Volunteers Ann Neil and Margaret Trotter recently represented the World Parrot Refuge at the Brant Wildlife Festival

This year's woodcarver's competition featured some of our parrots. They did quite well, judging by the ribbons!

The carvings sprang from a presentation Wendy Huntbach gave to the Vancouver Island Woodcarver's Club.

If your group would be interested in Wendy's talk, aided by some feathered friends of course, please contact us for details.

Larry is another one of our volunteer group. Lately he's been assembling the frames for the new Macaw flight cages:

Getting there...

Dixie is popular with the Parrots, as you can see. She's one of many volunteers who help keep the refuge going. Currently, she's planning to develop the outdoor grounds into an organic garden that would become part of the World Parrot Refuge "experience." As well it would be a source for some of our bird's nutritional needs. (Seven hundred parrots go through a lot of food - more on that soon).

Dixie is looking for a volunteer master gardener who would like to help her with this project ... any takers out there?

Great Canadian Casinos presents "seed" money for WPR Avian Hospital

A group of us gathered at noon today (22 March 2008) in the Special Needs Unit of the Refuge for an exciting event. Howard Blank, on behalf of the Great Canadian Casinos Nanaimo, presented Wendy Huntbatch, founder of the Refuge, with a cheque for $11,111.48! Many of our beloved residents gathered around to see if they could help to examine the cheque, but fortunately nobody shredded it to build a nest!

This incredible donation is actually "found" money, that is, unclaimed money that is collected at casino venues and saved for charitable donations. Great Canadian Casinos continues to be an incredible supporter of the Refuge, and Howard Blank's personal support has made a world of difference to all the parrots of the World Parrot Refuge. This money will be the "seed" money to start building the WPR Avian Veterinary Hospital, and brings the dream of full medical services on-site closer to reality. Thank you to everyone who came out to show support, and thank you to the Great Canadian Casinos Nanaimo!

Here's a video of the ongoing construction in the Macaw House. During the filming, I was helped by two very able assistants: a talkative Amazon named Lou, and everyone's buddy, Esther. Enjoy - Grant

Special guests! Wendy Huntbatch, Esther the Moluccan cockatoo, Kiwi the male Eclectus, Nikki the Moluccan cockatoo, and Lucy the 18 month-old Hyacinth Macaw. Don't miss this chance to learn from Wendy and the birds first-hand!

It's less than a month away! The Pirates of the Sullivan (click here for more details) will be landing in Surrey, and we'd love you to be there to take part. Have you got your tickets yet? Would you like to meet some great parrots (and people too!)? Would you like to help the parrots of the World Parrot Refuge and have fun at the same time? Then please get in touch with Karen Loveys, and be sure to tell your friends too!

When: Saturday February 2, 2008.
Where: Sullivan Community Hall, 6306 - 152nd Street, Surrey, BC.

3:00-5:00pm: Parrot Adventure, for all ages! Admission by donation.
7:00pm: Evening Dance, for adults only. Doors open at 6:30pm. Admission is $10.00 per ticket, $15 at the door! Special door prizes for tickets purchased before February 2nd!

Please Help!

We need more childrens' prizes for the Parrot Adventure, a major prize for the Treasure Hunt, and more items for the silent auction. If you or anyone you know (businesses or groups too!) can donate any of these, please contact Karen soon!

We also need people to help Karen pre-sell tickets prior to the day. This is one of our biggest fundraisers this year, so we need good numbers going into the event to help the parrots!

For tickets, to donate prizes and/or auction items, or to volunteer, please contact the organizer, Karen Loveys, at karenloveys.ca.

The Gift Shop is looking very Christmassy - great job, Leah! I hope many of you will find time during the Holiday break to come out and visit. The birds love the action.

Parrots and pirates have always had a special connection through their love of freedom and adventure. In this spirit, we'd like to invite you to a special fundraiser, "Pirates Of The Sullivan", for the parrots of the World Parrot Refuge!

When: Saturday February 2, 2008.
Where: Sullivan Community Hall, 6306 - 152nd Street, Surrey, BC.

3:00-5:00pm: Parrot Adventure, Ahoy!

All ages are welcome to take part in our parrot adventure! Admission by donation.

Come meet our parrot friends, have your picture taken, watch a video, learn about parrots, and take part in a treasure hunt!

7:00pm: Evening Dance, Arrr!

Adults only. Doors open at 6:30pm. Admission is $10.00 per ticket if you purchase before Dec 31, 2007; price goes up in 2008!

Dress in your best pirate fineries or land lubber garb, and come along for an evening of fun and dancing. We promise a great mix of music (Country, Swing, Ballroom and Latin). The proceedings begin with a dance lesson, so those among ye with sea legs can master the dance floor! There will be a treasure hunt, prizes for the best pirate costume, and a silent auction with tables announced between 9:45-11:00pm.

Have fun, and support the World Parrot Refuge at the same time!

For tickets or to volunteer, please contact the organizer, Karen Loveys, at karenloveys.ca.

A work group from a church in Nanaimo came down to contribute a few hours help this past Sunday afternoon. As well as getting a good start on an outdoor flight cage for the smaller birds, they made toys, cleaned, and helped with the evening feeding. And of course they received a warm welcome from Esther and the other birds!

Framing the outdoor cage...

Girls with Power Tools - making toys.

Handfeeding the Special Needs birds...

Esther's special welcome!

If your church, school, service club or other group would like to help us, we would be very happy to welcome you too! Please email or phone ahead so we can arrange the details with you.

Thanks!

It's September and some of our bird-keepers are returning to the school books. One such employee recently dropped in to say "bye for now" to her feathered friends.

Carley saying 'see ya later' to her new friends.

If you'd like to work for the World Parrot Refuge, please check out the job information on this website. We need energetic, reliable, hard-working people who would enjoy this unique job experience.

We've been so fortunate to have the Refuge featured prominently in the media recently. Our founder, Wendy Huntbatch, appeared on television on CTV Canada AM this morning to discuss the problems associated with keeping intelligent, long-lived parrots as pets, and the work we do at the Refuge to care for these birds who, through no fault of their own, can no longer live with their human flock and have nowhere else to go. The CTV Canada AM feature, with a link to a video of the interview, may be found here.

Last week, the Refuge also featured in a wonderful article in the Life section of the Globe and Mail newspaper. You may read Cinda Chavich's article online here.

These features have been terrific for raising the profile of the plight of our parrots, but there is still so much to be done to secure the future. Please visit the help us page to see if there's anything you can do to help the beautiful birds of the World Parrot Refuge. Together, we are making a difference.

During July 2007, the Girl Guides of British Columbia held a huge "jamboree" of over 2,500 intrepid campers and leaders near Parksville on Vancouver Island. As part of their week's activities, the girls chose a variety of service projects. The World Parrot Refuge was honoured to receive teams of approximately 25 Guides each morning and afternoon for four days.

These adventuresome young women helped us in many ways -- doing the kinds of things that just keep getting put off while we attend to the more pressing matters of caring for over 600 parrots.

It wasn't all work though... we made sure everyone had some quality time with the parrots!

This video is sent out as a big THANKS to all the SOAR 2007 Guides:

Some of the tasks the Guides accomplished for us: washed all the outside and many of the inside windows; washed endless loads of dishes; washed, dried and folded laundry; hauled heavy Arbutus branches from the front of the building to a storage pile for use in future habitat perches; weeded the walkways; painted the outside benches; cleaned out the storage shed where donated toys and stuffies are kept until we can process them; made never-ending strings of toys for our birds (who LOVE to chew on them!); donated Toonie Toys as personal gifts to some of the birds (did you see Miss Daisy giving her new teddy a drink of water?); and most of all, the Guides met, enjoyed and respected the wonderful residents of the World Parrot Refuge.

Thanks again!

Many local schools visit the World Parrot Refuge. Afterwards they often send a thank you note or report regarding their experience. Here's one unique booklet sent by a class from the Qualicum Elementary School. (I've converted it to a slideshow for the internet).

I think you'll agree they did a wonderful job!

Two very generous donors have contributed the funds required to make the permanent flights of the Macaw House a reality. This video shows the early stages of work on the Macaw House, and is hosted by Esther and Frodo.

Many thanks to Grant Corriveau for creating the video for our enjoyment. Grant, a dedicated volunteer at the World Parrot Refuge, makes a cameo appearance as personal assistant to Esther and Frodo.

2 January 2007

As always, at this time of year we reflect upon the 12 months we have left behind. Naturally there are some days that I would rather not have endured. The day that Revenue Canada seized the bank accounts of the Refuge and the Gift Shoppe was, I think, the most emotionally disastrous day of my life. Although Horst and I had personally donated thousands of dollars to pay for food and heat for the birds as well as five months' wages for our valuable employees, we just did not have any money left to pay Revenue Canada.

Read more »

Recently the refuge was subjected to another beating: this time from the weather. In the recent storms that flooded parts of the west coast of Canada, coming at the end of a day without power, a storm tore out of the darkness on November 15 and ripped a huge section from the roof of the Macaw House.

In the virtual twilight of the buildings, the sound of the roof being torn away piece by piece sounded like thunder, scaring many of our residents. Pieces of steel roof were twisted and thrown everywhere. Sheets of tar paper followed, like ribbons dancing on the wind. One of the sliding doors was smashed by a panel of flying steel. Moreover, torrential rain destroyed the insulation in the Macaw House before we could get tarps in place over the gaping hole. Miraculously, the storm hit the part of the refuge that was empty and undergoing restoration. No birds were injured, although they had been chilled by the lack of heating and light throughout the day.

Whilst waiting for the damages to be assessed, the refuge is left to carry the costs of replacing the steel panels, tar paper and insulation. If you can help contribute to the repairs, please click on the "Donate Now" button below to proceed to the CanadaHelps.org website to make a secure online donation via credit card, or visit the Donations page for other options.

Every donation helps, no matter how small. Thank you.

July 21, 2006

What a turbulent month this has been! The nightmare began on the Canada Day long weekend when we discovered that our bank account had been seized by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Soon after, we received a phone call informing us that two CRA officers would arrive on the week commencing July 17th, to seize whatever assets necessary to sell and pay off the outstanding taxes. The media gave incredible attention to our desperate call for help and we were soon surrounded by wonderful people all doing their best to help the special birds of the World Parrot Refuge.

Caring people like you opened your hearts and your pockets to prevent impending disaster. The response was overwhelming! Your generosity and interest in helping us to improve the plight of parrots in captivity has been awesome. The words “thank you” seem small compared to the help you provided, but it comes straight from our hearts to yours!

Furthermore, the amazing people at the Great Canadian Casinos stepped up and bailed our Society out from under the hammer of the CRA. This was an incredible act on their part, and we are so grateful that they have helped us to protect these birds from a potentially dreadful fate.

Your support, and that of many other caring people, has made such a huge difference in ensuring we can continue the work we do to help these and many other parrots who need a “Home for Life”. Over the past 13 years, we have given more than 500 parrots the security and love of a permanent home, where they live a free-flight flock lifestyle. With continuing support, we can continue our work and reach out to help hundreds more. We can also continue our efforts to educate people about the real requirements of parrots, in the hope that future generations will prefer to see these amazing, long-lived beings live in their natural environment.

Once more, thank you for your help and interest. Please check our website frequently for coming developments and additions and, of course, come out to visit us at the Refuge!

Yours sincerely,
Wendy Huntbatch

July 7, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Wendy Huntbatch
Telephone: 250-951-1166
wendy@worldparrotrefuge.org

PARROTS IN PERIL

A snafu with Revenue Canada is threatening the World Parrot Refuge, a unique animal rescue society and home to 500 orphaned parrots on Vancouver Island near Parksville.

Society co-founder Wendy Huntbatch says the non profit group has been struggling to pay a $13,000 bill for employee deductions and has reached an impasse with Revenue Canada staff in Victoria, who have given notice that they will seize refuge assets July 17th if the tax bill is not paid.

Huntbatch and her board of directors are appealing to the public, and to corporate donors, to help the refuge society in its continued efforts to house, feed and care for abandoned and abused parrots, a problem that is reaching epidemic proportions as more people buy, then sell, these long-lived pets.

Huntbatch, who opened the non-profit refuge on the Island last year, moved the birds she has been rescuing for the last 13 years after Avian Influenza (AI) in B.C.'s lower mainland threatened her flock in 2004. The series of large steel buildings, (which Huntbatch's family mortgaged their small business to build and which is also threatened by the tax man), house a colorful menagerie of exotic cockatoos, macaws and other parrots, many which require medical care. Unlike most parrot refuge operations, which adopt parrots, Huntbatch's refuge is designed to provide a "home for life" for these birds which are often shunted from home to home over their 20-80 year life spans.

The number of homeless parrots, or the "parrot displacement epidemic", continues to grow with pet stores selling birds to owners who aren't prepared for the high level of care these intelligent, but often difficult animals require. Trafficking of exotic animals, especially birds, is a $10-$20 billion business, with some individual birds valued at more than $10,000.

The refuge, located in Coombs, B.C. is open for public tours.

April 2, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more info contact:
Stewart Metz, M.D., (425) 373-1441 parrotdoc@att.net
Bonnie Zimmermann, (707) 965-3480 bonniez@hughes.net

The 'Collateral Damage' of the War on "Bird Flu".

Pope Valley, California, April 2, 2006 - The deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza (AI) is chiefly propagated by commercial fowl living in close quarters; the role of migratory birds is less clear and still evolving. There is a documented species-selectivity in the sensitivity to the H5N1 virus; however, in the panic over a possible pandemic of AI, the indiscriminate culling of wild and pet birds is being increasingly practiced. These include some spectacular and endangered species of parrots rarely or never affected by the virus, providing an unnecessary further pressure for their decline towards extinction.

Not a single, well-documented case has been reported of H5N1 influenza occurring in a large parrot or cockatoo. The single case in the UK claimed to be that, turned out to be, in all likelihood, merely a misinterpretation of shoddy laboratory data, as reported in The Independent (UK) - Online Edition, on November 15 of last year. Despite this scientific fact, both Indonesia and the Philippines have recently taken to culling large numbers of these beloved but vanishing birds, even in the absence of any solid medical justification. In the Philippines (as reported in a Philippines Information Agency Press Release; March 1, 2006), 339 smuggled parrots were killed following confiscation, merely out of an imagined fear that they might carry AI. Although quarantine with testing for the virus could have excluded this possibility, these simple steps apparently were not carried out. Last year, a similar fate befell 500 parrots in the same country . (In 2004, more than 300 lovebirds were culled there merely because they had passed through Thailand in transit). Since these first 839 or so birds had all been smuggled from Indonesia, the shipments probably contained many parrots and especially cockatoos now endangered in the wild. Indeed, four of the world's five cockatoos which have been given the highest level of protection by CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) are native only to Indonesia.

In Taiwan, 28 magnificent Palm and Moluccan cockatoos were slain at CKS Airport merely out of a similar fear that they might harbor the H5N1 variant of AI. However, test results returning only 24 h. later revealed that none of the 24 was infected (Taipei Times; November 4, 2004). These birds, which are protected by both Indonesian and international law, can sell for between $1500 and $15000 each in pet stores. Recently, Taiwan has hinted that it might cull imported birds only if they are infected (Korea Times; November 18, 2005); if enforced, this policy would be an important step in the right direction.

In Indonesia itself, Agriculture officials recently announced in The Jakarta Post that all birds--including pet birds--within a given radius of chickens found to be infected with AI--would also be culled. This policy is inconsistent with the Department's own approach which it recently employed when the highly pathogenic strain of AI was discovered in the largest zoo. When avian influenza struck Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta, parrots and cockatoos were spared unless they were proven to have the disease. An additional advantage of testing prior to culling is that one thereby gains valuable new knowledge about the epizootiology (the factors determining the spread among animals) of this disease. The people suffer from this approach as well as the birds. The compensation paid to the bird owners for the loss of their property is paltry-- for example, Rp 10,000 (slightly more than $US 1) has been paid for the seizure of a Palm cockatoo.

Worse still, these spectacular, sentient creatures--with an intelligence likened by some psychologists to that of 2 to 4 year human children--are being burned alive. This is a profoundly inhumane approach, inconsistent both with veterinary principles in most of the world as well as with Indonesia's own strict limitations on the use of euthanasia in general. It is also inconsistent with any policy of the current government claiming to support the conservation of Indonesia's vanishing species, since it sends a message to Indonesia's people that these birds are disposable and not worthy of efforts to save them. The unnecessary culling of such birds also makes a mockery out of anti-smuggling efforts.

Ironically, there are organizations and committees which should be able to work together to solve this problem--but it is not apparent (judging by outcomes, at least) that the "right hand" knows what the "left hand" is doing on this issue. For example, within the critical ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), there is the Experts Working Group on CITES, the ASEAN Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Taskforce, and the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity . Logically, these groups would work together to fight the bird flu epidemic while simultaneously protecting endangered avifauna, but one sees no evidence that these groups are working in concert. Likewise, a Cooperative Initiative between the Philippines and Indonesia to reduce the illegal trade in parrots and cockatoos was established in June of 2004 and includes a plan for repatriation of confiscated specimens back to Indonesia from the Philippines (TRAFFIC Bulletin 20; February, 2005). Obviously, repatriation did not occur in the cases cited and it would seem to be an exercise in futility to interdict smuggling if examples of endangered species are seized by agents who then kill them.

Preventing a pandemic of avian influenza inevitably will require some draconian measures. However, a rational approach would seem to be a war on Bird Flu, not a War on all Birds. (That statement, of course, extends well beyond parrots). Tony Juniper pointed out in The Guardian that "there are many bird species at the brink of extinction, and flu could push them over the edge"--but it seems that it may be man, and not the flu, which is the graver risk to endangered parrots. Stewart Metz, M.D., and Director of the Indonesian Parrot Project stated that "some of the world's most precious creatures-- which are already vanishing in the wild due to man's greed--should not be further threatened due to man's refusal to apply reason backed by scientific principles. The effects of such a tragedy would persist well after this calamitous disease outbreak ceases."

Read more »

Grant Corriveau is a special volunteer who devotes much of his time to helping our parrot friends. Grant has a wonderful blog with anecdotes, photos and videos of his experiences as a volunteer at the World Parrot Refuge. Share his adventures, and learn why it's such a heart-warming and emotional experience to be part of giving these amazing parrots a "home for life". Visit Grant's site here - West Coast Chronicles.

Thanks for all you do, Grant!