NPIP fees going up in Michigan

[Dennis Heltzel]

It really seems like this is an issue all their member could agree on (unlike much of the contentious topics I always hear about). In a previous hobby (tropical fish) we depended on PIJAC, an organization that advocated for pet stores and fish farms, to stop (or at least blunt) regulations about possessing animals that were endangered, even if captive bred. Ironically, once a fish was declared extinct in the wild, it became much easier to get permission to keep in our tanks -- many of the fish you see in a pet store exist no longer in their original habitat. Don't even think about asking to keep a colony of Desert Hole Pupfish, though I have friends that had them in their tanks in the 70's and said they were fairly easy to keep and breed. It serves the government's purpose to not have too many in captivity, and if they released even a pair and made them legal to posess, I expect there would be literally 1000's in tanks within a few years.

PIJAC would be a great model for the fancy poultry organizations to follow. They are well respected as a voice of reason in the political sphere.

[Suki]

It really seems like this is an issue all their members could agree on (unlike much of the contentious topics I always hear about).

I don't agree Dennis.  The NPIP is part of President Roosevelts great expansion of the FDA duringthe Depression and as from what I can tell the APA and the ABA are made of left wing progressives who totally support federal expansionism in the guise of chook safety.  I think it's a heinous law that needs to be revoked.  While the fees in Pennsy are cheap, I have to drive 2.5 hours each way to deposit the samples, and that's not including the gas + the tolls and that's at least twice a year.  Now with the Pennsy rules of 30 days before showtime...well you get the pix.

[Dennis Heltzel]

I suppose the difference is that PIJAC is setup to serve pet shops and fish farmers alike. There is as profit motive to make pet keeping as easy and universal as possible. I get the sense that NPIP is wielded as a weapon to keep "the club" of people authorized to sell poultry as small as possible.

I agree that it is a program that has far outlived its purpose, as all government programs are inclined to do because the people they employ would like to stay employed (and maybe even relevant).

[Suki]

I agree that it is a program that has far outlived its purpose, as all government programs are inclined to do because the people they employ would like to stay employed (and maybe even relevant).

It's easy pickings for sure.