Caiques and Hawaii

[Rick]

We're planning to retire to Hawaii in about a year, and the only
major roadblock to the move is that Hawaii does not allow
caiques to be imported. So we're faced with either splitting up
our family or finding somewhere else to retire to.

My roommate had a bright idea for a third solution -- lobby
Hawaii's government to change their current law. The reason
cited to us for the ban on caiques is that they pose a potential
agricultural threat to the state. But no one's been able to explain
why they allow far greater threats (such as cockatiels, sulpher
cresteds etc) without any restrictions. Our caique, as is common
with this species is so heavy for its size that it literally cannot fly
more than 10-15 feet at a time, even when unclipped. One could
easily walk faster than it can fly! And they're supposedly a threat
to agriculture?!

The responses we've received from Hawaii's DOA have been
from Domingo Cravalho Jr., who is an "Invertebrate and Aquatic
Biota Specialist / Interim Land Vertebrates Specialist". With all due
respect to Mr. Cravalho, the simple fact is he's not a bird specialist.

Anyway, we're soliciting ideas on how else to approach this problem,
and how to garner some kind of public support for this change in
Hawaii's law. Caiques are becoming more popular every year and
we're hoping public demand to allow their importation into Hawaii
continues to increase.

Thanks to all,

Rick

[txsa...@gmail.com]

Hi I see this post is over 10 years old, but I am in the same situation & wondering how far you got in your quest. I would like to move to Hawaii but have two caiques that I will not leave behind.

Thanks,
Donna