'Renowned veterinarian' and breeder needs cash. 'Divorce forces sale,' auctioneer says
by Pamela Benbow, Best Friends NetworkA prime-time soap, you ask? Sadly, it's not. This compelling story is for real.
It's all about the auction of "600+ unique exotic birds" in Loxahatchee, Florida on June 16.
Susan Clubb, D.V.M., has commissioned Stampler Auctions, Inc., to sell the birds from her breeding facility, Hurricane Aviaries, next Saturday morning. Start time: 9AM, US Central Time. Selling Currency: USD. Internet Fee/Buyer Premium (IF/BP): 20.0%.
If you're not very careful, you just might forget that lives are at stake here!
Just as disturbing as the actual auction in Loxahatchee is the virtual on-line auction that mirrors the real one. The bidding process is made so easy, so distanced from the reality of the scene, that a potential buyer can avoid completely the cages of flesh-and-blood birds.
Rose-Breasted Cockatoos, Blue-Throated Macaws, Hyacinths, Senegals, and Congo Greys.
Green Wings, Scarlets, Peach Faced, Yellow Faced, Plumheads, Gold Capped, Suns.
This rainbow palate of exotic names reads like roll call in the rainforest, the rich treasures of three continents laid out for their buyers' delight.
There is royalty here, too, in these gem-like names: Golden--Queen of Bavaria, Blue and Gold, Blue Crowned, Dusky, Citron Crested, Alexandrine.
But this list of mystery and beauty masks a sad personal story, and beneath the details of what seems like a melodrama, real tragedy lies.
The Breeder's Story At first, the plot seems pretty simple.
"I need the money," breeder Susan Clubb is quoted as saying in an email wire of May 31 from Stampler Auctions, Inc. "Renowned veterinarian and owner of the livestock ...says divorce forces sale," the wire reads.
But who exactly is Susan Clubb, D.V.M.? Her website provides an introduction:
EDUCATION --
B.S. Zoology, Auburn University, 1975 - with honors
D.V.M. Auburn University, 1978
Board Certification-1994- American Board of Veterinary Practitioners-Avian
WORK EXPERIENCE --
Co-owner & Co-founder (with Kevin) of Hurricane Aviaries, a breeding facility for exotic birds and reptiles. 1992 to present
RAINFOREST CLINIC FOR BIRDS & EXOTICS -- Private practice specializing in Avian & Exotics
http://www.cyberparrots.com/susan.htmlSo Susan Clubb is a breeder and a veterinarian. She is also party to a divorce which has forced her into a very unsettling place.
Perhaps the plot is not so simple after all?
Like everyone who sells "livestock," Dr. Clubb will auction her birds to make some money. Her divorce and ensuing financial troubles have, by her own admission, driven this decision. Her letter answering the critics of the sale is compelling. It is with a heavy heart, we read, that Dr. Clubb has consigned her beloved birds to the auction block.
Lives of 600 birds are up for grabsBut back to the birds and the auction...
This photo is an auction bill advertising the June 16 sale of exotic birds in Loxahatchee, Florida. Parrots dominate the list--macaws, cockatoos, cockatiels, conures--but there are tortoises for sale too, species native to southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The text accompanying the auction notice labels the parrots "livestock," a use of the term which conjures up cattle in stalls and pigs in the crates of our nation's factory farms.
Unlike most livestock, these parrots were not born to be eaten. Most of these brilliant and intelligent birds were, in fact, born to breed.
In the auction literature, Harry Stampler, President of Stampler Auctions, Inc., calls the birds "great producers." His enthusiasm for the sale is clear in the language of his text:
"Add in 60 pairs of never seen color mutation Quakers and Conures and this collection is the finest to ever be auctioned."
"A large number of these birds can be exported." [Now there's an idea!]
"This is our fifth bird auction in the last few years. Breeders, buyers and sellers now follow our auctions."
"The June 16th event is clearly the best yet. The birds are beautiful, healthy and great producers. Susan Clubb is well-respected. Everyone knows some species of birds being auctioned in Loxahatchee have never been sold before."
The North Carolina Auction on March 31Nowhere, of course, is there any hint about the real tragedy about to befall many of these birds: lives spent in breeding trailers, "owners" who know little about the care of birds.
Wendy Waas, president of Ziggy’s Haven, a bird sanctuary in Florida, attended another Stampler auction on March 31. It was the close-out sale for Beech's Birds Nest Farm in North Carolina. Wendy reported this disturbing sight:
“There were over 25 semi trailers—a true Factory Parrot Mill. And the sad part is that there are thousands more across the country just like this one. When does it end for the parrots? When will they be allowed simple enrichments such as fresh branches to chew or nuts to eat? When will they be allowed the freedoms of something larger than a 4x4 wired enclosure attached to a semi trailer that contains another 4x3 wire enclosure and a nest box. Semi trailer after semi trailer was packed to the gills with small cages and hundreds of birds.”
The Birds ThemselvesNow let's take a look at several of the parrots who will be sold to the highest bidder on June 16. Dr. Clubb insists that she loves her birds, but for many, it is hard going to read these terse descriptions, the telling details of individual lives that will land on the auction block.
Lot 163: Double Yellow Head - Female - Proven; mate sold because very old - exc cond - US Sales
Lot 114: Sun Conure - Male - Excellent breeder; hen died of egg binding - exc cond - cb-01 - exportable
Lot 133: Quaker - Proven- Produce blue; all greens spl it to blue; - M-cb-04-chews wings & tail-green sp blue; sp lut? / F-cb-04-exc cond-blue - exportable
Lot 134: Golden Conure - Male - missing 1 foot - cb-91 - FL only
Lot 141: Double Yellow Head - Proven female; mate died a few years ago - exc cond - think cb-est-95 - US Sales
Since the majority of the birds are "breeders," many parrots will be sold as breeding pairs. In fact, Stampler Auctions, in a promotion for their North Carolina sale of 500 birds, referred to the unlucky parrots as "little factories."
Deja vu all over againThis spring, Rick Van Tuyl of Feathered Friends (Best Friends) wrote about the ad for that auction in North Carolina, which Wendy Waas attended on March 31.
"It can be disturbing," writes Rick, "to see an ad like this. It can be frustrating too, because there is a sense of powerlessness about what to do. When people view birds as a commodity rather then living breathing beings, the bird’s standard of care is often compromised. Even if the birds in this breeding facility are well provided for, their care can no longer be assured when they are sold in this manner. There seems to be a lack of compassion and appreciation when a breeder sells their birds this way...As long as people view animals and birds as 'money-makers,' their value will be in dollar signs. If only they could see their real value."
Readers, disturbed by the March 31 sale of these highly intelligent and sensitive beings, wrote letters to Harry Stampler. Here is Mr. Stampler's response to those readers:
Obviously, you have your mind made up and I will not try to change it. These birds will be sold in pairs, as applicable. No one is splitting mates. They are, have been and will be money-makers. It may not be right, but it happens with veal, chickens and even roses...they are grown or raised to sell. Someone makes money off of them.
I have four children, all in private school. I need to conduct auctions like this to survive. If not Stampler, then another auction firm will help Bob Beech move on with whatever remains in his life. These birds are not mistreated and contrary to that probably treated better than ever due to the fact that they have the potential to produce revenues for years.
Comparisons to slave-trading border are far out. I appreciate your passion and wish you well on your mission. These birds will be sold to the highest bidder and if that bidder chooses to let the birds fly free or to keep them as non-producing singles, that is the buyers prerogative.
Sincerely,
Harry Stampler, President
Stampler Auctions We have arrived at the end of this chapter of the story. The next will be written in Florida on June 16. But it seems that once again, it has come down to this: The end justifies the means, and money trumps the value of living souls.
Perhaps the story is simple after all.
Photos: Stampler Auctions, Inc./Bidspotter.com Top: Sun Conure. Embedded: Auction Notice; Sun Conure; Double Yellow Head.
Photo: http://www.cyberparrots.com/susan.html
Susan Clubb, D.V.M.
What You Can DoAs an animal lover, you can familiarize yourself with live parrot/bird auctions by visiting the online auction house which Stampler uses. Look at the birds.
http://www.bidspotter.com/forms/event.php?event=4362Adopt a Rescued Bird.
http://www.birdadoption.org/groups.htmLearn about parrots and other birds on the Ziggy's Haven website:
http://www.ziggyshaven.com/index.htmlEducate yourself by checking out an actual breeder:
http://www.cyberparrots.com/susan.htmlRead Kelli Ohrtman's informative article at the Parrot Sensibility Community of the Best Friends Network:
http://network.bestfriends.org/parrots/news/13579.htmlRead Rick Van Tuyl's post on the Best Friends parrot community:
http://network.bestfriends.org/parrots/news/12753.html