Nov-Dec 2016, Volume 26 Issue 6

Most parrots residing in our living rooms today are only a generation or two removed from their wild relatives. This is important to us as their companions and stewards because it means, unlike chickens, dogs, cats, cows, horses, and other domestics, not only is their genetic makeup essentially unchanged from parrots in the wild, but there has not been sufficient time to selectively breed for traits and characteristics that would make coexistence in a human household a little more harmonious.

As previously reported in Parrot Society of Australia News, the future for the Endangered Norfolk Island Green Parrot is looking a lot brighter. This is thanks to intensive recovery efforts over the past three years by Parks Australia and their invaluable key stakeholders including The Parrot Trust of Australia. Surveys conducted by Massey University’s Dr Ortiz-Catedral show the Green Parrot numbers have escalated from approximately 50 individuals in 2013 to more than 200 in 2015.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 2 October 2016 – African Grey parrots were granted much-needed protection from the wildlife trade by the delegates at the Conference of the Parties to CITES 17 (CoP17), which voted to end all commercial trade in wild African Grey Parrots. The proposal was submitted by Gabon, and co-sponsored by Angola, Nigeria, Guinea, Togo, Senegal, Chad, the United States and the European Union. During the debate many other African states spoke up in support of the proposal.