michael norris wrote:
But unfortunately there is a current (if not yet fully processed)
proposal to import the Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto as a
cage bird!
That is a fascinating request from a person unknown. It is a species
that appears never to have been present in Australia, and there are very
few aviculturalists in Australia who have any real interest in Doves.
Given it's known ability to become feral I would say that it's chances
of being approved are zero.
There you can see there is a current touching application to import a
single pet African Grey Parrot with a statement that the African Grey
"has never successfully established a feral population outside of its
native range". Comments required by 29 June.
But if you search the Internet (that great source of truth and nonsense)
3,000 have been caught in the wild in the USA and there is an quoted
report from the Sunshine State Cage Bird Society's News Letter reporting
55 "Quakers" in the wild.
The African Grey application is very thorough, but is not entirely
accurate in places. However there are probably well in excess of 1000
Greys in Australia already, they are being bred in aviculture in
reasonable numbers, and the application is true in it's statement that
they have never been reported as forming a breeding feral population
anywhere in the world. The reference to 3000 having been caught in the
USA will refer to escaped birds that have been recaptured. There are
probably in excess of 500,000 kept as pets in the USA and some do escape
each year.
The Quaker or Monk Parrot, Myiopsitta monachus, has become very
successfully feral in many placs in the world, especially Spain and the
USA, and it is banned in several USA States. Most of these feral
populations appear to have originated from the release of adult wild
caught birds rather than from aviary raised birds. Currently they are
legal in all states of Australia except for WA. They are a popular
aviary and pet bird in Australia and their estimated Queensland numbers
in captivity is in excess of 5,000 birds, with an Australia-wide captive
population of maybe approaching 20,000. Quakers have been in Australia
since at least the 1930's and quite possible since the start of the 20th
Century. In all that time they have never formed a feral population, so
with current numbers being exclusively captive raised and not wild
caught as they would have been before the 1950's, it seems that they
lack the ability to become feral in Australia.
cheers,
Mike Owen
World Parrot Trust (Australia)
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