The annual meeting of the Fonds für bedrohte Papageien
At the beginning of the month I went to Karlsruhe in south-west Germany for the annual meeting of the German parrot conservation group "Fonds für bedrohte Papageien" (Funding for endangered Parrots). It was the 20th annual meeting. They are held at locations around Germany and are usually well-attended. I've been to a lot of them and even presented at one in Cologne some years ago. The symposium went well with 13 speakers and some 200 bird-keepers and breeders as well as people involved in field conservation in the audience. The topics covered were 1. Parrots and parakeets in birdparks and zoos; 2. New advances in veterinarian practice; 3. The keeping and breeding of parrots and parakeets; 4. Conservation of parrots and parakeets in the wild; 5. Observations of parrots and parakeets in the wild - this included escaped birds which had become wild in Germany such as the ring-neck parakeet.
The Fonds has raised US$ 1.65 million for parrot and parakeet conservation projects around the world since it was set up 27 years ago. So far 106 parrot and parakeet species have benefitted from this. Current beneficiaries are the Grey-breasted Conure; Vinaceous Amazon; Blue-throated Macaw; Lilacine Amazon; Citron-crested Cockatoo; Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Red-vented Cockatoo. There is also an on-going project with the Lear's Macaw.
❮❮ Back