RepresentativesCarolyn Pradun
[email protected]Media
Sheryll Steele-Boyce
Australian BirdKeeper
[email protected]http://www.parrots.org
AUSTRALIAN CONTACTSCONSERVATION
AUTHOR CAROLYN PRADUN IMAGES WILD PARROTS CONSERVATION CENTRE (CREA)IN LATE FEBRUARY 2018 the
Biodiversity Department of Santa Cruz
Government, with the support of the
Forestry and Environment Police, seized a
large number of macaws and other parrots
in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The confi scation
involved nine different species, both adults
and chicks, which were to be sold locally.
Offi cials contacted the Centro
Conservación Loros Silvestres or Wild
Parrots Conservation Centre (CREA) for
help with the emergency. The nine species
confi scated were Blue and Gold Macaws
Ara ararauna, Red and Green Macaws
Ara chloropterus, Blue-fronted Amazons
Amazona aestiva, Chestnut-fronted
Macaws Ara severus, Blue-headed Parrots
Pionus menstruus, White-eyed Conures
Psittacara leucophthalmus, Blue-winged
Parrotlets Forpus xanthopterygius,
Monk Parakeets Myiopsitta monachus,
and Canary-winged Parakeets Brotogeris
chiriri.
At the time of writing, nearly 100
parrots were being cared for, supervised
by CREA staff and local veterinarians of
the Biodiversity Department, at the First
Attention Wildlife Facility (CAD), not
far from CREA. When facilities are fully
Caring for
Confi scated Parrots in Bolivia
Confi scated macaw chicks and juvenilesready at CREA, 22 of the macaw chicks
will be transferred there for rehabilitation,
enrichment and training in preparation
for release in 6–8 months time. Other
chicks, including a Blue-headed Parrot
and a number of White-eyed Conures,
will remain under the care of CREA until
weaning and training are complete.
A number of juvenile and adult birds,
including over 70 Blue-winged Parrotlets
and a number of Canary-winged Parakeets,
will be held, monitored and cared for with
CREA’s support, pending a government
decision on their return to the wild.
WPT Bolivia program manager José
Antonio Díaz Luque said ‘The birds are
doing well. They will be transferred to
CREA to be rehabilitated and released
where possible. This is an ongoing process,
as it will be the fi rst time confi scated
parrots have ever been released back to
the wild in this country.
‘In Bolivia parrot trapping is a serious
problem. We believe that CREA, uniquely
created to help these birds get back to the
wild, could potentially receive hundreds
of confi scated parrots every year to be
brought back to health and set free once
again.’The CREA facility is the fi rst of its
kind in Bolivia, and aims to be one of
the principal parrot recovery centres
in the world. With the support of the
World Parrot Trust, it was created to
help alleviate a worsening situation with
Bolivian wild-caught parrots, which
have until now been housed in captivity
indefi nitely after confi scation. Now, with
CREA’s help, some of the thousands of
wild parrots seized from illegal trade every
year will have a chance to gain freedom
after the harrowing experience of their
capture.
For an update on these parrots, visit
CREA’s Facebook page @CREAbolivia.
For further information on the World
Parrot Trust’s work, go to http://www.parrots.
org or contact
WPT Australia
representatives
Carolyn Pradun
and Nicholas
Bishop via email
at australia@
parrots.org.