Bill before Congress would make us give up our chickens! HR 669

[Pathfinders]

There's a bill before Congress called H.R. 669 Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act.

It bans most nonnative species kept as pets! That includes chickens too. We need to contact our legislators and tell them to KILL this bad bill.

See this link for more info, and an easy way to email your Senators and Congresspersons:

http://www.capwiz.com/naiatrust/issues/alert/?alertid=13098456

And pass this along, if we all tell them NO, we want to keep our birds, then this bill won't have a chance.

Thanks!

Laura

 

[AZKat]

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-669

The actual text of the bill is here. It would ban most non-native wildlife. This makes sense considering that many areas have a problem with people importing non-native wild animals, and then dumping them where they wreak havoc on the local enviroment. Since chickens are legally livestock they wouldn't be covered by this law.

Edit: Here is the 'definition' section of the bill, which says that chickens and other domesticated animals aren't included:

(D) does not include any cat (Felis catus), cattle or oxen (Bos taurus), chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), dog (Canis lupus familiaris), donkey or ass (Equus asinus), domesticated members of the family Anatidae (geese), duck (domesticated Anas spp.), goat (Capra aegagrus hircus), goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus), horse (Equus caballus), llama (Lama glama), mule or hinny (Equus caballus x E. asinus), pig or hog (Sus scrofa domestica), domesticated varieties of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), or sheep (Ovis aries), or any other species or variety of species that is determined by the Secretary to be common and clearly domesticated​

 

[JohnNJ]

Pets in Peril!!!
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What is HR 669?

H.R. 669 stands for House Resolution 669 and is titled "The Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act". It is a bill currently before Congress that, if passed, will change the way that the US Government classifies animal species that are not native to the United States. H.R. 669 will make it illegal to breed and sell many animals that are very common in the pet trade.

Why should you care about HR 669?

Anyone with pet fish, birds, reptiles, or small mammals will be affected by this bill. Any company selling products or services for pet fish, birds, reptiles or small mammals will be affected by this bill. Would you be impacted by "The Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act"?

• Virtually all fish in an aquarium are not native to the United States
• Most pet birds are species not native to the US
• Most reptiles kept as pets are not native to the US
• Hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs and ferrets are not native to the US

What can you do to stop HR 669?

Pet owners support the concept of a risk based approach to non-native imports, unfortunately H.R. 669 as drafted does no provide a construtive way forward.

You can help by standing up and making your voice heard. Let your Representative know that you oppose H.R. 669 as drafted and the financial and/or emotional effect it will have on you, or your friends, or your family members if it passes. Get to a computer and go to the website www.nohr669.com.

NOHR669.com is a simple, yet effective portal that will make it easy for you to connect with your Representative through both phone and email and let them know that you do not support H.R. 669 the way it is currently written. NOHR669.com is also loaded with other ways that you can get involved as well as updates about where things stand with H.R. 699.

If you work in the pet industry, how can you help?

You can help by making your customers aware of H.R. 669 and asking them to go to NOHR669.com and follow the steps to send an email. Have them get in touch with friends, family, and anyone with access to a computer that can go to NOHR669.com and send an email as well. Talk to breeders, vendors, your suppliers, and anyone that you sell to or spend money with because they will all be affected if H.R, 669 passes. Get everyone you can to go to www.nohr669.com and get involved.

What's going on right now?

New information is coming in showing that a lot of "behind the scene" deals are being discussed among members of congress and their constituants, trying to make the bill more "palatable" to those who would ordinarily oppose it. Please, please take a few moments to read the latest news:

http://www.nohr669.com/hotitem.htm

Click the "Do Something Now" links and get those e-mails flooding into their offices! Let them know that the individual voices of America are just as critical to their power as corporate and interest group voices! THE most effective thing we can do at this time is slam their e-mail with as many "Opposed" voices as possible!

www.nohr669.com: Do Something Now!

There is a hearing on HR 669 scheduled for April 23rd in the House Committee on Natural Resources. Don’t wait, the time to act is now!