Birdsafe

Mrs B. -- I don't know you -- and obviously you don't know me or what I have tried to do for birds for the past 10 years, and perhaps you are not familiar with Birdsafe.com and the Birdsafe safety email list. I never said you or anyone else was "hysterical" -- I simply stated that a "hysteria" was being created on the Internet about this issue. Perhaps I should paste the nasty email that I received from someone stating that I did not know my facts when I was simply stating that there was an isolated incident involving these pinatas and that no conclusive tests have been done. I was told in this email that the bird in fact tested positive for "formaldehyde and resin" -- though this person cannot - or I should say did not -- provide any proof, and was merely passing along what "she heard" People who know me would tell you that I get accused of being "too cautious" with toys, and I never EVER say anything bad about anyone wanting to protect their birds from what they deem to be dangerous. BUT -- I can gaurantee you if you gave me a list of the toys in your bird's cage, I would eliminate three-fourths of them based on isolated incidents like this. I get emails and/or phone calls almost every day telling me I should post a warning or pull a toy or other product. Do you have toys with rope? Do you have toys with plastic straws? Do you have Shredders or the many pinatas made with Shredders? Do you have boings? Rope swings? If so, then you should apply the same caution to them that you are with the Fetch It Pet pinatas. If, as you say, you want to take "zero risks" -- have you removed all those from your bird's cage? Then let's start talking about all the food warnings I get from people whose bird had a reaction to a peanut, wheat products, spirulina, organic sprouts -- the list is endless.

Found this thread on this subject and thought I would follow up here since some people have overreacted to my use of the word "hysteria" -- what I mean by that is that the story gets posted around as if we know hard facts about the case, and we simply are working from conjecture at this point. I have spoken to the company (Fetch-It Pets) who assured me that their pinatas have been thoroughly tested. She also told me that the bird owner or the vet has not contacted them, that she would be happy to talk with them about the situation. I have been told by a "third party" that the bird did test for "formaldehyde and resin" -- and I asked if I could see a copy of the test. I also asked if the pinata has been tested -- I have received no reply to either request. As I have said -- I have probably gone through three dozen of these pinatas with my own birds, sold dozens to many customers, all without issue. I think all too often when we have a sick bird we want to jump on the easiest thing we can to try and make us feel better -- I think we've all been there to some degree before. So I in know way am saying anything bad about the bird owner or the vet -- but it simply is counterproductive to the avian community to make claims that have not been backed up with hard facts (test results). As I said on the Birdsafe list, when I hear a problem with formaldehyde - my first thought is balsa toys, as I know that balsa, in its bulk form, is treated with formaldehyde before it enters the country. And not all the pinatas are made in Mexico, most are made in the Phillipines. Joe www.birdsafe.com