Endangered Parrots to Possibly be Destroyed in Victoria

OK - I usually stay well away from the political side of birdkeeping here in Australia but this one is just too big an issue to ignore. Please be aware that any views or opinions expressed on this post are mine and should not be considered the views or opinions held by any other person.

Here's the lowdown...

A recent court ruling on the seizure of a substantial collection of exotic parrots in Victoria has resulted in the option of some, if not all, of the birds in question being destroyed. These are not eggs, nor to my knowledge young birds recently smuggled into Australia, but older birds under the suspicion of having been originally smuggled, or the progeny of illegally held birds, or birds whose origin cannot be verified.

At present, there is an appeals timeframe that must pass before action is taken as per the court ruling. There are a range of options that may be taken and, as per the Government's current guidelines for managing such situations the following information has been released in regards to this matter...

Why do forfeited birds have to be euthanased?

· Our department has a policy in place relating to the handling of live animals that have been seized. It outlines three alternatives, firstly to house the animals within approved Australian institutions, secondly to export them to appropriate facilities outside of Australia and thirdly the euthanasia of the specimen.

· Rehousing is done in line with this handling policy which has strict requirements for the types of facilities that can take on the birds.

· There are limited quarantine facilities and these have limited capacity to hold forfeited specimens which on occasions makes euthanasing them only viable option.

· The re-exporting of specimens overseas has limited conservation values and most illegally obtained specimens have unknown genetic and disease background and are therefore unlikely to be accepted into conservation breeding programs.

· It’s not a pleasant decision to have to make but it’s an unfortunate consequence of the criminal trade.

Why can't you send them back to the country they came from?

· If a specimens are seized at the border by Australia Customs and Border Protection agency and they’re CITES Appendix 1 listed, in some circumstances these have been successfully exported back to the country of origin.

· If a specimen has been come into Australia illegal, its origin often can not be traced, and other countries are unwilling to take these species.

Why can't other birdkeepers or aviaries take the birds?

· By allowing individuals or facilities that don’t meet departmental requirements to take on the illegal birds, there’s a risk that we’re supporting wildlife trade crime – basically, we’re allowing laundering to take place.

· There are also difficulties in ensuring quarantine and disease concerns are addressed. One of the reasons the trade of these birds is illegal is the risk of disease spreading to our native wildlife.

· Some approved facilities are not always willing to take illegal birds because of the disease risk they pose to the existing collection.

· Approved facilities are those that meet the requirements of the department’s handling policy.

· If they go into a department approved facility, they undergo a thorough quarantine screening process.

What are the diseases and what risk are they to native wildlife?

· Some of the diseases birds can carry are avian influenza, Pacheco’s disease, Amazon tracheitis, poxvirus, internal papillomatous disease and psittacine proventricular dilation syndrome.

Is there really a disease risk?

Yes, In light of incomplete knowledge on certain diseases of psittacine birds, and with a lack of definitive methods for testing imported birds for the presence of these diseases, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) suspended the importation of live psittacine birds in 1995. The decision was generally supported by veterinary respondents and the Bureau of Rural Sciences.

Regards,

Anastasia Stomo | Public Affairs Officer

Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts | GPO Box 787 CANBERRA, ACT 2601

p) 02 6275 9243 | f) 02 6274 1094 e) anastasia.stomo@environment.gov.au

So - what's my viewpoint here???

Firstly, I am hopeful that a proper and thorough assessment, evaluation, and testing procedure is carried out by avian veterinarians with extensive experience in parrot health so that the determination of disease risk potential of these birds is conducted using the testing technologies we have available today, not when the above guidelines were formulated. I also do not want to see any of the above birds unfairly euthanized if they are assessed with minor, treatable illness.

Secondly, I want to be confident that a thorough effort is made by the DEWHA to provide all registered Zoo and Aquarium Association institutions throughout Australia with the opportunity to apply for the rehousing of healthy birds and that there is transparency in this process.

There are many, many sides of the debate that this issue will raise - above is essentially the policy that the authorities will be guided by. At this stage however, just consider the following list of birds facing euthanasia. The number in brackets represents the number of each species that are under seizure and will be evaluated - 173 in total.

• Blue headed macaw (5)
• Blue headed pionus (1)
• Bronze wing pionus (3)
• Buffons macaw (5)
• Crimson bellied conure (16)
• Cuban amazon (18)
• Illegers macaw (8)
• Hawk headed parrot (5)
• Hyacinth macaw (6)
• Moluccan cockatoo (8)
• Patagonian parrot (6)
• Red browed amazon (3)
• Red fronted macaw (16)
• Rose crown conure (33)
• Severe macaw (4)
• Tucumans amazon (6)
• Umbrella cockatoo (8)
• White fronted amazon (17)
• Yellow naped amazon (5)

Perhaps you can voice your opinion directly to the DEWHA Public Affairs Officer above to ensure that they are aware that the Australian birdkeeping community does not want to see these birds destroyed if they are assessed as clear of exotic disease and pose no risk to bird collections in Australia.

Next ABK Issue – it’s on `target’ for a great read ☺

I hope that some of you bought the latest ABK Magazine and had a chance to read about my experiences with Lola, my Yellow-crowned Amazon parrot. I think it’s a good little story and one that shares the simple fact that it doesn’t matter how experienced you are, or how much you think you’re prepared, life with parrots is always full of new challenges and reminders that you’ve still got a whole darn lot more to learn. If you didn’t get the mag, and therefore didn’t read my article, well, ah, may your parrot poop on your best shirt tomorrow! Anyway – I’ve just sent off the Pet Parrot Pointers column for the Dec/Jan issue, which will be out in the second week of December. I thought about doing some kind of daggy `What to buy your parrot for Christmas’ thing but I just couldn’t. Read `Bird Talk’ for that – guaranteed to have a parrot somewhere in an issue at that time of year wearing a Santa hat or some other barf inducing prop (God I hope they Photoshop those images). Nope – I thought I’d give the gift that keeps on giving and write up an article on Target Training J Hey, maybe that’s what you can buy your parrot for Christmas – a Target Training stick! One of those super-dooper telescopic ones that extend out like a TV antenna (for those of you who are pre-plasma generation and actually know what an antenna is). Actually those target sticks are pretty neat – I have one and love it. You can pick them up from http://www.myparrotshop.com if you’re in Australia. Either that or just nick a chop-stick next time you’re out feasting on a Sweet ‘n Sour dish at your local greasy spoon.

One of the applications of stationing a parrot to touch a target that I’ve been applying is with Lola – the aforementioned Amazon Parrot. She’s never been keen on tactile handling, always been a little on the averse side to hands, and not been one for a good old ruffle of the nape feathers. With a little use of the target and pairing some approximations of reduced proximity of my fingers towards her head, then a touch, then increasing touch duration, she’s come around and is now a bit of a glutton for a good old preen and cranial massage J Nice work Jimbo – and thanks for the patience Lola! The other pic is PJ, my Caique. He used to go into pet packs no problemo, but I’ve been slack in keeping this up. A good reminder about training some of these behaviours – use it or lose it! Anyway, I’m back to working with him and getting him re-acquainted with the scary plastic box again. The target helps and hopefully this time we’ll keep it up. Read more in the ABK Dec/Jan issue. Available at newsstands absolutely everywhere on Earth from mid-December J

Top 5 Reasons Why I Do What I Do... Number 1

So here we are – `Numero Uno’ reason for being a parrot behaviour and enrichment consultant eh? Hmmm. You know, any of the previous reasons I shared in earlier posts is enough to keep me motivated to do what I do. But there is one reason that really out-does the others. I want you to take a good look at the image above. It’s a nice little head study of an African Grey parrot. Neat looking bird huh? The thing about African Greys is that when you look into their eyes, I mean really look, you can’t help but be a little overawed with the realisation that there is some serious neuron firing going on inside that head of theirs. Any of you who have been up close and personal with a Grey will know what I mean. It’s different. I mean, these guys really do look back at you as if to say - `Yeah - I breathe, I think, I make decisions, I’m a complex, sensitive creature – what are you gonna do to keep me occupied today?’ Obviously I have no real idea what that Grey, or any other parrot for that matter, is `really’ thinking – but that doesn’t stop me from making a double take every time I look at one of these guys and just wonder – just wonder.

Anyway, thinking that Greys are pretty darn neat isn’t what I’m on about here for my `Number 1’. The thing about that headshot above is that it’s actually a close-up of the bird below. My bird. Not someone asking for my help for his or her feather plucked parrot, my bird. You see, the number one reason why I do what I do is because I’ve actually lived through the problems, the traumas, the heartaches, the frustrations, the sense of despair, and the self-evaluation as a parrot owner that often leaves you asking... `Why?’

When I’m supporting a client, it’s not just with a few snippets of advice I gleaned from an Internet chat board, or read in a magazine, or heard about from Barry the breeder down the road, or just made up because I have no `real’ reference point to work from but it sounds good in theory. More often than not, I’ve lived it. I’ve walked in your shoes. I understand the sadness, the relationship strains, and the confusion that often envelops your life when things go bad with a parrot that you brought into your home. The flipside is that I also know what it takes to get to the other side – to get that parrot trusting me again, to get its feathers back, to communicate with me in a way other than screaming its lungs out. That’s because I haven’t just lived through the problems, I’ve taken the weeks, months, and sometimes years, to live through the solutions.

That African Grey in the picture? His name is Cheeky. He came to us 5 years ago at the age of 25, in the same state he is in today. He’s probably plucked himself like that for a good 27 or 28 of those 30 years and unfortunately, it’s unlikely he’ll ever experience the sensation of lift beneath his wings. He has some of the most intensely stereotypical picking behaviour I’ve seen in a parrot. It doesn’t make me feel any better knowing that he’s always been that bad though. When I go around to my birds each day, I stop and have a chat with Cheek, look at him in the eye, and get reminded of a simple goal – Don’t give up, keep doing what you do, keep trying to make a difference. So, when Cheeky looks at me as if to say, `What are you gonna do for me today?’ – the answer is try – just keep on trying. In the process, the knowledge I gain will inevitably help someone else, and the ripple effect flows on from there. That little bald guy is the most important parrot in my aviaries, my inspiration, and my reminder that I owe it to them to do what I do – bigtime. Number one reason why I do what I do as a matter of fact J

Top 5 Reasons Why I Do What I Do... Number 2

One of the most satisfying experiences working as a parrot behaviour and enrichment consultant is when your clients achieve success with a behaviour management issue that you have been working with them on. It’s particularly pleasing when the result is the repairing of a relationship with the bird when the owner had taken a few too many hits, or `bites’ to probably be more accurate ☺ It’s not just the trust rebuilding that brings the reward for all concerned, but the richness of the learning journey when you and your client investment in the time, commitment to the goal, and show the perseverance you sometimes need to stay on the pathway to success. It can be really challenging when you take a few backward steps when managing parrot behaviour, or working towards a training goal. But it’s exactly those moments that really bring out some of the most enriching and special learning experiences for me as a consultant, and hopefully likewise for the client.

Sometimes just getting a pet parrot to step back up onto the hand of an owner it has lost trust in is a monumental achievement and worthy of celebration. What most parrot owners consider the `simplest’ of behaviours that their parrot will present for them is also, in my opinion, one of the most important foundations of their relationship, and undoubtedly the best example of how good learning and relationship building is achieved through small, positively reinforced approximations.

Success in supporting a client to achieve a goal with their parrots, whether it be behavioural or environmental, is absolutely one of the top 5 reasons why I do what do ☺

Check out the neat little sequence below as an example of the approximations that were reinforced to achieve the final goal of this Quaker stepping onto the hand of a client I was working with – without the bite!

Fun with Animoto

I'm teaching my students how to use a very cool web application called `Animoto' to create visual slideshows. I thought that I would do up an example for them and take the opportunity to do some promotion for the World Parrot Trust at the same time. Hope you like it...

Top 5 Reasons Why I Do What I Do... No.3

I mean, I’m all for recycling right? Good for the environment, keepin’ it `green’ and all. I guess for some it’s logical to think – `Hmmm... spare sheet of tin, few old car tyres lyin’ around, bit of round tube and some old chicken wire – make a run to the Tip with it?’ Hell no! Why not make an aviary and stick a Galah in it! Classic, genius, Aussie improvisation. And hey, if the little pink and grey guy gets bored, just throw a few chickens in there to keep him company – eggs for breakfast and a built-in floor cleaning system for picking up all those darned sunflower husks. Imagine sitting back and reflecting on such a masterpiece after it’s completed and considering all of the avian possibilities that could be manifest within this backyard abode. Why stop at the chooks – surely there’s scope for a flock of budgies escorted by a dozen or so Zebra finches making themselves right at home in there. OK – now I’m getting ridiculous, but if I hadn’t actually seen things like that I wouldn’t be inclined to sink into sarcasm. Hopefully, you’re actually just as confused as I was as to exactly how people get the idea that this is what a parrot aviary is all about.

So, here we have No.3 in my little series here of what inspires me to keep `doing what I do’ as a parrot behaviour and enrichment consultant. Sure, it’s along the same lines as No. 5 but let’s consider just how wrong they got this whole concept. The picture unfortunately doesn’t reveal the full story – that being of a Galah that spent most of the time I was watching it pacing up and down his log, spinning his head around and around as he waddled, and then doing it all again – over, and over, and over... You get the picture. You can see from the close-up that he’s started to pluck the feathers on his chest – a sad indictment on how the environments we establish for parrots often fall way short of maintaining functional behaviour in their inhabitants. The thing is, we can achieve engaging, enriching, stimulating and socially happening outdoors enclosures for our pet parrots – but this isn’t how.

Designing outdoor aviary environments for pet parrots is absolutely one of the most pleasurable aspects of what I do. Seeing the end results of those designs is the sealer! Outdoor enclosure design for interactive pet birds is something I would dearly love to spend more of my time doing and at the Parrots 2010 Convention next year I will be giving a presentation on exactly this topic. The picture below is a good representation of where we can go with taking the `next step’ in creating an environment and daily experience set for our birds that extends beyond the limitations of the indoor cage. It’s a backyard enclosure that I designed for a client and one that is now home to their `flock’ of parrots. We designed it to actually wrap around that magnificent Melaleuca tree and, unlike how a lot of aviaries tend to be, it’s actually a really nice compliment to their garden aesthetic when you see it in the flesh. Hopefully, we’ll start to see spacious outdoor enrichment enclosures become a natural part of pet parrot keeping in the future. Don’t give up on recycling though! Just give it some more thought if it involves housing your parrot ;-)

Top 5 Reason Why I Do What I Do... No.4

Over the past 5 years I have developed a workshop format for companion parrot owners that I honestly feel offers the most comprehensive and supportive set of learning experiences available here in Australia. My yearly gig at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary has now educated over 100 parrot owners on progressive approaches towards the care, enrichment, housing and training of their birds – something I am immensely proud of. I have had the opportunity to expand the scope and audience of my own workshop this year with a special presentation day at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, and also by teaming up with some of my colleagues for the `Step Up’ workshop in Brisbane. We are also looking towards holding workshops in Hobart, Melbourne, and hopefully Adelaide in 2010 (Perth – I would love to get there but you have to make it happen ;-).

These events, the culmination of years of hands-on learning and experience, really are what keep me motivated and engaged as an educator and trainer. The opportunity to meet other parrot owners, to feed off their enthusiasm and commitment, to share my experience and insight, and to work with some of the best and most gifted bird trainers in the field is something I never take for granted and always appreciate. There is a huge sense of satisfaction in keeping the ripple effect of lifelong education flowing and knowing that in some small way, I may have made a positive and meaningful contribution to the knowledge and understanding of parrot owners. In achieving this, the ultimate goal is to improve the lives of parrots kept as companion animals – as good a reason as any to continue doing what I do J