World Parrot Refuge

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.

Wendy rescuing parrots from Calgary. Photo by Leah Hennel, courtesy of 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

Funding and sustainability issues plague the Refuge:

The Province: Nanaimo parrot refuge seeks funds by end of March to keep operating

The World Parrot Refuge, based near Nanaimo, desperately needs funds by the end of March to continue caring for its flock of 700 birds.

Refuge co-founder Wendy Huntbatch said the economic turmoil is only partly to blame for the centre’s dire financial position.

Huntbatch said parrot owners are surrendering their pets more often — more than 15 birds have arrived since January — and visitors have dwindled. Heavy snowfall also forced the centre’s closure during what would normally be a busy time.

Victoria’s Times Colonist: Financial woes put Island parrot refuge in jeopardy

Huntbatch, a lifelong animal welfare advocate, said she can’t accept a worst-case scenario if the centre runs out of money. It has provided a home for life for parrots since it first opened on Vancouver Island with 400 birds in 2004.

“I have no idea what would happen. I haven’t faced it yet,” said Huntbatch. “We simply cannot shut down. You just suddenly get to a point where it’s like, ‘Oh my God, [money] is not there.’

It costs about $300,000 each year to operate the massive facility that allows the parrots to fly in large enclosures designed to emulate natural surroundings. Care for each parrot costs about $500 but medical bills can drive that cost up.”

Canada.com: Flood of surrendered birds, lack of funds threatens Island refuge

The World Parrot Refuge has room to house the unusually steady stream of extra birds that arrive each week, but not the money to pay for their care.

The Coombs sanctuary desperately needs funds by the end of March to continue caring for the flock of 700 birds. The B.C. Gaming Commission provides money but that endowment dropped about $15,000 this year in an economic downturn that refuge co-founder Wendy Huntbatch believes is to blame for the centre’s woes.

Parrot owners are surrendering their pets more often — more than 15 birds have arrived since January — and visitors have dwindled, and donations with them.