My husband frequently follows the "bonairetalk forum". He informed me that just recently 112 unweaned baby amazon parrots were confiscated in an illegal smuggling bust.
I was sick to my stomach.
Unweaned babies are so fragile.
Trained volunteers are struggling to care and hand feed these babies round the clock in order for them to survive and then to be later released into the wild.
I know what it is like to have to hand feed baby parrots. I took care of only four and it was stressful and iffy.
Three of them survived.
Eddie (who is my spoiled little favorite tiel) needed an extra feeding at 2:00am.
Cockatiel babies wean at 8 weeks. Larger parrots such as amazons wean at least a month later.
I used to see these yellow-fronted amazons (amazona Barbadensis) in Bonaire early morning at Happy Holidays Homes munching on the hibiscus bushes. Sadly, new homes were being built and the hibiscus bushes were torn down. The parrots moved inland and were hard to find but apparently not for the poachers. They were probably clustered in one area making them an easy target.
The parrots were squished into small crates on their way to Curacao and then, to God knows where.
If five of these birds make it to their final destination alive out of 112 it would be a miracle. I am assuming they would be imported to either south American countries or to China.
Wild caught amazon parrots do not make good pets.
They are loud and fiesty. Even domestically bred and raised amazons (and actually all parrot species) in the United States have been subjected to abuse and discarded once the novelty wears thin. Parrot rescue facilities are chock-a-block full of unwanted emotionally/physically damaged parrots.
It is awful.
I have a house full of "re-homed" cockatiels.
I close my eyes and shudder at what could be the fate of these parrots.
Please check out this website: http://www.echobonaire.org/
I made a donation to help feed these parrots.
I also contacted echobonaire informing them that I will be heading down Bonaire if they need my help.
I will be following this situation closely.
Again, please check out : http://www.echobonaire.org/
I was sick to my stomach.
Unweaned babies are so fragile.
Trained volunteers are struggling to care and hand feed these babies round the clock in order for them to survive and then to be later released into the wild.
I know what it is like to have to hand feed baby parrots. I took care of only four and it was stressful and iffy.
Three of them survived.
Eddie (who is my spoiled little favorite tiel) needed an extra feeding at 2:00am.
Cockatiel babies wean at 8 weeks. Larger parrots such as amazons wean at least a month later.
I used to see these yellow-fronted amazons (amazona Barbadensis) in Bonaire early morning at Happy Holidays Homes munching on the hibiscus bushes. Sadly, new homes were being built and the hibiscus bushes were torn down. The parrots moved inland and were hard to find but apparently not for the poachers. They were probably clustered in one area making them an easy target.
The parrots were squished into small crates on their way to Curacao and then, to God knows where.
If five of these birds make it to their final destination alive out of 112 it would be a miracle. I am assuming they would be imported to either south American countries or to China.
Wild caught amazon parrots do not make good pets.
They are loud and fiesty. Even domestically bred and raised amazons (and actually all parrot species) in the United States have been subjected to abuse and discarded once the novelty wears thin. Parrot rescue facilities are chock-a-block full of unwanted emotionally/physically damaged parrots.
It is awful.
I have a house full of "re-homed" cockatiels.
I close my eyes and shudder at what could be the fate of these parrots.
Please check out this website: http://www.echobonaire.org/
I made a donation to help feed these parrots.
I also contacted echobonaire informing them that I will be heading down Bonaire if they need my help.
I will be following this situation closely.
Again, please check out : http://www.echobonaire.org/
That's sad. The one thing the human race will never do is leave well enough alone...especially when there's someone at the other end with cash in hand, ready to buy. Makes me sick.
ReplyDeleteAs Sharon Matola (Belize's zoo-lady) said, "is money really that important to these people?!"
ReplyDelete