PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN PARROT CONSERVATION AVICULTURE AND WELFARE World Parrot Trust in action Vol. 12 No. 4 November 2000 New Director Parrot Welfare & Rescue Jewels of Nature Fiji Project Echo Parakeet The WPT 12 psittacine (sit’å sîn) belonging or allied to the parrots; parrot-like C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y WPT appoints Editor Rosemary Low, P.O. Box 100, new Direc t o r by MICHAEL REYNOLDS Mansfield, Notts., In PsittaScene for May 2000 we advertised our need for a new director to take over from me by United Kingdom the end of 2000. We received a large number of applications fr om well qualified people in NG20 9NZ countries across the globe. We finally chose somebody with excellent experience and talents relevant to the job, and this is James D. Gilardi PhD from California. James - known to all as ‘Jamie’ - • To provide expertise in so. He will use his field CONTENTS was one of the four joint authors response to all media and other experience to supervise our of the recently published Parrot enquiries. projects around the world, and WPT appoints new Action Plan, and helped will report to you, our members, Director ..............................2 orchestrate the meeting arranged • To communicate with WPT's in PsittaScene. in London by WPT in 1995 that membership, primarily through Parr ot Welfare & Rescue ..3-8 set the preparation of the new ‘PsittaScene’. I am sur e you will all welcome Jamie, and he can be r eached on email at: Jewels of Nature ............9-12 plan into action. He has since Quite a tall order, no doubt you completed his PhD at University gilardi@worldpar rottrust.org. He will agree. But Jamie has what it will be at the Gabriel Foundation WPT Visits Fiji ............ 13-15 of California, Davis working under will take, and is gr eatly looking Dr Cathy Toft, and went on to Symposium to be held at Tampa, Psitta News ......................16 for ward to taking on what must Florida, from 5 to 7 January 2001. work for the Wildlife Pr eservation be one of the most exciting jobs Trust International and the See page 16 for details of Echo Parakeet Update ......17 available to someone in his area this impor tant event. Oceanic Society. His par rot work of expertise. He will work out of The WPT 12 ......................18 includes running the St. Lucia Davis, Califor nia, but will visit our I will become chairman of WPT-UK parrot project for a year, three UK base as frequently as is and WPT-USA, and will continue to WPT Info Page ..................19 field seasons in southeastern Peru necessar y, and will aim to visit contribute to our trust Parr ots in the Wild ..........20 studying wild macaws, working our branches when practical to do wher ever practical. with captive birds to better understand soil-eating in parrots, and shor ter field-stints in St. Vincent, Mexico and Guatemala. In our ad for the job we listed the following requir ements: • To understand the particular threats relating to the 330 species of parrot. • To be able to work effectively with individuals and organisations in parrot range countries. • To design, implement, supervise and report scientifically sound Cover Picture conservation programmes. Kula Eco Park Education • To work co-operatively with Officer Merewairita Senivula other organisations with similar holding a Kadavu Shining aims. Par rot. This photo was taken • To initiate and bring to fruition by Kirsty Swinnerton whilst a range of fund-raising activities. in Fiji and you can read her • To publicise the work of WPT report on pages 13-15. and its achievements. • To prepare and distribute educational material, for general The World Parr ot Trust does not public consumption, and for necessarily endorse any views or statements made by contributors owners of captive parr ots. to PsittaScene. • To represent WPT at all levels It will of course consider articles and on all occasions. or letters from any contributors on their merits. • To deal promptly and creatively All contents © World Parr ot Tr ust with the extensive communications received by the trust. Jamie Gilardi Photo: Chris Huxley , Caribbean Images 2 ■ PsittaScene Volume 12, No 4, November 2000 M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K Pa r rot Wel f a r e & Rescue The World Parrot Trust has written about these critical matters in past PsittaScenes, notably our issue for May 1998, and also in our previous issue for August 2000. In 1998 we commented that perhaps as many as 50% of all pet parrots were kept in cramped and inadequate conditions, and we went on to propose the following action: Support a complete ban on the discussion, based on infor mation total commitment on the par t Supervision at all stages by an trapping, trading and export of supplied by rescue groups. We of the people involved, plus avian veterinarian is strongly wild-caught par rots from their invite further input fr om all reasonable financial status. A recommended. countries of origin, unless for sources of exper tise and opinion. business plan is 6 Re-homing of rehabilitated approved breeding programmes. 1 Any gr oup engaged in this task r ecommended. birds is a key element in the Voluntarily r educe the numbers should ensure it has suf ficient 4 Some expertise in public work of most rescue of parr ots being bred in funding, wide experience of relations is important, to operations. This requir es captivity. The aim should be working with parrots, suitable maximise publicity about inspection of would-be foster quality, not quantity. accommodation, exper t par rots in difficulty, the homes, the education of those Educate potential new pet par rot veterinary support and sound r escue service available and taking on responsibility for owners, so that they properly methods of assessing foster the need for funds and other the bird, a document understand the commitment they homes. for ms of support. It is also recording the precise ar e making. impor tant to work effectively commitment being undertaken 2 The motivation must be with local par rot people, clubs Help r escue groups wher ever and effective follow-up to nothing other than the r escue, and authorities. ensure that all is well. possible, with funding and r ehabilitation and longterm facilities. 5 The quality and range of Integration of rehabilitated welfare of the bir ds. The facilities must be adequate. birds of endangered species We also proposed the following profit motive has no place in Separate quarantine, hospital, into an EEP or other approved Guidelines for Parrot Rescue: parrot rescue. rehabilitation and pr e-release breeding project is These are simply a draft for 3 Stability is vital. This means a sections ar e essential. recommended. Recent Developments have the $15,000 to spend either. In the August 2000 PsittaScene we In addition to what we see as over- picked up on the question raised breeding of some of the birds who by Peter Them of Denmark: are "high maintenance" and ‘should aviculture continue to perhaps are not suitable for most mass-produce parrots?’ Rosemary pet homes (Example: we have over Low wrote an article on this, 30 cockatoos including numerous answering the question with a "mate-killers", mutilators etc.), we resounding ‘NO!’. are now receiving many 15-20+ year old birds, whose owners are We have now re-visited Peter undergoing life-changes: having Them’s ‘Parrot Data Email Club’, families, career changes, r etiring and selected the following quotes and whose family members, from a variety of correspondents: friends etc do not want the “I really believe there are too animals. The market is so many parrots. I’ve been in bird saturated that plucked or more rescue for four years now, and I’m hormonal birds cannot always find amazed at how many babies are good homes. They end up here… being pr oduced. It really saddens …If breeders insist that they me to know that most of them will NOT A PRETTY SIGHT – As seen in earlier PsittaScene. should continue unrestricted end up in rescue. I think it’s very much like the dog-breeding scene in 1990. By 1996 the numbers after our move to larger facilities. breeding, then we believe it is time now. There are some good were 40 million in 5.5 million (A 71 acre ranch in Southern Az.). that they give good and long respectively. We have extrapolated, thought to supporting the long- breeders who will take Most frighteningly we have turned r esponsibility for all the lives they at the continuing rate of growth term care often two or three that today, in 2000 ther e are away over 100 birds in the past generations of humans per bird, produce for the rest of their lives, two months. These birds, without and there are others who just approx. 60 million exotic birds in costing tens of thousands only 6 million homes in the US. exception, were the “left-overs” the ($36,000+ for 50 years is our want money, and they produce so non-breedable or pet quality birds conservative estimate) of dollars. many babies that there end up Apparently, based on what your writers have said, in parts of from large “collections” whose being not enough homes for them owners were either unable or There are no simple solutions.