Quaker Parrots & Monk Parakeets in the New York Metro Area
Please sign this on-line petition regarding pending
NY City and NY State legislation to protect wild Quaker parakeets. You need
not be a resident of NYC to support the City Council Resolution, all are
welcome to sign. Please spread this information to members of your
association, society, or club where appropriate. Thank you.
Barry & Gayle Schwartz
Feathered Friends Parrot Adoption Services, Inc.
(formerly Maspeth Bird Haven, Inc.)
Maspeth, NY
This update came to me via email yesterday:
It is now official: The Bill to protect Quakers in NYS has now been picked up by Assemblywoman Rosenthal and introduced in the State Assembly, assigned as Bill A.7688. We now have a full-fledged Bill in consideration by both houses of the NYS Legislature.
Now, please spread the word and write your local Assembly Member to support the Bill!! – Barry Schwartz
The following post just came to me via email today. This bill seeks to include wild parrots as part of the law on protected species. In other news, regarding getting Resolution 1872 submitted to the Environmental Protection Committee, Council Member Avella would encourage concerned citizens and groups to send letters to the Speaker and the Committee Chair, Council Member James Gennaro, asking them to place the resolution on the Committee’s upcoming hearing agenda as soon as possible.
STATUS:
S4131 ADDABBO No Same as
Environmental Conservation Law
TITLE….Makes psittacine birds, especially Monk (Quaker) Parakeets, protected birds
04/14/09 REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
SUMMARY:
Bill Summary Information Not Found
BILL TEXT:
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4131
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 14, 2009
___________
Introduced by Sen. ADDABBO — read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
making psittacine birds, especially Monk (Quaker) Parakeets, protected
birds
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 5 of section 11-0103 of the
2 environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 47 of the laws of
3 1976, is amended to read as follows:
4 a. “Unprotected wild birds” means the English sparrow and starling,
5 and also includes pigeons [and psittacine birds] existing in a wild
6 state, not domesticated.
7 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION–Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10619-02-9
SPONSORS MEMO:
NEW YORK STATE SENATE
INTRODUCER’S MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT
submitted in accordance with Senate Rule VI. Sec 1
BILL NUMBER: S4131
SPONSOR: ADDABBO
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
making psittacine birds, especially Monk (Quaker) Parakeets, protected
birds
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would protect Monk (Quaker) parakeets and psittacine birds.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Amending paragraph A of subdivision 5 of section 11-0103 of the Environ-
mental Conservation Law, as amended by chapter 47 of the laws of 1976,
to read that the English sparrow, starling, pigeons and psittacine birds
be protected in New York State.
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, wild Quaker Parakeets (a/k/a Monk Parakeets, species Myiop-
sitta monachus), are unprotected in New York State. As these highly
intelligent birds have resided in the New York City area for some fourty
years, it is requested that they be placed in “Protected” status by
amending the New York State Environmental Conservation Laws.
Quaker parakeets are not harmful to the environment, have not displaced
and been a threat to any native species, and have not been proven to
cause damage to any public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
From Barry Schwartz, Geologist at the NYC Bureau of Environmental & Geotechnical Services:
“According to the office of NYC Councilman Tony Avella, the Resolution regarding protecting Quaker parrots in NYC is due to be introduced at the next council meeting on March 24, 2009. I have draft copy of the finalized resolution–the officially introduced resolution, barring any problems, will be made publicly available on the NYC Council’s website some time after March 25th. After introduction, it will more than likely be sent to Committee (probably Environmental) for further consideration.
At that point, there will probably be a period allotted for public hearing/comments, and we will need all the support possible to get this resolution then passed.
I’ve been sheparding this with Council member Avella since last year, and it is really great to see this idea turn into a proposed legislation. I am still waiting to hear back from NY State Sen. Addabbo’s office on the more detailed proposed legislation for the State Legislature to consider (changing the designation of Quakers from unprotected to protected, and changing the NYS General Business Laws and the Agriculture & Markets Laws regarding the sale of birds in NY State).”
A very fun site to fool around with, upload all sorts of photos and quickly post, copy the code and/or email: Loonapix.com
Submitted on behalf of Donna Dwyer of CTQuakers.
Hello Friends,
As many of you know Friends of Animals initiated a lawsuit back in 2005 to stop the capture and killing of the Monk/Quaker Parakeets here in CT. That lawsuit is coming to trial on May 21, 2008 at 9am. It would help the Parrots if as many bird enthusiasts and Monk supporters as possible could come out for the opening of trial as a show of support. I am asking you all to please consider coming to the New Haven Courthouse on May 21, 2008. It would mean a great deal to me and more importantly to the birds.
It’s important, I believe, to keep an eye on what neighboring states are doing regarding the parrots; in particular, Connecticut and New Jersey. Donna Dwyer, a staunch parrot protector in Connecticut reports a troubling development. She states:
Once again United Illuminating is choosing to deal with CT’s Parrots in an inhumane fashion. We understand that large nests on the poles are an issue for the company and we agree that regular maintenance of the nests is necessary. This maintenance can be timed with humanity and a desire to clear the poles without killing any birds. Nest removal during the daytime when there are no eggs or young in the nests does not cause loss of life. The adult parrots can simply fly away and rebuild the nests later. Not so for the babies who have not yet fledged or the embryos inside the eggs.
We have repeatedly asked United Illuminating to schedule nest removal for March before breeding season begins and late September after it is over and the young have fledged. United Illuminating is well aware that the breeding season begins in April. Al Carbone, their spokesman, during an interview with the New Haven Independent for an article written by Allan Appel in October of 2007 is quoted as saying,
“…but we’ve learned that during the breeding season, which is about April to September to leave the nests alone, because it’s wasted work. They rebuild, as I say, almost immediately.” Now that it’s April and nest removal is scheduled this week Carbone is saying that breeding season doesn’t begin until May. Nest removal now means eggs containing embryos with be thrown to the ground and destroyed.
This is cruel and inhumane. Those of us that care about the humane treatment of all living creatures must speak out against this outrage.
I urge you to make your feelings known to United Illuminating, Al Carbone can be reached at 203- 499-2247 albert.carbone@uinet.com
CEO James P Torgerson James.torgerson@uinet.com
This can be prevented by not removing nests during breeding season April- September!!
If you have any questions or comments regarding this or would like more information on wild parrots in Connecticut, Donna’s website is CTQuakers.
View actual footage posted on YouTube of a wild parrot rescue and relocation effort by the Animal Care & Control Center of New York City. The Related Sites section of this blog has links to more YouTube videos as well as photos on flickr for wild parrots in the Long Island, NY area.
