History of the NAWA

When the USDA was forced to regulate birds under the Animal Welfare Act, they informed various bird-keeping organizations of the need for input in drafting the regulations since they had no prior experience with regulating birds. To facilitate a coordinated effort, AFA president, Dr. Benny Gallaway, invited representatives from various avicultural organizations to a meeting in Houston in May, 2003 to establish a group to respond to the USDA's request. As a result, the National Avian Welfare Alliance (NAWA) was formed with representatives from a broad cross-section of bird specialty groups including, bird trainers and avian veterinarians, as well as organizations for keepers of racing pigeons, waterfowl and pheasants, finches, softbills, and parrots. It was decided that NAWA would function as a roundtable between these organizations.

NAWA's proposal to the USDA was carefully crafted to allow for the appropriate regulation of bird facilities, while minimizing the negative impacts that such regulation would have on the keeping of birds.

It is hoped that the working structure of NAWA will form a foundation for a permanent formal organization that will respond to legislative issues and will serve as a means to disseminate information about pending legislation to the broader avicultural community.

Member Organizations

NAWA is composed of expert aviculturists representing distinct and diverse groups within the field. Their perspectives provide the Alliance with a vision which encompasses proper husbandry practices for the widest variety of both birds and facilities.