Essential reading for those that care about parrots
Our review» of The Tacoma News Tribune's November 9, 2008 article on Mira Tweti, bringing us back to the situation in Pierce County, WA.
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Alex is the proof: Parrots deserve protection
with Tacoma News Tribune reader's comments. Our followup and commentary» to the August 21, 2007 Pierce County Council meeting in the light of the lessons we should all learn from Alex's life and untimely passing. |
Hopes…and Lives, Lost
A new witness account» of conditions observed at
the Scudders' breeding facility. |
| OverviewChronologyNews ArticlesDocumentsCourt CaseNecropsy ReportsFeeding Time
Basic Chronology of Events
The editors recognize that this website contains much information to read and digest.
We hope that our "Home" and "Overview" pages give a good idea of the whos, whats, wheres, whys.
There’s limited information on those pages, however, on the whens. With that in mind, we’ve
put together a brief chronology of events to the best of our ability based on the documentation
and witness statements at our disposal. This is merely a snapshot of the sequence of events;
we invite you to read all of the documentation for a clear picture.
| Date | Event
| | | Complaint about Cripple Creek Aviary (then in Roy, WA) filed with Pierce County Humane Society (PCHS)
| | | Complaint filed about Scudder Aviary (Roy, WA)
| | Late 2002 | Visit by two members of Progressive Animal Welfare Society (Lynwood, WA)
| | | Limited search by Pierce County Humane Society (PCHS)
| | January, 2003 | Inspection of Scudder Aviary by Dr. T. Bennett (Avian-certified Veterinarian)
| | March 7, 2003 | Dr. T. Bennett faxes report with suggestions for improvements at Scudder Aviary
| | March 12, 2003 | Wally Hall, PCHS, writes to M. Scudder, concerning Dr. Bennett's "explicit" recommendations, requiring "improvements in the birds' housing, diet, medical care, water as well as reducing the population of your aviary to fewer than 100 birds." A "timeline of May 31, 2003" is indicated, along with written progress reports every 2 weeks.
| | March 24, 2003 | M. Scudder indicates in her response letter to Wallace Hall that only "several" of the "recommendations" will be followed and questioning his authority in the process.
| | April, 2003 | At the request of PCHS, Dr. Bennett confirms that conditions at Scudder farm amount to animal cruelty
| | June 12, 2003 | PCHS finally carries out follow-up inspection
| | Fall, 2003 | L. Gallawa expresses increasing outrage over internet at conditions at Scudder farm and inaction of PCHS
| | September 4, 2003 | Meeting of L. Gallawa, S. Metz, R. Ward with Rep. S. Bunney. Pierce County Council
| | October 16, 2003 | Quarantine of Bird Cage Pet Store, Federal Way, Wa, due to chlamydiosis ("psittacosis") in several birds, as confirmed by Sharon G. Hopkins, DVM, MPH (Public Heath—Seattle and King County; document can be viewed under “Evidence” in Documents tab)
| | December 30, 2003 | Genitee Flanagan, owner of the Bird Cage, confirms in an e-mail to Mr. Gallawa that she bought a bird from the M. Scudder bird farm which died of chlamydiosis (12-30-2003; included on this site in the “Evidence” file under the Documents tab).
| | January, 2004 | Psittacine deaths at Elron Aviary [Binning Farm]
| | February 24, 2004 | First Pierce County Council Meeting regarding aviary licensing ordinance
| | March 2, 2004 | Mr. Gallawa is sued by Martha Scudder for defamation and loss of income
| | August 25, 2005 | Mr. Gallawa wins a Summary Judgment against Martha Scudder in court
| | December 18, 2005 | Tacoma News-Tribune publishes "Parrots in Peril", the first in a series of articles on this issue
| | February 14, 2006 | Second Pierce County Council Meeting to discuss ordinance. The issue is again tabled.
| | March 8, 2006 | Frankie Davidson files complaint about inadequate shelter provided to birds in an outdoor structure at Scudder Parrot Depot
| | June, 2006 | Information updated to PARROTPROTECTION.ORG to be ready for publication; more documentation exists
| | June, 2006 | Scudder’s Parrot Pantry "MS Diet" (the mixes they currently advertise on their website as what they "feed on the farm") received by editors and analyzed by an independent laboratory. See detailed results under "Feeding Time at Scudder's Parrot Depot" (see Feeding Time tab)
| | July, 2006 | Witness statement of alarming conditions at Parrot Depot obtained (an Editor conducts interview with witness who stepped forward to report conditions and comments they had personally observed)
| | July, 2006 | Inaugural Launch of PARROTPROTECTION.ORG
| | July 24, 2006 | Councilwoman Barbara Gelman held a meeting to discuss possible amendments to aviary licensing Ordinance 2006-81. In addition to expected attendees, Councilman Dick Muri showed up with Bob Vincent (See “Taking the Moral Low Road on the Pierce County Council” [here»]). No decisions were made regarding amendments.
| | August 7, 2006 | An article in the Tacoma News-Tribune reports that Councilman Terry Lee joined Council members Gelman and Farrell in sponsoring aviary licensing Ordinance 2006-81 (See News Articles-“County to hear bird law plans”).
| | August 8, 2006 | Third public Council meeting to discuss the Ordinance for aviary licensing, with the critical difference that this time in addition Muri proposed Ordinance 2006-82 to instead form an Aviculture Advisory Commission. Despite the fact that more members of the public spoke in favor of the aviary licensing Ordinance, it was given a “Do not Pass” recommendation to go before the vote of the full Council (See "Taking the Moral Low Road on the Pierce County Council" [here»]).
| | September, 2006 | Test results of second batch of MS Diet received from an independent laboratory confirm observations that legitimate concerns existed with this feed. For results and discussion, see "Feeding Time" [here»].
| | October 2, 2006 | Larry Gallawa, who first recognized, and acted upon, the desperate need for legal protections for parrots in Pierce County (and others), passed away without seeing his dream of having those protections enacted. Read his eulogy [here»].
| | October 10, 2006 | Public council meeting to vote on ordinance 2006-81 (Aviary Licensing; sponsored by Barbara Gelman ) and 2006-82 (Aviculture Advisory Commission; co-sponsored by Dick Muri and Roger Bush ). Despite strong public support for the Aviary Licensing Ordinance, it was voted down, as predicted, and Muri's Advisory Commission was passed on a 4-3 vote with Gelman, Farrell, and Goings voting against Muri's ordinance.
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We will be adding events and materials as information is available.
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