are living with in California. Various media outlets were hesitant to report the problem. The perception was that only chickens were at risk. Another prejudice was that many people think all birds are chicken, chicken is food, so who cares. To its credit, the Times finally began to recognize the larger issues at hand. We should all be grateful they did.
Exotic Newcastle disease is unquestionably miserable. And the Task Force is faced with an equally miserable job of "eradicating" it. They cannot work with science because science is time consuming and very expensive. The only alternative they have is to destroy, kill, "depopulate," everything in and around the path of the disease. Therein lies the horror.
The condition of "extraordinary emergency" declared by the Governor of California, gives total authority to the federally funded USDA to carry out the eradication. They are empowered, if they deem it necessary, to acquire forced-entry warrants enabling them to force their way into your homes and destroy your property without regard to your civil liberties or due process. If you resist, you are subject to arrest, prosecution, and huge monetary fines. Under this emergency declaration, no Task Force worker carries any legal liability whatsoever. You can?t sue them. Therein lies the other horror.
As I understand it, the emergency declaration is designed to allow government to protect us in real emergencies: fires, floods, terrorist acts, war. Newcastle disease is none of those. Our food supply is not threatened. We are not required by medicine or law to feed on chicken or eggs. Unfortunately for that bird, it?s a convenience for us. The real emergency is in the boardrooms of poultry farmers. They lose money, and they put pressure on you and I. We have to live in fear, live with anxiety and be subjected to the potential of horrible trauma to solve their own inadequate bio-security problems. That ain?t fair.
The eradication system currently in place is designed to allow for the quick slaughter of flocks. The idea is to create a "firebreak" in the path of disease. Then they can go after every "positive" identification within certain geographically determined guidelines. If your pet parrot, parakeet, canary, chicken or finch is within those parameters, it?s as much of a threat to the force as that poor depopulated flock. Remember, they have the authority to come into your home and destroy your pet. The official Task Force interpretation of a pet bird is vague at best and without real legal designation.
My goal is to bring attention to what I believe have been gross, abusive activities from the Task Force. They must act without terrorizing US citizens. They must adhere to fair testing procedures, and those procedures must be in harmony with how we live. And if a bird or birds have been scheduled for "depopulation," there must be an appeal system built into the operation that has real legal teeth. Otherwise, we are truly witnessing a total breakdown of everything this country is about.
Pet owners should have more rights than a terrorist. Under the current conditions in California, they do not. I am not at war with the Task Force, I am only trying to shine a light on what is terribly wrong with the current system.
My sign reads:
BEFORE ENTERING
Please remove shoes or immerse shoe soles in disinfectant tray.
Please wear freshly laundered clothing.
There are other things that are meaningful, but that sign starts the ball rolling.
Keep the faith. We all need to be vigilant and alert to save our pets` lives and keep our rights as US citizens in tact.
Thank you for being a voice to help protect our parrots` rights. I have posted this END website before, but just in case anyone has missed it here it is again: http://www.cocka2.com/newcastle/ The site contains all the information needed for biosecurity and links regarding END.
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