Saint Vincent Parrot Consortium Meeting Report by DAVID WOOLCOCK St
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Saint Vincent Parrot Consortium Meeting Report by DAVID WOOLCOCK St. Vincent Parrots The International Captive Breeding Consortium for the Saint Vincent Parrot, Amazona guildingii, was programme in Saint Lucia. The established in the early 1980’s to assist the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in managing the Saint Lucia trails provide a good worldwide captive population of these birds. The breeding programme is intended to maintain a managed source of revenue for the Forestry captive reservoir of Amazona guildingii that could supply birds for reintroduction if needed in the future. Department there and a large The Consortium provides support and assistance for the management of both the captive and wild populations percentage of the funds raised go of the species and its habitat on the island of Saint Vincent. The Consortium also recognises that all Saint directly back into the field Vincent Parrots, regardless of where they reside are, and should be, the property of the Government of Saint conservation work. Vincent and the Grenadines. The last part of the meeting dealt with the functioning of the A meeting of the Saint Vincent of marijuana deep in the forest studbook but to, in preference, consortium and the roles and Parrot Consortium was held at the which is encroaching upon the participate fully within the responsibilities of individuals. Villa Lodge Hotel Saint Vincent. I birds habitat. The Forestry consortium framework. Donald F. Bruning was re- attended this meeting Department and the Police are Nigel Weekes, Chief of Forestry, appointed as Chairman and I have representing both the World doing their best to combat this expressed a desire for further been appointed both as Parrot Trust and Paradise Park. problem. veterinary assistance with the Consortium Secretary and After a welcome by Nigel Weekes, On the positive side there have captive population on the island. International Studbook keeper for Chief of Forestry in Saint Vincent, recently been new sightings of the Five years ago consultant avian Amazona guildingii. the current status of both the wild parrot on Soufriere, the island’s veterinarian, Andrew Greenwood The following day we visited the and captive populations of volcano, following regeneration visited the island on behalf of The aviaries at the Botanical Gardens Amazona guildingii was discussed after the last eruption. World Parrot Trust and with the to see at first hand the work in detail. The biennial census of There are currently sixty six generous assistance of British currently going on in the the wild population, which is captive birds on the island with Airways Assisting Conservation. construction of a large carried out by Forestry staff, has twenty nine of these being in Nigel would like this type of visit educational exhibit aviary which shown an increase in the number aviaries at the Botanical Gardens repeated on a regular basis as no had been funded by the Foreign & of birds between 1988 and 1994. as part of Forestry’s in-situ equivalent veterinary expertise Commonwealth Office. In addition However since 1994 no census breeding and education exists on the island. Nigel also we had an extremely fruitful had been undertaken due to programme, and the remaining commented upon the need to meeting with the Minister of problems with funding and thirty seven birds being in the train the staff at the Botanical Agriculture and Labour, the Hon. staffing levels. There are no hands of " custodians" - Gardens in best practices of Jeremiah Scott. Mr Scott known nest sites of the Saint Vincentians who had had pet captive bird care. Several reaffirmed his Government’s Vincent Amazon Parrot. Although birds prior to the amnesty and collections offered facilities to commitment to the consortium the birds are apparently doing who have registered their birds train Forestry staff ex-situ but and is even initiating moves to well, field research in the form of with the Forestry Department. Nigel would prefer to have enshrine the consortium within an up to date census and The ex-situ breeding programme someone come to the aviaries for the legislation of Saint Vincent identification and monitoring of was also discussed at length with two to three weeks in order to and the Grenadines thus giving it, nest trees is required as a matter reports from all consortium train all the staff at the Botanical and I quote "more teeth" to act for of some urgency. members and holders present. It Gardens at the same time. the benefit of the National Bird of The problem of birds being was agreed to take all available The importance of the parrot and the island. illegally taken from the island was action to try to encourage holders its habitat as a valuable source of On the final morning of my visit I discussed in some detail and will of Amazona guildingii who were tourist revenue was discussed and was fortunate enough to travel to probably need to be addressed not consortium members to at parallels were drawn with the Buccament Valley to observe a again once a census has been least register their birds with the successful Forest Trails group of fourteen or so Amazona undertaken. In order to make it guildingii in the field. A truly more difficult to launder illegal breathtaking sight. birds it was agreed to write to all My sincerest thanks to British known holders of Amazona Airways Assisting Conservation guildingii outside of the island to for providing the flights to request DNA samples from the Barbados. Thanks also to the staff birds they hold. This DNA work at Forestry Saint Vincent for their will also have a secondary role as time and assistance with field it can be used to determine observations. relatedness within the whole captive population. Recent Footnote: research carried out by the New Since returning from the meeting York Zoological Society on funding has been provided by the confiscated birds entering the US World Parrot Trust, New York has revealed previously unknown Zoological Society and Houston genetic lines within the species. From R to L: Yves de Soye, Loro Parque; David Woolcock, Paradise Park; Don Bruning, Zoo to enable the census to be Another pressure on the wild NYZA; Luanne Porter; Hon Jeremiah Scott, Minister; Paul Reillo, R.S.C.F.; Mrs White, undertaken. It is currently population is the illegal farming Minister’s P.S; Nigel Weekes, Chief of Forestry; Fitzgerald Providence, Forestry underway PsittaScene Volume 12, No 2, May 2000 ■ 13.