The World Parrot Refuge was very proud to present a unique conference in Parksville, BC, which helped to educate the attendees about conservation and the illegal parrot trade. A number of amazing parrot experts joined us from Canada, the United States, Mexico and the United Kingdom, all of whom presented lectures as part of our goal to educate the public about what is being done to protect the parrots of the world.

Over the next week or so, we will have photos posted and a brief of the lectures to share with you.

Please click below to read more about the fascinating speakers who presented at the conference.

Read more »

On March 3rd, the World Parrot Refuge was the recipient of a wonderful benefit concert orchestrated by Toronto singer-songwriter, Lindi Ortega.  Lindi is an avid supporter of the Refuge, and organized the benefit which featured many talented and generous local musicians.  Wendy was invited to attend, and she returned with rave reviews and wonderful memories.

From Wendy:

The Benefit Concert was amazing.  The people involved are all professional singer/songwriters and/or bands.  They donated their time and work to raise funds for the Parrot Refuge - and they didn't even know who we were.  John, the sound guy, worked all night - he is brilliant.  The room at the Supermarket was donated by the owners for the concert.  I just cannot get over how much was done by these people because they care for other living beings. 

The location will be in my memory for years.  It was like being transported back to the Hippie Era.  The whole street was definitely 'different'.  It was way after 2am when I left, and the streets were full of people.  Coombs closes everything at 9pm!

The concert raised a fantastic $625.  Lindi worked so hard to get this organized, and believe me:  it went as smooth as cream - not even one hitch.  We even have a new contact who will be a halfway house for surrendered parrots in the Toronto area.  This concert has opened the eyes of many and has given us more exposure than we could have dreamed of.  And we have Lindi as a friend and supporter for life.  She is a true parrot person.

The World Parrot Refuge would like to sincerely thank Lindi and her friends, The Supermarket, and everyone else who helped make this such a special evening.  And for all music fans out there, do take a moment to check these musicians out.  They are all wonderful, talented, good-hearted people!

Sara Kamin
Mandipaal Jandu
The FrameWork
Emma-Lee
The Donefors
Dylan Murray
Lindi Ortega

The Supermarket, Toronto

Thank you all, so much!

Grey Bird's caregiver (see this story) wrote the following letter to Wendy after considering how he could give Grey Bird the best future that he possibly could.

Wendy,

I am impressed with your organization.

I have a Congo African Grey Parrot. She is female and is about 15 years old. Compared to some of the birds on your site, Grey Bird is in great shape. She has all her feathers and does not pluck herself, but her quality of life is not the best!

I have reached a point in my life when I would like to travel a bit. I cannot do so with her. She does not do well if she is moved! And I do not feel good leaving her.

A few weeks ago I saw a DVD entitled "The Cove". It was about the slaughter of dolphins in Japan and about the dolphins that are captured and sent to "sea exhibits" around the world. The producer was the person who trained the original Flipper in the Flipper television series. Flipper ended his life in this man's arms. Dolphins and whales are the only animals who can will themselves to stop breathing and this is what Flipper did. It opened this man's eyes to the level of suffering of dolphins in captivity.

I think the same level of suffering is true for parrots! It opened my eyes.

What do dolphins and parrots have in common?

1. They are both highly intelligent creatures.

2. They are both VERY social animals.

3. They are both capable of living a long time. I think parrots outlive dolphins.

4. They both suffer a great deal in captivity.

Parrots cannot end their own suffering, but some of their "captive" behaviours make one think that they want to!

I tried to be a good owner. I rescued Grey Bird. There is no comparison to what she was when she came to me and what she is now, but I failed her as well.

What I see on a much deeper level now is that parrots cannot be kept happily as pets by a single owner in a cage, any more than dolphins can be happily kept in a sea world environment. Neither is possible.

Parrots should not be offered for sale.

In my other life I was a biologist. I majored in animal behaviour - ethology. The study of ethology teaches very clearly the difference between "tame" and "domesticated". Dolphins and parrots can be easily tamed but never domesticated.

All wild animals have what are called flight distances. This is the distance a wild animal will let you approach before they attack or run. Sociable animals like parrots and dolphins can reduce this distance to zero. They allow human contact. This is the definition of "tame" - flight distance is reduced to zero. "Domestic" means the animal can thrive and do well in a human environment. Most domestic animals could not survive in any other environment. Cats, dogs, and cattle are some examples, but this is not true of dolphins or parrots. Most do not thrive.

Parrots require tremendous stimulation.

Alas poor Grey Bird leads a most deprived life. She has had the best of food (pellets!), care, etc, but I have failed her. She does not know that she is a bird. I know this. She actively courts Magi, my Papillon. What can I say?

I do not think it is in a parrot's best interest to be someone's pet.

Like I said, parrots are tamed, not domesticated. They need to be in colonies of their own kind. Like training Flipper did for the producer of The Cove, having Grey Bird has made me see very clearly how totally wrong it is to keep a parrot as a pet. I am her future, and I want to do what is best for her.

I want to give her the best "forever" future I possibly can.

John

Wendy writes: "I just got back at 11am today (13 March 2010) from a very long drive to Calgary. The 'parrot bus' came back with 16 hitchhikers. Grey Bird is an African Grey in first class condition. Owned and loved by a really nice man who needs to tend to himself now that his years are adding up. He took on Grey Bird's care after his brother died. There is also a beautiful 9 year-old Blue Fronted Amazon, who speaks only Dutch, whose family has gone back to Holland. Those are the good stories.

There is an M2 named Dusty - who is apparently noisy and hates women! I must have been wearing male hormones since I met him because he loves me. He was wearing an actual frisbee around his neck for 2 years. It had steel screws in it and weighed a ton. Now he is a happy bird since it has gone. His wings have been trimmed within centimetres of the skin. The owner was trying to breed him and when it didn't work he began advertising the female for sale. I tried to get her too but without success.

Then there is Buddy, the Lesser Sulfur, who is in fact an Eleanora without a tail or wings. She was given by the Edmonton Humane Society as they felt that she needed a Home For Life. Loud, yes - funny, yes - on the way here she chewed through two carriers and jumped onto my shoulder to screech hello! She will settle in just fine.

Luki, a Goffins cockatoo (well that says it all doesn't it!) is so excited and has already signed up as a member of the Goffini Mafia and has lots of other members visiting already.

The other eleven birds came from a breeder. We all cried rivers. A pair of Greenwinged Macaws - wild-caught 46 years ago - who love their new compound. A pair of terrified wild-caught Umbrella cockatoos in really poor shape - they are still hiding in a cage that is also hidden from the world to give them privacy. A pair of Eclectus - we can't tell what subspecies they are as they don't have feathers. A single male Eclectus who was obviously someone's pet once - now, instead of that beautiful green colour, his remaining feathers are black - and his beak has very little colour and is hugely overgrown. His eyes were so empty and sad when I picked him up. Even in one day there is a true difference and he has even started to say things.

There is another Umbrella male - an ex-pet also - in really poor shape, but he loves it when you pet his head. There is also a huge Double Yellowheaded Amazon who looks as though he walked here from the Amazon and didn't stop for a bath. He is fat, but not well-fed - clearly his nutritional needs have not been met. Finally a pair of what I believe are Peach Fronted Conures. I will be able to see better when the swelling goes down around their eyes and some of their feathers grow back. All of the breeder birds are suffering from extreme vitamin A deficiency - and I believe the Eclectus male has fatty liver disease. I have given them all vitamin shots and trimmed some of the longest nails I have seen.

Two days later: I will try to get some pictures of the birds - who incidentally look so much better already. Only Grey Bird came with a partial sponsorship. All of the other 15 birds are our responsibility. We desperately need to get sponsors for them. - Wendy

If you can help, please visit our donation page and tell us who you would like to help. Even a monthly donation of $10 "For the Birds", will make a big difference in the long-term care of these birds. Virtual Adoptions are $21 per month for a half sponsorship, or $42 per month for a full sponsorship. Thank you!

The World Parrot Refuge recently featured in an article by Cori Ferguson in the online Samaritan Magazine.

Wendy recently undertook a personal rescue mission to Calgary to give 16 surrendered parrots a new home for life at the Refuge. The story was covered by the Calgary Herald.

One of our supporters, Danielle Cawthorne, wrote this great letter in response to the following news item, No grant money for adult arts and sports groups, which dismissed the needs of the parrots because they are not indigenous to Canada. As most of our readers know, these birds didn't ask to be brought here or born here to be kept as pets, but now they are here, we need to care for them.

Hi Sean,

Just wanted to clarify something about animal shelters. Animals don't have to be indigenous to require shelter. Many animals are in shelters because of irresponsible breeding, cruelty, and abandonment. House cats and dogs make up the bulk of the population in most shelters and they aren't indigenous to BC. Shelters offer a haven for animals from every continent.

The "parrot recovery society" you refer to is the World Parrot Refuge.

The World Parrot Refuge houses about 700 parrots, most of them are former pets who were abandoned by their owners. They are extremely high maintenance pets, and a cage in a home designed for humans will almost always make make a parrot physically and emotionally ill. The symptoms of emotional illness in a parrot include screaming, self mutilation, and aggression. Eventually most people give up on them and they end up either being shuffled from home to home all their lives, or they end up in shelters. Yet breeders keep breeding them and pet stores keep selling them.

A government that makes no attempt to keep parrots out of the pet trade has a moral obligation to support the shelters in which the victims of this trade eventually come to live.

The loss of that $100,000 has severely restricted the WPR's ability to care for the animals in their shelter. I urge you to visit the shelter and see first hand what their challenges are. It would make a very good story and would give your readers a more balanced perspective on this issue.

Here's the address and contact information.

Danielle Cawthorne

Please click on the thumbnails below to learn how you can help some special birds have a home for life through our "Virtual Adoption" program!

Birds who are now partly sponsored, thank you!

Birds who are now fully sponsored, thank you!

"The World Parrot Refuge is a true sanctuary where parrots live out their lives in a loving, spacious and happy environment under the guidance of extraordinarily caring people. The many visitors destined to pass through the refuge will come to understand that parrots are not toys or trophies, but beings with needs and emotions as real as our own."

– Rosemary Low (author of more than 30 books on parrots)

"This is, in a word, a great place and these miraculous creatures deserve no less, but few places can deliver it this well. It is, indeed, 'world class'."

– Stewart Metz (author and Director of the Indonesian Parrot Project), after his visit at the Grand Opening of the Refuge on August 13, 2005.