"Douglas" wrote in message news:...

"Malcolm" wrote in message
...
Where is the RSPB when you need it? They seem to have adopted a
strategy of silence on bird protection. Nothing from the RSPB over
millions of game birds being slaughtered each year, no surprise really
when you consider the RSPB actually have hunting partners, and run so
called reserves WITH these hunting partners. Nothing from the RSPB
when bird fairs are selling rare species? It would seem in the eyes of
the RSPB the phrase "Royal Society for the Protection of Birds" is
highly selective, in fact so selective the world is seeing the
greatest destruction of birds ever known, not to mention habitat.

Thank god wildlife still has impartial charities who are not simply
offering lip service.

This was found at the excellent Animal Aid website.


http://www.animalaid.org.uk/news/2004/0406fair.htm

Bird fair on the run


The UK's largest wild bird market is now scheduled to take place in
December 2004 at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire. After 25 years of
holding this market at Birmingham's NEC, the organisers have been
forced to look elsewhere.

A major joint investigation of the wild bird trade, conducted by the
Environmental Investigation Agency, RSPCA and the RSPB, demonstrated
that for every bird who survived the brutal capture and transportation
process, a further three would have died. This means that hundreds of
thousands of birds were snatched from their natural habitat for this
one bird market alone, with three-quarters of them dying en route.

Exotic birds are either captured in flight by nets, trapped in baited
cages or stuck to the branches of trees with sticky 'bird lime'. They
may then spend weeks being transported between dealers and months
waiting in a cage before being shipped by air to their country of
destination. Fifty percent die between capture and transport. After
habitat destruction, collection of birds for the pet trade is the
biggest factor in species decline.


Sadly their plight does not improve once they reach the bird market.
Here they are often kept in cages that are overcrowded or too small.
Small groups of parrots are seen huddled together - obviously
petrified by their experience. Wild-caught birds are especially
frightened of humans and will view people as predators. They will feel
trapped, vulnerable and terrified at these events.

These one-day bird fairs also breach the Pet Animals Act, 1951, which
prohibits the carrying on of a business of selling pet animals in a
public place. If Warwick District Council allows this event at
Stoneleigh Park to take place they will have failed in their duty to
uphold the law.

Please write to the Council and remind them of their legal
responsibility to prohibit this event. See the sample letter in the
action alerts section.
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/news/alerts.htm

Please also collect signatures for our petition from friends, family
and work colleagues and return completed forms to us.
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/pets/birdspetition.pdf


Together, we can stop this cruel market and crack down on the illegal
wildlife trade.

Our recently published report on the 2003 event - From Jungle to
Jumble
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/pets/jumble.htm

- recommends that Solihull MBC commence prosecutions for violations
of the Pet Animals Act.
Photo credit: EIA


For more information, and to find out what else you can do to help
with this campaign, see the Ban the Bird Market index.
Photo credit:EIA
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/campaign/sport/necbird.htm

******

Don't talk to me about the R.S.P.B.
400 hundred foreigners - many from China have invaded the shores of
Morecambe Bay and denuded the vast beaches of hundreds of thousands of
cockles for transport and sale in Spain Portugal etc.
20 Chinese - Being paid peanuts by our standards but riches in their own
currency were drowned by the rip-tides in one night. No-one has been
brought to justice.
Instead of vast sweeping flocks of oyster-catchers, seagulls, ducks flying
and wheeling overhead
the skies and sands are bare and people are saying that the fishing is
also
now in poor shape.

Two years go the beach mussel beds were raped and destroyed by vehicles,
and
thousands of tons of mussels shipped to Holland.
Nobody can stop the perpetrators. They have licences.
Finally the beds have been "fished out " and notices have been posted
banning the taking of cockles on the Barrow Coast road beaches.
So what has happened??. The whole four or five hundred of the foreign
rapists have moved into the Askam Bay beaches where the only access road
to
this Bay is a narrow one and the Sandhills nurture the very rare
Natterjack
Toads.
The Police and Authorities have published a warning to the Public to keep
clear of this area so as to give free uninterrupted access by the cocklers
big heavy lorries which will block the parking spaces which were provided
for and paid for by the Public. Did you ever hear of such insolent, -
nay,
impertinent arrogance. Where are the Freedoms we fought and died for?.
Both the Morecambe Bay Coast road and the Askam bay sand-dunes and
beaches
are the playgrounds of the Furness Peninsular folk, especially in summer.
And, despite protests and anger, - what do we hear from the *ROYAL* (!,)
Society for the Protection of Birds??.
NOT A DICKYBIRD!!.
It won't be long before the marauders are marching up our fields and
loading
their lorries up with sheep.
Our mighty Nation, which for over two hundred years ruled much of the
planet
wisely, is now a Third-Rate Nation, Why is this?
It is because its People have gradually but completely lost their spunk.
Doug.