Saving baby parrots

[NewsWhore]

Hispaniolan parrots (Amazona ventralis) and parakeets (Aratinga chloroptera) are now listed as vulnerable on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Local environmentalists say the species could disappear if the illegal sales continue, especially in La Penda on the Duarte Highway in violation of Law 64-00. National Zoo director Patricia Toribio Paulino has re-launched the Project for the rehabilitation of psitacids on Hispaniola. She said that the way the chicks are trapped, by toppling trees to reach the nests, is doubly damaging to nature. A project is under way to rescue the chicks from illicit sale and to rehabilitate them so that they are able to fend for themselves and feed in the wild. Capture and sale of these birds is banned by Law 64-00, but the authorities have not taken action to close down the La Penda bird selling area, in flagrant violation and in full public view. She said that eight of every ten chicks that are captured die before they are sold.

The project is funded by a Ford Foundation grant that recognizes initiatives for the conservation of species as well as by the Program for the Recovery of the Puerto Rican Parrot (Miguel Garcia and Thomas White), the Center for the Rescue Arcas Guatemala (Fernando Garcia), The Toledo Zoo (Peter Tolson), National Aviary (Steven Latta and Steven Sarro), and the World Parrot Trust (James Giraldi).

www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/142690/0 (http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/142690/0)

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