WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. public should not worry about the safety of birds for the pet trade, according to TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network.
"Questions have arisen about the safety of birds imported for the pet trade," said TRAFFIC director Simon Habel. "But the public should know that birds legally brought into the United States and Canada are subject to a 30-day quarantine period, which is enough time to identify diseased birds before they're cleared for import."
Also, temporary live bird import bans have been put into place from countries experiencing avian flu outbreaks, such as Indonesia and Thailand, said Habel.
"Illegal trade is a greater concern, as there is no way to impose health restrictions on smuggled birds -- millions of wild-caught and captive-bred birds are traded internationally each year through both legal and illegal channels," Habel said. "In light of the outbreak of the HN51 avian flu strain in Asia, we support countries that wish to suspend imports of both wild and captive-bred birds."
