Les Rance, Editor, The Parrot Society UK | www.theparrotsocietyuk.org


his time last year we were experiencing Avian Flu following an outbreak in Diss in


Norfolk on 3rd June 2017. In addition to this we had the African Grey parrots that had been up-listed to Annex A of CITES we spent some considerable time advising people on what is required from DEFRA to ensure that all Greys that are sold have the correct Article 10 papers. We told people that if they were thinking of buying an African Grey they must ensure it comes with the yellow CITES documentation, it is an offence to buy a Grey if it is not correctly licenced. On 15th June 2017 Alan Jones and I travelled to the DEFRA offices in Bristol for a meeting with officers responsible for the implementation of the CITES regulations. At the time I said that it seems strange that a bird that is endangered in the wild but relatively plentiful in captivity and certainly not that difficult to breed, is not being treated by the authorities in a manner that encourages aviculturalists to devote time and energy in breeding more that could potentially be used to repopulate areas


04 BIRD SCENE


INTRODUCT T


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in Africa where they were once abundant. Aviculturalists need encouragement, they do not need to feel as though they have done anything wrong by not holding the papers that officials now seem to think we should have. Prior to 4th February 2017 we could breed and sell the young with no need for paperwork, it was a perfectly legal activity. For many years bird keeping has been a relaxing past-time, however, for hobbyist breeders that keep their birds in unheated aviaries through the poor weather experienced this spring and it did not last long it can also be a worrying time, however, now that the weather is much warmer the birds seem more relaxed and there are plenty of reports that birds are breeding well this year in the UK. Those who keep their stock in breeding rooms where they can easily turn up the heating however are in a far more satisfactory position. In this edition of Bird Scene we are very pleased to have the second part of the Lesser Vasa Parrot article by Anton Schreuders. There is also an article by myself on my experiences with Budgerigars


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