Chirping sounds lead airport officials to bag filled with smuggled parrot eggs | WWLP

Update: PASSED THE HOUSE NOW GOING TO THE SENATE!

ALERT: America COMPETES Act of 2022 Lacey Act Amendments | USARK - United States Association of Reptile Keepers

 usark.org


Buried within the 2,912 pages of the America COMPETES Act of 2022 lie Lacey Act amendments that affect all non-domesticated pet owners and the greater pet community. COMPETES is an acronym for Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength. The stated purpose of the Act is to strengthen America’s economic and national security but obviously, this was slipped into the massive bill in hopes to go unnoticed.


The amendments would reverse the USARK federal lawsuit victory by reinstating the ban on interstate transportation of species listed as injurious under the Lacey Act. The bill would also create a “white list” (see #2 below) that could affect millions of pet owners, as well as pet businesses. If your species of interest, even your pet, is listed as injurious (which could happen because it can survive outside somewhere in the U.S.), then it cannot be transported across state lines. That means you could not even take a pet with you if you moved to another state or needed veterinary care across a state border. This does not just ban sales but prohibits all interstate transportation. This will trickle down to hundreds or thousands of common pet species.
The America COMPETES Act may pass in the House next week. If passed in the House, it will then be sent to the Senate to be reconciled with an innovation policy package called the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, or USICA, that passed in the Senate last year. The America COMPETES Act is the House Democrats’ response to USICA (which does not contain the Lacey Act Amendment). The House Rules Committee will hear the America COMPETES Act on February 1, 2022. It may go to a House floor vote the next day. This is the same language we saw introduced by Florida Senator Marco Rubio as Senate Bill 626 in 2021.


Briefly, the amendments will:


Provide that the Lacey Act bans the interstate transport of species listed as injurious. Specifically, it replaces Lacey’s current language ‘‘shipment between the continental United States’’ with ‘‘transport between the States.”Create a “white list” of species that can be imported. This means that any animal (reptile, amphibian, fish,
bird, mammal, invertebrate) that is not on the white list is by default treated as an injurious species and is banned from importation.Create a new authority allowing FWS to use an “emergency designation” that becomes effective immediately after being published in the Federal Register unless an extension of no more than 60 days is allowed. That means no due process, public input, hearings, advanced notice, etc. for injurious listings.Permit FWS to not allow importation if a species has not been imported in “minimal quantities” (to be defined) in the year prior to the enactment of this Act.The effective date would be one year after the enactment of this Act.

Read the relevant amendment text (these are pages 1661-1665) at https://usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022-HR4521-excerpt.pdf.


We will provide more details on actions to take.

In our landmark court decision, four federal judges agreed that USARK was correct and that the Lacey Act (Title 18 Section 42 of the U.S. Code) did not ban interstate transportation of injurious species based on the original language of the Lacey Act and the intent of Congress. As a result of this fight for our members and the community, this meant animals domestically bred under human care could be moved and sold across state lines (within the continental United States).


The entire America COMPETES Act can be read at https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/BILLS-117HR4521RH-RCP117-31.pdf

Edit: I know I’ve been posting a lot, but I figured this was pretty important…

I know many of our members that contribute these days are newer members and aren't familiar with one of our earliest members. For those of us that have hung in there for all these years......you may remember when we first joined (after jumping ship from another bird forum), there were only 3 rooms here. As a group, we have increased the rooms to what we have today. The membership was more like a family back in the day when we were all so active..being here every day all through-out the day.....those were fun times!  We became a family and shared lots of ups & downs as we built this forum to the encyclopedia of knowledge it is today.

We couldn't have done it without the fierce force from CeasarsDad. He was instrumental in the growth we've had here.  He posted videos, ran contests & created a family forum.  Although he never owned this forum (not for a lack of trying over & over)  He really helped this forum take off, he assigned many a moderator & I as the Administrator.   He was known for his African grey Ceasar (who Frank adored more than anything). He stopped posting several years ago as he lost Ceasar after his wife left the door open & he flew out never to be found again by the family.  They live in Florida & it was always his hope that he was free or was found by a loving family...he was heartbroken & couldn't bring himself to come back here much after that.

I have held off sharing this sad news for personal reasons......but today felt like it was time those who remembered him & loved him for all he contributed here, knew what happened to him.   I am sad & sorry to tell you that Ceasarsdad (Frank)  passed away last October at the age of 62 , after a year & half battle with a brain tumor (glioblastoma).  

This was one of the best videos he ever posted:  http://www.greyforums.net/videos/state1.wmv<br><br>Post

Of course the famous:  Grey Owner, What do you look like? thread was started by Frank.  

There is much more he posted...his posts & advice and memories will live on forever here.   Rest in Peace Frank, you will never be forgotten, you left quite a legacy here at this forum.  ❤️

Spock (Maggie Sheppard)

First off, we have been having severe security issues with the forum for a long time now. We have been battling hackers, malware, viruses etc.  Many times the forum has been down in the last few years due to hackers getting in and wreaking havoc.  The private message system has not worked on many occasions. The front page stopped working, posting videos and pictures has become almost impossible. Things would just disappear.   I was continually contacting the tech guys asking for them to fix this or that, letting them know we were down and inaccessible. Even GOOGLE didn't want you in Greyforums..when GOOGLE gives you a deceptive warning, it's for good reason, not just because...

Members may not be aware, but Greyforums doesn't make a dime by paying the money it does to keep this forum up and running.  It is strictly run by voulunteers helping out here.  So getting the tech support we needed which cost $$,  well, we were not a priority when you don't generate income.

It was only a matter of a short time, before our forum was inoperable due to the malicious activity in the background because we  lacked a secure site to say the least .  It wasn't a matter of IF that happened, it was a matter of WHEN that happened, and all content would be lost forever.  

WE here at GREYFORUMS, are LUCKY enough to have a member who wanted to pay it forward....to THANK members .....to show his HEARTFELT GRATITUDE  for all the advice and support he was given in trying to bring his grey into the US.  Fighting the red tape and difficulties for years, which I can't even comprehend, but that is a greyt father, a dedicated grey owner.  Yes, I am talking about KevinD, Sukie's dad.  That's one lucky grey I might add.

Kevin came to our rescue as well, he spent countless months trying to save Greyforums and continually being turned down. I am  grateful for his relentlessness, he didn't give up on Sukie, and he didn't give up on Greyforums.  And it would have been real easy to go somewhere else where another grey forum was in place that worked properly.  

He spent countless hours, and days cleaning out the viruses and garbage that has accumulated  in the back end.  Then begins the process of setting up a new server, new hosting site, a new server etc.  when did he do this?  On his nights and weekends when he wasn't at his full time job. Taking time asway from his grey to help us. He would answer my many emails and phone calls in an instant.  ALWAYS putting us, this GREYFORUM family ahead of his own time.  And not to mention the $$ he has spent on this site,  making sure we had what we needed to move forward making it secure and giving us a mobile site which is something we have never had. 

I will I'll be forever indebted to him for his kindness and generosity.  There aren't many people who are so giving in the works these days.  Most want something in return, but not Kevin.

is the forum different? Of course it is. That's what we wanted,  a new look.  Many of you don't know, but we went thru a huge format change many years ago as well. It seemed foreign at first, but in time as you learned things, you loved it and found it quite easy.  This will be the same process.  Due to the severity of the damage that was done to the site, it will take time to get everything up and running perfectly, things need to be added, tweaked etc.

I would hope you would hang in there and be PATIENT with the process and the people trying to help.

It angers me to see rude comments in the chat box complaining like this is a paid site where we are entitled to perfection.   

So I ask all members to be PATIENT. We will get everything working in time.  Perfection doesn't happen over night 

 I too work full time and then some. So writing a tutorial is something I am working on and hope to post over the weekend.

So, hang in there, don't worry about people finding us, there is a redirect. If your still getting a deceptive warning, Clean out your cache, your history and delete your old bookmark. GOOGLE us, and find the page you want and bookmark it.  

And mostly, be THANKFUL to Kevin that there is a GREYFORUMS 

10/19/2017

1. You can edit your comments in the chat room

2. There is no time limitation on editing posts.

3. Added 4 new themes

Also worth mentioning that these things are controlled by user group, so if they dont work for you, let me know, I probably inadvertently missed a group. 

I don't know what I could possibly add to all the wonderful things members here have posted about Judy. She is one in a million, an incredibly kind, loyal, generous, caring, fun loving woman. I am honored to call her one of my dearest friends. I feel very lucky to have met Judy in bird land on another forum before coming here (as a cheerleader :laugh: ) and making this forum the best on the internet. A big THANK YOU, and CONGRATULATIONS Judy for being the FIRST!!!

Here is a look at history in the making everyone, by Our now famous Judygram!!

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/newsroom/26873-judygram-reaches-2500.html#26882

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/newsroom/29602-judy-hits-3000-posts.html

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/newsroom/36224-its-4000-for-judy.html#36224

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/newsroom/43108-judy-reaches-5000.html#43108

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/newsroom/69325-judygram-reaches-10000-posts.html#69325

People are sheltering in place through all of this. So, the numbers really aren't going to begin to get real for days more yet. And the numbers are already staggering. So whenever the emergency organizations can get an accurate assessment, I'm guessing they're going to be unprecedented.

Lot's of people automatically give to the Red Cross for things like this. If that's your choice, please consider donating thru the *Google *site *to *effect *their *donation *matching*. You can make your effort go even further.

Lots of people don't like the Red Cross for a variety of reasons. Fair enough. I've rounded up some legit websites. There are plenty of alternatives. These are just a few to consider for both short & long term support.

ANIMALS NEED HELP TOO

The vid of the man who was evacuating w/a B&G on his shoulder. The horses standing flank deep in water. The little herd of cows slopping around, looking sad & confused. They break my heart because they're nothing compared w/what is actually going on or what will come. People do need our help. But please remember, so do they.

You could start w/Greywing's sanctuary (just a suggestion"). At the bottom of the page, there's a payPal link for donations.

http://www.gulfcoastexoticbirdsanctuary.com/

https://spca.org/give

https://redrover.org/program/redrover-responders

http://www.americanhumane.org/

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/animal_rescue/relief.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

'

http://code3associates.org/

Macaw & Cockatoo Rescue of NM Anna 505-994-0505

http://www.greenpeople.org/listing/Macaw-Cockatoo-Rescue-62574.cfm

https://bestfriends.org/

http://www.floridadisaster.org/petplan.htm

https://www.ready.gov/animals

https://www.cdc.gov/features/petsanddisasters/index.html

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/disaster-preparedness

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/groups-dedicated-to-saving-animals-in-disaster-situations/

Google will match your Red Cross donation up to $1mil. So your donation could be twice as effective if you wanted to go the traditional route.

https://www.google.org/harvey-relief/

JJ Watt's Houston Flood Relief Fund

https://www.youcaring.com/victimsofhurricaneharvey-915053

Five presidents united to send one message.

ONE AMERICA APPEAL https://www.oneamericaappeal.org/

Team Rubicon https://teamrubiconusa.org/

Salvation Army https://give.salvationarmyusa.org...tion=form1

Houston Food Bank http://www.houstonfoodbank.org/

Galveston County Food Bank http://www.galvestoncountyfoodbank.org

Food Bank of Corpus Christi http://www.foodbankcc.com

The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation https://bloodntissuefoundation.org/give

Texas Diaper Bank http://www.texasdiaperbank.org

Portlight Inclusive Disaster Strategies http://www.portlight.org/home.html

Habitat for Humanity Texas http://habitattexas.org/give/'>http://habitattexas.org/give/

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief https://missionaries.namb.net/projects/full/disaster-relief

Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group http://www.coastalbendcan.org/CBDRG

Coalition for the Homeless https://www.homelesshouston.org/take-action/donate/

Habitat for Humanity Texas http://habitattexas.org/give/

Just reposting for the worst case: Do you or anyone you know need some assistance during times of an emergency event? You may register via the attached link or by dialing 211. You may register somone else. Be prepared to answer questions regarding emergency contacts and specific medical needs. *This is for all Texans. Information is forwarded to the appropriate Office of Emergency Management. Information provided is confidential.

Who Should Register?

People with Disabilities

People with access and functional needs such as:

People who have limited mobility

People who have communication barriers

People who require additional medical assistance during an emergency event

People who require transportation assistance

People who require personal care assistance

https://www.dps.texas.gov/d...

http://www.perchpets.com/our-store/

A pet store kept a macaw (which was not for sale) and she was unfortunately stolen. The thief broke in, smashed the glass to the parrot enclosure (which would have undoubtedly freaked the parrot out) and tried to stuff her in a bag. When this didn't work, the thief pinned her to the handle bars of his bike and rode off.

I had no words when I read about it. The poor girl must have been absolutely terrified.

I found an update to the story today:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/man-arrested-after-parrot-stolen-9816059

A man has been arrested but the parrot (Charlie/Baby) hasn't been found yet. I hope she is ok and I hope she is found soon.

If only I could get my hands on the person who did this to her. I'd give him a taste of his own medicine for sure. :mad:

Check your local PBS listings for this one. Perhaps people who don't live with a Parrot will learn a tad of respect for Bird Brains.

http://www.wfla.com/story/29309061/christiansburg-13-year-old-escapes-fire-returns-to-save-family-birds

I spotted this on facebook so thought I'd pass it on. It's a bit too far for me as I'm in the UK

[EDIT] Sorry, the image seems quite small for some reason- but go here for details: http://bird-haven.org/event/1st-annual-feather-fest-fundraiser/

"When you put a treasured pen in a pen holder, you know where it is, and can quickly find it again. It turns out that crows do exactly the same, sometimes storing their tools in tree holes or behind bark."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-05-crows-humans-tools.html#jCp'>http://phys.org/news/2015-05-crows-humans-tools.html#jCp

[h=3]Crows, like humans, store their tools when not in use[/h] Researchers at the University of St Andrews have discovered that crows, like humans, store their tools when they don't need them. The study published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B is the ...

http://phys.org/news/2015-05-crows-humans-tools.html

Use the link for the rest of the story & videos.

A few years ago, I saddled her with a huge task of cleaning up the Grey Lounge. There were over 10 years of spam posts, and threads that needed to be moved into the appropriate rooms that we have since added. .It was a very time consuming and a lot of work. It would have taken me a month or more to do alone. She had it done in less than 2 weeks! So I know I can rely on her to keep this place as happy and supportive to our bird family as we all expect it to be when we come here to visit and share.

I know you will all welcome Luvparrots as our newest Super Moderator! Congratulations, you deserve this!