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Introduction of Legislation to Require Air
Carriers to accept as Mail Shipments of Certain Live Animals (S. 2395).
On March 9, 2006, Senator Grassley introduced legislation that would amend the
law regarding Postal Service contracts to require that any air carrier with
such a contract that carries any live animals as cargo, must also carry live
animals as mail. The law also would require an air carrier to ship such live
animals in a temperature range of 0 degrees Fahrenheit to 100 degrees
Fahrenheit and would require carriers to transfer such shipments so that the
shipper is guaranteed that the shipment will reach its ultimate destination.
Be sure to lend your support for this legislation.
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- Pigeons from the approved countries of the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom and France, and pet birds (from New Zealand only), are the
only live birds that can be imported into Australia.
- To be eligible for export to Australia, pigeons must be captive bred and
resident in the source flock for six months prior to pre-export quarantine (PEQ).
Birds must also be permanently identified by leg bands or microchips.
- PEQ of 55 days must be undertaken in a facility approved by the
appropriate authority in the exporting country. Birds are held in isolation,
treated for parasites and tested for salmonella, avian influenza, Newcastle
disease, eastern equine encephalomyelitis, West Nile virus and paramyxovirus.
- Imported pigeons undergo 35 days post-arrival quarantine (PAQ) at AQIS’s
high-security avian facility in Melbourne.
- During PAQ the birds undergo further testing.
- Disease-free sentinel chickens are located with the flock: these birds
are highly susceptible to disease, and would become clinically ill if there
were viruses circulating in the imported population. Sentinel birds are also
tested for disease.
- Australia imported 363 pigeons in 2004 and 455 pigeons in 2005.
- Pet birds are permitted from New Zealand because NZ is free from bird
diseases of concern to Australia. Only household pet birds whose owners are
moving from New Zealand to take up residency in Australia are eligible.
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