What will be the effects of a world with no legal bird sales in New York State?

Written by Sal Salafia, Certified Avian Specialist, Founder of Exotic Pet Birds Inc.

To start with this article, I’m going to preface by saying there are many great and ethical breeders of birds around the country. Many of these people operate out of their homes. That said for every one of them, there is another who is not following the best protocols.

To follow the best of the best industry standard protocols to care for birds takes a great deal of resource effort and money. Regardless of the scale of operation you are running, be it one single pair or 100 pairs, things must be scaled, resources rationed and in the end of the day, birds' welfare placed somewhere on the mind.

Now, what do I mean by somewhere on the mind? That’s an important question. So, for life to sustain and birds to breed, there is a standard of care that most birds will not participate or cannot participate below. So to be a successful breeder, you must “care” about your bird’s needs to a certain extent. That said, there is “caring” and caring. So we have seen both and we have had to evaluate ourselves over the years to make decisions of who we wanted to be. Admittedly, when we first got into breeding, we made mistakes like most business owners. We scaled higher than we are today and throttled back, realizing if we care more, we get more!

That said, we don’t ever want to come off as judgy or preach wrongdoing. We believe that anyone can make the mistake of not realizing they can improve. In fact it’s our motto here to be better tomorrow than we were today.

We, however, are in a constant spotlight; there is incentive for us to do better week after week. There are eyeballs watching all we do and we don’t ever want to disappoint our community and our followers. NOT the case in the basement of most bird breeders. These guys have the burden of only their own evaluations to determine the level of care they maintain. There is no evaluation from government agencies watching over these guys.

We clean our cages daily, we feed and water daily, we clean our floors daily. We have guests in our facility daily. In the basement of a home, when a person has a full time job, they have other responsibilities; they likely don’t have 15 staff members working all week long to give to their birds. They likely don’t have a veterinarian on site working in the facility weekly to assess birds' conditions.

So…where does that leave these birds, and where will that leave you when you are left with only these breeders as your choice for a bird one day. If facilities like ours are forced to close because they can’t afford to operate without their bird sales, you will quickly find for yourself that buying a bird off Craigslist and or in a Walmart parking lot does not offer the same level of assurances and after care support we have been providing. This company is run by professional Aviculturists. The standard of care, the quarantine rooms, the testing, the veterinarian care being offered in here is unlike anything you will see around the country. We are so proud of what this place is. It’s not something that can easily be duplicated.

Read the full bill here: https://www.opabirds.org/new-york?fbclid=IwY2xjawKhXVRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETE2eFFnd2N2cnZhREt4UU9hAR65n5r_xHxY5FNkwR5EtuJbQGz5zhfsbDWUKTWcCNaVLU0_GIDz43j7uK0Ypw_aem_k7lzimBA7BIs3DL9Auxc4g

There is no secret about it, to mimic what we do would require government funding OR an operation capable of subsidizing all this great innovation somehow. Guys, the bird sales subsidize what we do here. If somehow this has been a secret to anyone, allow me to rip open the veil. When we sell birds, their “income” pays to subsidize so many things that directly affect you. For example, free grooming and free behavioral training for life. We pay the staff to do these functions- they are paid for in that bird sale in hopes that you will continue to support our store by buying food and accessories here for your pets. This entire process sparks from the bird sale and allows us to be here with paid staff readily available to you.

So, where does the overage go? We reinvest. Ever wonder how and why this place looks different each week? No Sal didn’t win the lottery, I wish! What happens is that money is pushed to the side until enough is set aside to do something amazing again. Feel free to compare us to any independent retailer in our state. No one is reinvesting to the level we do, this is because we want to create that state-of-the-art experience. We want to make a resource you can count on and cherish. EPBI, started for myself, it was MY dream; today it’s OUR dream, and so many give back to it in so many ways.

The first give back comes from the birds, if New York takes away from the spark that initiates the economic strategy I’ve set for us to have this place, it will fall like a house of cards. The foundation of any great thing is what keeps things safe and sound. In our world, that’s the birds.

Our brand new enclosures installed this week

Keep in mind that no one person can do the work that we do together here. We have exceeded what I dreamed could be done as a company because I decided I didn’t want to work alone. I have partnered with vendors who give back, staff who care, and professionals like vets who make the large volume of care possible. I urge you to keep that pressure tight with Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal. Let her know that not all bird sales are bad; some have been done ethically and have a great purpose in our community.

Every time this company grooms a bird that was rescued, it’s giving back with a low-cost solution that the adopter has to care for that animal. When we board these birds and care for them with our love and education, we are giving back to that bird in their owners' absence. Make no mistake about this, we groom thousands of birds per year. We are absolutely caring for rescues weekly here. These folks need the support of EPBI and we give it weekly. We have created a symbiotic relationship with our Aviculturists. There will always be people seeking a baby bird to obtain. I know this blows some people's minds. It’s true and there will be people to support those looking. It’s my personal feeling that having a resource like we’ve set here is far better than the alternative.

I believe great intentions were set by attempting to ban bird sales. However, not all pet store bird sales work the same way. We are personally invested in the growth of each bird here. From consignments which we help rehome to clients trying to pair them with loving new homes, to the babies we raise from the ground up. We are needed here and it’s not feasible to think that an operation of this scale can sustain without its current financial foundation. We will continue to educate the community and course correct legislation that is geared to protect animal rights. We want to see folks encouraged to do right by birds with legislation, to shut down monitored facilities like ours will not stop the practice of breeding birds and selling them to consumers, it will only eliminate a great option once available to consumers.