Rhode Island Considers Psittacine Bills

RI bills would spare birds with psittacosis and offer an option to ID bands.

The Rhode Island House and Senate proposed companion bills that would allow psittacine birds, also known as parrots, to be microchipped instead of fitted with an identifying band and permit birds exposed to psittacosis to be treated rather than destroyed.

Current Rhode Island law requires each parrot acquired or sold in the state to be outfitted with closed, metal ID band indentifying the breeder by whom they were bred. The bills, SB 2031 and HB 7137, would allow a microchip to be used in lieu of the band.

Rhode Island law also requires birds infected with psittacosis, also known as avian chlamydiosis, ornithosis or Parrot fever, to be killed and burned. The bills would allow birds exposed to the disease to either be humanely euthanized or treated, at the owner’s expense, according to the most recent “Compendium of Measures To Control Chlamydophila Psittaci Infection Among Humans (Psittacosis) and Pet Birds (Avian Chlamydiosis),” as reviewed by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians.

The Senate version of the bill has been sent to the Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee, while the House bill is currently in the House Committee on Judiciary. Neither bill has been set for committee hearing yet.

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council urged its members to contact legislators in the committees and express support for the bills.