Abstract
The large outbreak in poultry of Exotic Newcastle Disease (VVND) which occurred in California in 1972 projected for the egg and poultry producer a nightmarish vision of the economic disaster that could befall that business and the country's supply of eggs and poultry were this destructive disease to become established in the United States. Outbreaks had occurred in poultry flocks before in other states, but they were never of the magnitude of the one in California and they were brought under control. Eradication was achieved, too, in Califonia by emergency measures, but only after 1, 341 infected or exposed flocks containing some 12 million infected or exposed birds were destroyed at the staggering cost to the American taxpayer of over $56,000,000.00!
Exotic cage and aviary birds were implicated as a possible source of the costly outbreak and the repercussions against bird importers and keepers were drastic.
Before this outbreak, the U.S. permitted the unrestricted importation of exotic birds. After the outbreak, an embargo was placed on all importations. A year later, as a control measure, U.S.D.A. proposed rules and established Federally supervised privately owned quarantine stations for the importation of exotic birds.
The creation of these privately owned quarantine stations was a mixed blessing for the bird breeder and keeper. They did provide the bird breeder and dealer with a source of birds which had been under official surveillance for at least 30 days and were found to be without evidence of VVND. Legally imported birds provided assurance to the poultry industry, too, that birds coming into the country by this route were VVND free. No bird with exotic Newcastle disease has ever been legally released from a Federally supervised quarantine station.
At one time, there were approximately one hundred of these Federally supervised privately owned quarantine stations. Unfortunately, not all of the owners were honest. WND infected birds did pass through some of their hands and into commercial traffic. There were also WNO-diseased, illegal, smuggled birds which found their way into the country; infected exotic bird flocks; and posed a threat to the poultry industry.
Whenever such infection was found in cage and aviary bird flocks, it was dealt with harshly. Whole flocks were destroyed solely on the basis of suspicion of exposure. Bird keepers in the country were agitated by this apparently needless destruction of bird wildlife. Their concern gave birth to the American Federation of A viculture.
In the 1977 outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease in cage and aviary birds, A.F.A., after arbitration with U.S.D.A. failed, filed first a temporary restraining order in Federal Court in San Diego to try to halt the killing of birds only on the basis of suspicion. Then it went on to instigate litigation to have the Department of Agriculture change its eradication policies. A viculture was deeply at odds with the Department of Agriculture.
In early 1979 the differences were settled out of court and the depopulation was modified (A.F.A. Watchbird, Vol. VI, No. 6, Dec. /Jan. '80). The two former adversaries embarked on a course of understanding and cooperation.
No such understanding yet existed between the poultry people and the aviculturist. They remained at loggerheads.
In 1978 the president of A.F.A. was invited by the United States Animal Health Association to address their Committee on Transmissable Diseases of Poultry on The Problems of Aviculture. The U.S.A.H.A. Committee on the Transrnissable Disease of Poultry is made up of representatives of the poultry industry; and U.S.A.H.A. itself is the representative body of the livestock regulatory personnel from all of the fifty states together with livestock research people and livestock industry delegates. It serves in an advisory capacity to U.S.D.A.
The presentation provided a forum where the problems of the cage and aviary and pet bird industries were aired before an influential poultry industry group. The immediate result was the establishment by the full committee of a subcommittee on Diseases of Cage and Aviary Birds (A.F.A. Watchbird, Vol.
VI, No. 1, Feb. /Mar. '79).
In 1979, the Committee, after hearing the subcommittee report, recommended that expanded and strengthened instruction by veterinary colleges in avian medicine should be emphasized; and proposed that a positive promotional rather than a negative restrictive strategy towards a national supply of safe healthy birds be developed (A.F.A. Watchbird, Vol. VII, No. 1, Feb./Mar. '80).
At its 1980 84th annual meeting the committee passed a motion of support for the establishment of a mechanism for formal dialogue (i.e. a symposium) between the pet bird and poultry industry, regulatory and research people on the problem of VVND eradication; and further went on record with "The committee favors the encouragement by government of the domestic captive propagation of cage and aviary birds (A.F.A. Watchbird, Vol. VII, No. 6, Dec./Jan. '81).
Of interest to aviculturists at the U.S.A.H.A.'s annual meeting of the following year ( 1981) was the change of the name of its Committee On Transmissable Diseases of Poultry to the Committee on Transmissable Diseases of Poultry and Other Avian Species, and a resolution to establish a subcommittee to prepare a model state program for pet birds.
The inclusion of "Other Avian Species'' in the scope of responsibility of this committee of the U.S.A.H.A. gives recognition by this national regulatory and research body to the multibillion dollar cage and aviary and pet bird industries and acknowledgement that the problems of these industries are intermixed with and affect those of the poultry industry.
The establishment of a U.S.A.H.A. subcommittee to prepare a Model State Program for Pet Birds (later designated as The National Cage and Aviary Bird Improvement Plan) was a natural development from the discussions and proposals of the committee at its previous annual meeting.
The National Cage and Aviary Bird Improvement Plan subcommittee (N.C.A.B.I.P.) has met on several occasions this past year and at the U.S.A.H.A. national meeting last October presented its first report.
The N.C.A.B.I.P. subcommittee is composed of representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Veterinary Services), bird breeders (A.F.A.), practicing veterinarians (A. A. V.), pet shop owners, the pet industry (P.l.J.A.C.) and the poultry industry (N.P.I.P.).