Memorandum submitted by the Northern Budgerigar
Society
The Draft Animal Welfare Bill, covers a wide
range of points concerning cruelty to animals.
However, on behalf of members of the Northern
Budgerigar Society I would like to offer the following submission
appertaining to the content of the document regarding the sale
of Animals/Birds to persons under 16 and to which it is hoped
the Committee will give consideration.
At 16 a person who could also be a member of
a Budgerigar Society is allowed to exhibit his or her budgerigars
in Junior Classes at Open Budgerigar Shows. Therefore if the present
law is changed disallowing persons under 16 to buy or sell budgerigars,
it could have a serious affect on our hobby. These young people
are the future of the budgerigar fancy, as many continue to follow
their hobby in breeding and exhibiting budgerigars, into their
adult life.
So with this in mind we hope that our submission
will help the Committee to consider the problems that our hobby
and indeed our own Area Society could endure if restrictions concerning
persons under 16 as mentioned in the Governments draft Animal
Welfare Bill are introduced as law.
August 2004
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