Memorandum submitted by the IPC Media
Avian Group
I write on behalf of IPC Media's Avian Group,
the weekly Cage & Aviary Birds, the monthly Bird
Keeper and the committee that runs the avian equivalent of
Crufts, the National Cage & Aviary Birds Exhibition, which
together reach, educate and advise some 100,000 bird breeders
and their supplier businesses, and through them, over 2 million
pet bird keepers nationwide.
1. We welcome the proposals to remove the
present ambiguity in the law surrounding pet fairs, and applaud
plans to reaffirm their legal standing.
2. We welcome plans to lift the welfare
standards at all commercial bird sales and auctions up to those
of the best bird fairs, such as the National Exhibition.
3. We welcome the introduction of Codes
of Conduct as a pro-active, progressive and thoroughly sensible
way of approaching the welfare issue.
4. We welcome the new proposed minimum age
at which children can buy pets and the proposal that sellers of
such pets should provide care sheets on how to care for their
pets.
5. We welcome the "duty of care"
approach behind the Bill.
6. We are concerned that unless they are
qualified or limited by regulation, some aspects of the proposals
might prove welfare-unfriendly, for example, the application of
the proposed ban on tail docking to working dogs, and the application
of the proposed new Pet Fair Licenses to commercial, but non-viable
shows and sales staged by small bird clubs.
7. We are very concerned about the prosecution
powers granted the RSPCA, as we fear that on past performance
the society will abuse them to pursue an agenda of its own, such
as a ban on the import and ownership of "exotic" animals,
a ban on keeping birds on their own or in cages, and the licensing
of those whose animals have bred four or more times. We also have
grave reservations about its proposed powers of entry under the
Bill. This would transfer too much power to people that oppose
many forms of animal keeping.
24 August 2004
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