We are so excited to announce our new Donation Can program!

Many thanks to Gary who provided the incentive for this program by asking if the refuge had donation cans. I said not right now...but we'd get some! The past week has been spent getting the cans, designing the labels, receiving feedback, printing the labels and assembling the cans.

Gary has now taken 25 cans to distribute around the Surrey/Delta areas of the Lower Mainland, BC, and has plans to visit vets and other appropriate venues.

If you would like to help out with our new Donation Can program as a distributor, or have contacts in organizations and/or businesses that would be willing to "host" a can, please contact Cheryl. There are currently 25 cans left to be distributed.

Thank you!

Follow up:

Getting the cans ready to go.

Many thanks to these Businesses who have accepted cans into their stores:

British Columbia
Petland - Langley
Just for Birds - Cloverdale
Rogers Aquatic on Scott Road - Surrey
Kennedy Heights Animal & Bird Hospital
Pet Solutions  6447 120th Street - Delta
Puppies, Fish & Critters  7019 120th Street - Delta
K & K Pet Foods 9516 120th Street - Surrey
Pet Solutions 10616 King George Hwy - Surrey
I.d Salon 202-9188 Glover Rd - Fort Langley
K & K Pet Foods (Impact Plaza) 125-15280-101 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              125-15280-101      end_of_the_skype_highlighting Avenue - Surrey
Bosley's (Fleetwood) #106-15428- Fraser Hwy - Surrey
Star Pets, only in Fleetwood Park Village #508-15950 Fraser Hwy - Surrey
Killarney Animal Hospital 2649 East 49th Avenue - Vancouver
Alpine Animal Hospital 348 - 6th Street - New Westminster

As many of you are aware, the Refuge has succeeded in part so far due to a generous grant provided by the provincial government of British Columbia. The grant application for the coming year has been rejected, leaving us with a shortfall in what we need to keep providing a home for life for our 700+ residents. We are sending out this urgent call to action to all our supporters. From about 11:00am onwards on Tuesday, September 22, a group of us will be campaigning on the provincial legislature lawn in Victoria, BC.

Wendy, Stephanie, Val, Ann, Fred, Glenn, and other volunteers will meet at the Refuge at about 8:30am, leave at 9:00am, and expect to arrive at the legislature just after 11:00am. Anyone who lives on the way to Victoria - please let us know where you are located so we can pick you up or make arrangements for another vehicle if we get enough volunteers. We will be taking approximately 12 special needs parrots, including darling Spirit who so desperately wants people to know about the plight of parrots in captivity.

We will be canvassing the politicians and the public with information about why these birds need the Refuge and the support of the government and the people. There is little regulation concerning the sale of parrots as pets, and the Refuge must deal with the aftermath when well-meaning people realize that they cannot continue to care for these birds over the span of several decades in many cases. We will pose an important question: "Have You Forgotten Us?". Media crews will be there to cover the action. Please come along and support us. Contact Wendy Huntbatch on 250 951 1166 for more information.

We are not taking this setback lightly. A group of our incredible volunteers have put their heads together to plan a series of fundraising events to help improve the Refuge's position. We are also on a drive to increase our sponsorship base through our "For the Birds" campaign - a regular donation of just $10 a month from as many people as possible will really make a difference. Tell your friends!

October 1, 2006

We have learned that on this coming Saturday, October 7, a group of parrots are to be auctioned at a general livestock and "exotic pet" auction. These intelligent, beautiful creatures are being billed as "items" to be sold. These parrots have likely already been traumatized by life circumstances that led to them being auctioned in the first place. We can't stop such auctions but we can rescue as many parrots as we can from the "pet-go-around" and give them a true "Home for Life". Just because they will go to the highest bidder, their sale doesn't mean they will be guaranteed a happy and healthy life where they will be loved and understood.

You may remember that we rescued three King Parrots from a similar auction in Victoria, all of whom are doing very well. The female was ill when we rescued her but our avian vet, Dr Anne MacDonald of Night Owl Bird Hospital, saved her life and now she is flying around and having a real life instead of being used as a breeding machine.

Even if we can only save a few parrots at least they will get the life they deserve. Please help us raise as much as possible between now and Friday night for the auction taking place the next day. Every donation will help, no matter how small, because if enough caring people help it will make a difference. Visit the World Parrot Refuge website for donation options and please let other caring people know. On behalf of these desperate parrots, thank you.

October 1, 2006

The horrors of wild bird
transport must be stopped!

Please help us make a difference by collecting signatures for our petition. All the time wild-caught parrots are allowed to be brought into Canada, the greater the responsibility we have for not only these birds, but all the birds resident in Canada who are at risk of being culled in a viral pandemic. Only about 20% of wild-caught birds survive the terrible journey - many with lifelong disabilities from traps and the "packing crates" (containing dozens and even hundreds of birds) used to bring them to North America.

The U.S. has had legislation against the importation of wild-caught birds since 1992. It's time for Canada to do the same! Our petition is to be sent to the House Of Commons, to ask for legislation banning the importation of all wild-caught birds.

Please download the petition linked below (a version in Microsoft Word format will be made available shortly). You may download the free Acrobat reader here. The House of Commons will only accept paper-based petitions (on legal-sized or letter-sized paper), so we need your help to print and get as many signatures on these petitions as you can.

Once you have gathered your signatures, please mail them as quickly as possible to FLOPRS, Box 645, Coombs BC V0R 1M0. On behalf of the World Parrot Refuge and the World's parrots, THANK YOU!

Print/Download Petition

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.