It was a smaller meeting but still lively. Teresa from CavySpirit presented a proposal for a "Pet Ready" certification program to the Commission. The commission liked the spirit of the cooperation in the certification program and it would be more palatable than a ban. Jonathan Harris and I spoke. Jonathan gave a wonderfully succinct analysis of the situation and addressed the fear that our grandkids won't be able to have pets. (If she had an amazon now , she could be sure her grandkids would have a pet.LOL.) I had a few issues such as online tests not assuring that the material will be implemented. I described the Mickaboo process and how even after all that, we still run into people who want to use Teflon pans. I mentioned the Petco legal judgment and the need for enforcement that an educational program won't provide. I also spoke about the Preferred Birds bird mill in Florida as several of the commissioners were still wondering if there are really bird mills. One of the speakers that followed me took offense at the use of the terms bird mills and puppy mills. She acted like I was talking about her when I mentioned only the facility in Florida. There were some wackos quoting Homeland Security memos about the IDA and compared the ban to Nazi Germany. I don't doubt that the IDA is on some terrorist lists. Someone from the Aviculture Society said she has waiting lists of people interested in birds so she wanted the shelter to call her and she can pick up the birds right away. She didn't seem to realize that the birds do get picked up. Channels 4 and 2 had reporters covering the meeting. I'm sure Jonathan, Elizabeth, Kim and Barna will have more to add when they get home. Pam was there too but had a conure to rescue. Yay, rescue!
