Alert

Poultry Shipping Crisis Puts
Small Flocks' Futures at Peril

For decades, the U.S. Postal Service has been a mainstay of the small flock poultry world. Anyone wanting to ship or receive birds has been able to do so in a dependable and economical way.

Recent events put this long-standing relationship at peril. While the post office hasn't changed the mailing status of poultry, they have recently entered into contracts with Fed-Ex who by policy will not ship live birds. Northwest, another major air mail carrier has also announced that they will not continue to ship live birds. That leaves only three carriers that can help fulfil the Post Office's obligation to ship birds. That additional pressure and the airline industries trend means that there could soon be no practical way to ship live poultry.

The Post Office is obligated to ship the mail which includes live birds. They have a responsibility to require that the companies which they contract with meet these obligations. If a company wants to carry the mail, they should carry all of the mail, not select which pieces they will and won't deal with. Interestingly, several of the carriers that have dropped carrying birds by mail will still carry birds as air freight at much higher prices. If the post office will not live up to its obligation, we feel that legislative action is required to ensure that Post office does meet the ongoing needs of the U.S. citizenship.

This impacts everyone who buys and sells birds by mail - hatcheries, small farmers, 4Hers and FFA members, hobbyists, feed stores, schools, zoos and research centers. If you're reading this alert, it probably impacts you!

Please take a moment and send a letter to your Legislative Representatives and help preserve small flock poultry before it's too late!

Contacting The Congress

Note: the site listed above is not affiliated with or endorsed by Strombergs - it appears to be a useful tool n contacting your legislative representatives