The World Parrot Trust was founded in 1989 as UK
Registered Charity No 800944 International expansion has
been rapid and the Trust now has linked charities and
support groups in Africa, Australia, Pelgium, Canada,
France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Scandinavia, Switzerland
and the USA.
Funds raised for the parrots have now reached £650,000
(S JM) and have been used to initiate and support
conservation and welfare projects in 19 countries for 23
species of parrot. Despite this wide-ranging activity, the
Trust is run on a volunteer basis, with only two part time
administrators worldwide. This uniquely cost-effective
approach is made possible by substantial financial and
logistical support donated by Paradise Park, the UK home
base of the World Parrot Trust.
The objective of the Trust is to promote the survival of all
parrot species and the welfare of individual birds. It
pursues these aims by funding field conservation work,
research projects and educational programmes. The Trust
seeks to promote the concept of 'responsible aviculture'
where the interests of the parrots themselves are given
priority over commercial, political, career or other human
concerns. The World Parrot Trust and its members wish to
be recognised as the 'True Friends of the Parrots', and to
win over the majority of aviculturists to its point of view.
The task is huge - our resources are limited. We need the
commitment of everyone in the 'parrot community':
those who keep, breed, study and protect the parrots.
Beyond those special interests, we look for support from
everyone who understands the crisis facing the world
through the loss of biodiversity. We aim to continue
using the special charm of the parrots to win the hearts
and minds of thoughtful people everywhere.
Michael Reynolds
Founder and Hon. Director
World Parrot Trust
ECHO PARAKEET Psittacula echo Mauntius
When the World Parrot Trust began to support this species in
1990 it was the least
numerous parrot in the world, with only about 15 individuals
left in the wild and
none in captivity. We began by supplying a 4WD vehicle (with
help from the UK Parrot
Society), and have provided research funds every year, to reach
a current total of
£50000. For the past three years we have sent our trustee and
veterinary consultant
Andrew Greenwood to advise the team headed by Carl Jones of the
Jersey Wildlife
Preservation Trust. Working together with the Mauritian
Wildlife Fund, they have
raised the total number of Echo Parakeets to around 50. Of
these, 17 are in the new
aviary facility, and plans are in hand to begin releasing some
back into the wild in
1996. This is probably the world's most successful parrot
conservation programme.
LEAR'S MACAW Anodorhynchus leari Brazil
Since 1992 the World Parrot Trust has been supporting the work
of Dr Charles A
Munn III, the world's leading expert on macaws. At one time,
Lear's Macaw was
thought to be reduced to only 50 or 60 specimens, living in a
dry and desolate area of
NE Brazil. These birds are threatened by a shortage of the palm
trees on which they
rely for food and this lead to our funding a longterm scheme to
grow and transplant
thousands of these trees. The other main threat is the trapping
of these birds for sale
to unscrupulous collectors. Dr Munn, with his Brazilian
colleagues in the area, has
made substantial progress in converting trappers to macaw
protectors. His team has
also discovered the nesting cliffs of an entirely new
population of Lear's Macaw, a
very welcome development (see our PsittaScene newsletter for
November 1995).
PALM COCKATOO Probosciger aterrimus Australia, New Guinea
Following five years of providing funding for an endangered
sub-species of the Red-
tailed Black Cockatoo, we have now made a conirnitment to help
fund a new three year
comparative study of the Palm Cockatoo in Cape York, Australia,
and Crater Mountain,
Papua New Guinea. We will be working with the Queensland
National Parks and Wildlife
Service, and with the Wildlife Conservation Society, a branch
of New York Zoological
Society.
Surprisingly little is imown about the Palm Cockatoo, and this
long term study will be of
great value to the future conservation of the species, which
has been placed on
Appendix 1 of CITES because it has been so heavily trapped and
traded. It will be
pleasing for the World Parrot Trust to be working for the
survival of the bird which is
part of its logo.
PARROT ACTION PLAN 1997-2002
A previous draft Parrot Action Plan had been discontinued due
to differences of opinion
between leading scientific experts. The World Parrot Trust took
the initiative in making
a new attempt at this task, so vital to the conservation of
endangered parrot species.
With the invaluable help of British Airways Assisting
Conservation, who provided flights
worth £20000, a meeting of international parrot specialists was
arranged in London in
June 1995. This resulted in agreement to proceed with a new
Action Plan, backed by
IUCN, the World Conservation Union, Birdlife International, the
Association for Parrot
Conservation and the World Parrot Trust. We have been given the
job of coordinating
and progressing the Action Plan, which is to be completed by
the end of 1996. We need
$30000 for this, but so far we have only $5000 provided by
ourselves, and $4000 from
the Institut fur Pap ageienforschung. We would welcome further
donations or pledges to
complete the necessary funding.
ST VINCENT PARROT Amazona guildingii St Vincent, West Indies
Our involvement with this most beautiful of parrots goes back
many years. In 1974
Paradise Park (home of the World Parrot Trust) was sent a pair
of these birds by the St
Vincent Government. The Park has succeeded in breeding them and
is sending offspring
to members of the official St Vincent Parrot Consortium.
In 1994 we were able to send one of our four Parrot Buses
(created in partnership with
Paul Butler of RARE Centre) to St Vincent, where it is used to
educate the island's
children about the importance of preserving the remaining
rainforest, not just for the
parrots, but to ensure the island's water supply. We have also
sent Dr Andrew
Greenwood to advise on the government's breeding programme for
the St Vincent
Parrot and we are in the process of building a new display
aviary in the famous
Botanical Gardens in Kingstown.
RED-VENTED COCKATOO Cacatuci haematurnpy~ia The Philippines
This cockatoo is now listed as 'Critical' in BirdUfe
International's 'Birds to Watch 2'. The
total population may he between 1000 and 4000, scattered among
many islands. The
destruction of its lowland forest habitat is a major concern,
but trapping is probably the
greater threat. Indeed, 'Birds to Watch 2' reports 'the young
of every known accessible
nest are taken for the pet trade.'
Urgent action is needed and Marc Boussekey of Espace
Zoologique, France, has been
successful in setting up a conservation programme on Palawan, a
remarning stronghold of
the species. His partners there have established the Sagip
Kotala (Save the Cockatoo)
Movement, and their members are protecting nest sites by
providing incentives for cx-
poachers and educating the local population through radio
broadcasts. We have provided
$2000 towards a total budget of $20000, so much more help is
needed. Remember, this
species is 'Critical', so please consider helping this project.
HYACINTH MACAW Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus Brazil, Paraguay
When we first started working with Dr Munn in 1991, we
part-funded some research
into the breeding biologr of the Hyacinth Macaw in the Pantanal
of Brazil. We also
funded a successful experiment in the provision of artificial
nestboxes for these birds.
A wild population of at least 50000 thirty years ago has been
reduced to an estimated
3000 today, almost entirely due to the insatiable demand for
these beautiful birds as
pets in developed countries. Many thousands have died in the
processes of capture and
transportation and it is certain that there are now more in
captivity than in the wild.
With this history, aviculture has a duty to 'put something
back' to help the birds in the
wild. We are currently working with Charlie Munn to develop a
programme to help
protect an important population of Hyacinth Macaws in Eastern
Brazil. This is our most
urgent and underfunded project, and we need to find $40,000 for
1996 - please help.
PARROT HABITAT FUND
One of our original stated 'Aims' was 'to protect and preserve
the natural habitats of
parrots'. We now feel ready to start a special fund for this
purpose. The
PARROT HABITAT FUND uses a beautiful rainforest painting
generously donated to the
Trust by Cyd Riley of Firefly T-shirts. It carries the message
'Save it for the parrots,
save it for us all!'
We have established contact with a number of excellent habitat
preservation projects
involving parrots and details of these will be provided in our
newsletter PsittaScene.
Our hope is that this campaign and the T-shirts and other
merchandise associated
with it, will appeal to a wide general audience in addition to
the 'parrot world'.
YOU CAN HELP US...
Charles A Muno III PhD.
Founder Trustee WPT-USA
Senior Research Biologist..
Wildlife Conservation Society.
Andrew Greenwood MRCVS.
Founder Trustee of
WPT-UK and WPT-USA. Zoo
and wildlife vetinary
consultant.
Audrey Reynolds.
Director, Paradise Park.
Founder Trustee of
The World Parrot Trust UK
Rosemary Low.
Author of 'Endangered
Parrots' and 20 more parrot books. Editor of
PsittaScene
Wm. Richard Porter MO.
Director of the International Aviculturists Society. Founder Trustee of WPT-USA.
David Woolcock.
Curator, Paradise Park
Founder Trustee of Thr
World Parrot Trust UK.
Michael Reynolds.
Founder of The World
Parrot Trust, Hon. Director
of WPT-UK, Trustee of WPT-
USA.
SAVE THE PARROTS!
Join us.
Become a member of the World Parrot Trust, receive
our PsittaScenee newsletter, know that you are actively
contributing towards our aims
Help fund our Projects.
We are currently supporting parrot conservation,
education and welfare projects in Africa, Australia,
Bolivia Brazil the Caribbean, Ecuador, Mauritius, New
Zealand Paraguay, Peru and the Philippines. Your
generosity towards the parrots could help us expand
current schemes and start new ones.
Aims of the Trust.
The survival of parrot species In the wild, and the
welfare of captive birds.
These aims are pursued by:-
Educating the public on the threats to parrots.
Opposing trade in wild-caught parrots.
Preserving and restoring parrot habitat.
Studying the status of parrot populations.
Encouraging the production of aviary-bred birds.
Creating links between aviculture and conservation.
Promoting high standards in the keeping of parrots.
Supporting research into veterinary care of parrots.
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