The aim: Finding a decent solution for the washouts of the African Grey Parrot pet industry in South Africa, a new home for ex-pet African Grey Parrots.
African Greys parrots are amongst the world’s most popular avian pets and as result also the world’s most traded parrot. Trapping for the pet trade together with habitat destruction has had extremely severe consequences for the wild African Grey populations to such extend that these parrots have virtually been eliminated from the wild.
While greys have disappeared from their natural range, South Africa has developed the largest grey parrot breeding industry in the world. Today, 8 out of 10 captive bred African Greys parrots sold globally come from South Africa with a demand for export, according to the parrot breeders, as high as 100 000 birds each year. Now just imagine how many Grey parrots are caught up in the pet trade on home soil in this same country that breeds and export a hundred thousand Grey parrots a year.
The real ugly and heartbreaking side of this pet industry are the Greys confined to a small cage for the rest of their long lives; African Grey parrots can live for 40-60 years in captivity.
Many of these parrots eventually end up as unwanted pets due to different reasons; elderly people who took on a parrot in their younger years find themselves moving into smaller homes or retirement villages where these parrots are no longer welcome or even elderly people passing away leaving parrots behind, people emigrating from South Africa not able to take these birds with them and then the people who come to realise how unfair it is to confine a single parrot to a cage.
These are the people who contact Birds of Eden Bird Sanctuary in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa with the question: “Can you take my African grey parrot and give it a better life where it can fly and be with others of the same kind?”
Unfortunately the 2 ha forest enclosure that is Birds of Eden Bird Sanctuary simply cannot accommodate all these Greys; weekly, sometimes twice weekly requests are received for taking in single, two or even three African grey parrots at a time from owners looking to find a solution for their pets.
The solution; building a very large landscaped enclosure dedicated specifically for African Grey Parrots, outside of the Birds of Eden Birds Sanctuary, where these ex-pet birds will enjoy the company of other Greys and have the ability to fly in a safe protected environment.
This is where Birds of Eden need the assistance from everyone with a heart and feeling for these victims of the pet parrot industry, please support us in donating towards this cause. This project, an enclosure of 30m x 30m x 4,4m high, will cost a minimum of R600.000.
The birds will be under the care of Birds of Eden/South African Animal Sanctuary Alliance (SAASA) for the remainder of their lives. This is not intended as a breeding project and birds will never be traded again.
The social media handles are:
INSTAGRAM:
SAASA: @saasa_rsa
Birds of Eden: @saasa_birdsofeden
FACEBOOK:
SAASA: www.facebook.com/saasa.org.za
Birds of Eden: www.facebook.com/birdsofeden.sa
TWITTER:
SAASA: @Saasa_RSA
Birds of Eden: @Birds_Eden
