The City Council will reintroduce a bill banning the sale of birds at pet stores across New York after a fledgling attempt last year didn’t get off the ground.
Councilmember Harvey Epstein, a Democrat from Manhattan, will introduce the bill that would prohibit the sale of some birds in pet shops. These include non-poultry birds like parrots, cockatiels, finches, parakeets, and macaws.
“Far too many birds sold in New York City pet stores come from out-of-state bird mills: massive commercial breeding facilities where thousands of birds are confined to cages and treated like inventory instead of living beings,” Epstein said in a statement.
“It is time to end the pipeline from bird mills to pet stores and better protect birds from a lifetime of captivity,” he said.
The law would apply only to pet stores. Poultry shops can still sell live chickens, turkey, and other fowl.
Allie Taylor, from Voters for Animal Rights, said birds sold in stores are “highly intelligent, social tropical animals meant to soar through open skies, not spend decades confined to cages and sold as impulse purchases.”
The bill was first introduced last year by former City Councilmember Diana Ayala, but it was never brought to a vote. A similar bill introduced in the state assembly last year sought to ban the sale of birds statewide, but it hasn’t taken flight.
In 2023, the Council banned the sale of guinea pigs at pet stores, as the city’s shelters were overrun with the pets, surrendered by owners who couldn’t care for them.
The bird bill’s introduction last year ruffled the feathers of pet shop owners around the city, who said it would hurt business and customers.
“What’s gonna happen to the average old Joe Schmo when he’s eagerly looking for a bird? They’re gonna end up spending $100, $150 for a parakeet versus the $50 that they’re spending right now, which doesn’t make sense,” Queron Romain, a bird breeder who also works at a Wonder Pets Corp. in Brooklyn, told THE CITY.
“You’re only making pet stores work harder to stay open,” he said. “If you take out the birds, it’s only gonna be fish. Literally, there’s nothing else to buy.”
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