Initiative seeks to ban retail sale of commercially bred birds

A proposed ballot initiative would ask Lemon Grove residents if the retail sale of commercially bred birds should be banned.

Led by a local group of animal rights activists, the initiative would extend current state law — which applies to dogs, cats and rabbits — to forbid bird sales in Lemon Grove unless they were obtained from an animal shelter or rescue.

“It’s a common-sense extension of the current law,” said Amit Dhuleshia, a San Diego-based animal rights advocate and proponent of the initiative. “Birds and other small animals got left behind in the original ordinance.”

The proposal would specifically place limitations on the sale of “companion” birds, such as parrots, parakeets, cockatiels and doves. It would not include poultry or birds kept for backyard flock purposes, such as chickens, ducks, geese or turkeys.

Birds that are bred for commercial sale are often kept in “bird mills,” Dhuleshia said. He described the mills as similar to puppy mills; cages are stacked and birds are kept in cramped wire cages.

After companion birds are bred, they are sold in pet stores where individuals often purchase them without realizing “how complex the animals are,” Dhuleshia said.

“Right now there is a huge problem of people returning parrots and other birds,” he said. “The shelters are over capacity… some rescues have to turn birds down.”

The initiative specifically targets pet store sales, so private breeders would be exempt. The ...