Importing Lovebirds

Hello, in October I will be flying from Athens greece to boston logan airport. I have 2 lovebirds. can I bring these with me on the plane ? i do not know yet what airlines i will be flying on . what would i need for these birds if i can bring them with me? iam worried about quarentine policies. iam affraid even with proper documents i will have trouble at the airport and have to leave them behind. also this trip is a one way trip. I will be moving to the state of massachusets and not returning to greece Dear Olga: Thank you for your email. It is against international law to fly with pets in the cabin other than service animals. They will have to be shipped in the cargo hold - which is pressurized and climatized. I've been shipping parrotlets for two decades and it is completely safe if you following the directions I have published in my books and online (they are too lengthy to put into an email). You will need export permits from Greece as well as CITES (international documents regarding rarity status), veterinary certification, import permits and licenses and other documents as required by the US. You will have to prove that you have owned this bird for more than a year and the process usually takes months. You need to check with US Fish & Wildlife on all the licensing and permits; US Dept. of Agriculture for quarantine and testing. The birds will have to be placed in quarantine and tested at your expense. The process is neither easy nor inexpensive and this is because the United States does not allow the import of birds except under extremely limited circumstances. However, since these birds are a pet and while you did not say what kind of lovebird, if they are Peach Faced, then it will be much easier to get them into the country than one of the rarer species. You are correct however, if there are any problems or discrepancies in the documentation you will not be able to bring the birds with you so you will need to make absolutely 100% sure you follow every rule and requirement to the letter. Best of luck to you. Sincerely yours, Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S. Secretary, International Parrotlet Society

Importing Chickens

Wow that is crazy to figure that all out, is the some 1 that imports for a living that you can send me there info? All i am interested in is a few rare chickens.

Dear Mike:

Thank you for your email. Chickens are not the same as parrots when it comes to importing. Chickens are domestic animals raised for the food industry. Parrots are wild animals, many of whom are rare and endangered and protected in their countries of origin.

I’m sure the poultry industry has professional importers but they don’t import a few chickens. They import by the hundreds of thousands. I’d contact USDA, they are in charge of all domestic poultry imports and exports. I can tell you because of chickens are not rare nor endangered (and no BREED of chicken is considered rare under Endangered Species Act or Convention in International Trade of Endangered Species) that they are much easier to import so long as there are no Avian Influenza or Exotic Newcastles Disease outbreaks in their countries of origin. But USDA is the governing authority.

Good luck.

Sincerely yours,

Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S., Secretary
International Parrotlet Society

Traveling To Scotland With A Conure

Hello,

I have just read your article online, thank you for making it
available; I found it very informative.

I own a seven year old green cheek conure. I am moving from the
United States to Scotland where I am getting married and settling
down. I am not willing to give him up so I will do whatever I can to
keep him with me.

I have found difficulty trying to get definite answers to questions
concerning my travel with my bird; for example, Continental said he
has to travel in cargo for the 8 hour flight. I am concerned about
the conditions in cargo and his survival as he is only 12 grams.
Edinbourgh airport does not grant entry to birds so it seems I have to
go through London, where they will quarantine him for 30 days which I
am afraid he will not survive well.

I am willing to fly to another country and then take the train into
the UK if that would work. I have heard of people doing that with
cats and dogs to avoid quarantine. Do you have any suggestions for
me? I would appreciate any information you can provide.

Thank you so much for your help.
Sincerely,
Taryn

Dear Taryn:

Thank you for your email. What you are reading on that website is about traveling in the United States with birds. Not taking the bird out of the country on international flights. That is because it is extremely difficult, time consuming, expensive and every country has their own rules about importing birds. It is not the airlines polices you have to deal with, it’s Federal, international and European Union, as well as the United Kingdom's (and quite possibly the government of Scotland as well) laws you have to deal with.

Generally speaking, most species of birds (other than budgies and cockatiels) are NOT domesticated animals but are considered wild animals and because many species are rare and endangered, they are not regulated like dogs and cats. The EU, just like the US, has a policy that prohibits the import of wild-caught parrots. You will have to prove to the EU as well as Scotland (and perhaps the UK) that the bird was legally captive-bred in the US. I have no idea what they require for that designation but I do know that the US does NOT recognize a leg band nor a microchip or even a bill of sale as 'proof' a bird was legally bred in the US. You will need to contact the EU and Scotland about that. I will say not having the proper paperwork or attempting to bring the bird in under the radar of the authorities is called 'smuggling'. Smuggling a bird into a country is a very serious and very dangerous international crime and in the US, it is punishable by YEARS in Federal prison.

You will need to go through US Fish and Wildlife. They will give you the application for the export (US) and CITES (international) permits as well as the arrangements for issuance of health certificates and inspections. This costs a lot of money and can take longer than 6 months. You will also need to get import permits from Scotland as well as possibly the UK and the EU. I have no idea what their requirements are but if they require quarantine (and almost all countries do in order to keep out poultry diseases as well as N5N1 bird flu) you will be required to place the bird there and pay for its keep as well as veterinary inspections. Again, trying to get around this requirement may cause you to be arrested and charged with international wildlife smuggling.

As for the airlines, ALL airlines follow the IATA guidelines and ALL birds MUST travel in the cargo hold. This isn't a problem if the bird is in the proper container and has food and a source of water. I ship parrotlets which are one of the world's smallest species of birds at 28 grams (and btw, there is no way ANY conure weighs 12 grams) and is smaller than half of your conure's tail without any ill effects all over the country including Alaska. Besides, back in the day when the US DID import wild caught birds these birds were captured, trekked out of the jungle, placed in holding facilities that were less than ideal and then shipped to the US from South America (in the case of your conures predecessors) and tens of thousands of birds arrived safely in the US. In all likelihood, your bird would simply go to sleep during the flight since most birds are used to small enclosed areas and Mother Nature designed them to be quiet in the dark so they don't get eaten by predators.

Anyway, you have a lot of work to get done so I wish you the best of luck. International law is designed to be difficult when it comes to bringing birds around the world. This is a) to protect them in their countries of origin from extinction and b) to protect the human population as well as the human food supply from diseases. But you need to start with USF&W.

Hope this helps and let me know how it goes.

Sincerely yours,

Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S.
Secretary, International Parrotlet Society

Pacific Parrotlet/Yellow Face Hybrids

Hi Sandee,

What a pleasure to "meet" you today! I am forwarding the pictures of my two hens, Lauper and Abby, Abby being the one I believe to be hybrid. I hope these are good enough but I can take new ones if need better pics.

I await your feedback and guidance. Again, many thanks for taking the time to help, it is greatly appreciated!

Kind Regards,

Didi

Thank you for the pictures. In my opinion, they are both hybrids between Pacifics and Yellow Face. Abby is probably about 90% Pacific; I’d say that Lauper has more YF – but is also a hybrid. I’d say probably 50%-60% Pacific. Hope this helps!

Sincerely yours,

Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S.
The Parrotlet Ranch, Owner, www.parrotletranch.com

WOW!!!

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I am disappointed but grateful for the information. I guess I should stop thinking about breeding them, even Lauper, if she's not yellow faced, the whole point of me breeding them was to try to help the conservation efforts of these little guys!

May I pick your brain as to what made you see the pacific in her? I know I am but a novice, and to my untrained eye, she looked like a full yellow faced, but haha, I've only ever seen them in pictures in your book and on the web! If you could guide me in what you saw that led you to conclude she was hybrid, I can be more discriminating if I try again.

Since you mentioned the virtual impossibility of getting full 100% yellow faced here in the US, would you suggest I try to get them from Peru or Europe instead? How hard would it be to do this? I read the plight of Henry (how saaad!!!) but I am wondering if there have bee nany changes since you wrote it in 2006... any laws changed yet or who do I have to harass?? (haha!)

On another note, I am also very interested in the Lucida Pacific, but seem to have a hard time finding 100% full that have not been crossed. In your article you mentioned that you had started the Lucida breeding with birds caught in the wild, I was wondering if you still had availability of these? I would love to be able to conserve these.

Thanks for taking me under your wing, so to speak!! : )

Kind regards,

Didi

Dear Didi:

Unfortunately, there are many species of parrotlets in the US which are pretty much genetically dead – Yellow Face are certainly one since they were never imported in large numbers. Mexicans are almost gone since they were difficult to breed in the first place. Blue Wings are also on that list – most people finding them difficult to breed and they were considered too nervous and flighty to be good pets so after almost 20 years of non-importation, these species are pretty much gone from US aviculture. Fortunately, there are tons of them in Europe and Asia so even if Americans can’t breed them, the species’ will survive. Also none of these parrotlets are highly endangered in the wild.

I don’t know how I can explain to you the differences in a YF/Pacific hybrid since you have never seen a pure YF. Its kind of like describing a Catalina macaw (blue & gold hybridized with a scarlet) if you have never seen a blue and gold macaw. Mainly its size – YF are much larger than Pacifics about the size of a PF lovebird, the structure – YF weigh about 30 grams or more than Pacifics, placement of color – the yellow is supposed to go from the crown of the forehead around the entire face including cheeks and chin, down the throat, the entire chest, belly and all the way to the tail and it is a pure deep yellow and not that washed out greenish yellow. It is a deep, deep bright yellow. Finally, the beak doesn’t have enough black on the upper mandible nor is it dark enough. The entire upper mandible should be dark black. So while there is YF in both birds, one is at least 3 generations of hybridizing with Pacifics, the other could have had one Pacific and one YF parent although I doubt it. It probably is 2 generations of hybridizing with Pacifics.

As for the lucida subspecies of the Pacific, these birds have been bred interchangeably since people first started breeding Pacifics and certainly since the WBCA ban in 1992. With the introduction of color mutations, they are all but gone although unlike the YF, they are not hybrids. They are called ‘generics’ because they are still Pacifics but have a commingled subspecies.

Sorry. I appreciate your offer but you cannot change the law. There are exceptions to it if you are a zoo, a US&FW approved foreign breeding facility or a breeding cooperative sponsored by a non-profit (which is what IPS tried to do but was unable due to people refusing to cooperate and the fact that the most of the birds were either hybrids or had TB or both). But the WBCA was written in accordance with the parameters set up by CITES (Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species) which the US is a signatory. They were written to protect species from becoming extinct in the wild. More and more countries are passing laws to prevent the sale of wild caught birds – the EU passed their own version several years ago. The only species of parrotlets that can be legally imported are visual color mutations of the Pacific parrotlet. Ironically, it is because of this exception that we have lost most of the other species from American aviculture as people dumped the rarer species in order to make more money when the new colors were imported.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely yours,

Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S.