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September 5, 2001 - Update

Things are going well with new members and contributions coming in everyday. We thank all of you who have recognized the need for this organization and taken the lead by becoming a member.

We have hired a lobbyist, Stephen Boynton, an attorney in Washington, DC. Steve is actively pursuing legislative action using language that will meet the needs of our industry.

The grassroots support from around the country has been very influential in gaining the attention of our senators and congressional representatives. Your faxes, phone calls, and letters have had a great impact on both the congress and the Post Office. Mr. Paul Vogel, V.P. of Transportation of the USPS stated that there had not been this much attention to a postal issue in several years. Thank you.

It is obvious that the animal rights coalitions will become more active in our fight. It is very important to recognize their strength but also realize that these folks are at best, less than 3% of the population and rather radical in their beliefs and actions. Respect them but do not be afraid of them. Our grassroots support for legislation regarding live animal air shipments far exceeds any influence the animal rights folks may have in trying to influence Congress.

As of Friday August 30th, through a conference call with the USPS, it was confirmed that Northwest Air would not continue to take day-old poultry as of September 1st. In addition to this, the post office issued a list of cities from which birds could not be shipped. The Post Office letter and list is printed below:

TEMPORARY EMBARGO ON ACCEPTANCE OF LIVE ANIMALS FOR MAILING, INCLUDING DAY-OLD POULTRY

Pursuant to DMM C022.3.11, the USPS does not accept any shipment of live animals that the USPS reasonably believes cannot reach its destination in a viable condition.

Northwest Airlines has announced that effective Saturday, September 1, 2001, it will no longer carry live animals as mail. Consequently, shipments of live animals, including day-old poultry, should not be accepted for mailing in areas which relied upon Northwest for air transportation of such shipments.

The following airports are temporarily unavailable for live animal shipments. Therefore, acceptance personnel that use these airports as primary dispatch points are temporarily embargoed from accepting live animals. If a shipper is entering mail at an AMF/AMC serviced by an airport on this list, AMF/AMC management is authorized to accept live animals to the extent airlift capacity is available.

ALBANY AMF
ANCHORAGE AMF
BIRMINGHAM AMF
BOISE AMF
CEDAR RAPIDS AMF
COLUMBUS AMF
DALLAS AMC
DENVER AMC
DES MOINES AMF
DETROIT AMC
GRAND RAPIDS AMF
HONOLULU AMF
KANSAS CITY AMC
LAS VEGAS AMC
LITTLE ROCK AMF
MEMPHIS AMC
MILWAUKEE AMC
NEW ORLEANS AMC
NORFOLK AMF

(ALB)
(ANC)
(BHM)
(BOI)
(CID)
(CMH)
(DFW)
(DEN)
(DSM)
(DTW)
(GRR)
(HNL)
(MCI)
(LAS)
(LIT)
(MEM)
(MKE)
(MSY)
(ORF)
   OAKLAND AMF
OKLA. CITY AMF
OMAHA AMF
ONTARIO AMF
PHOENIX AMC
RENO AMF
SACRAMENTO AMF
SAN ANTONIO AMF
SAN DIEGO AMF
SAN FRAN. AMC
SAN JUAN AMF
SEATTLE AMC
SPOKANE AMF
ST LOUIS AMC
TULSA AMF
TWIN CITIES AMC
W. PALM BCH. AMF
WICHITA AMF
WORLDWAY AMC
(OAK)
(OKC)
(OMA)
(ONT)
(PHX)
(RNO)
(SMF)
(SAT)
(SAN)
(SFO)
(SJU)
(SEA)
(GEG)
(STL)
(TUL)
(MSP)
(PBI)
(ICT)
(LAX)

Posted by mcmurray at September 5, 2001 08:51 AM