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Dear Friends, Thanks to your wonderful support and others just like you, the FlyFree program has taken off and we now have some exciting news to share! Double Your Impact! Due to the extraordinary generosity of an anonymous donor, I am delighted to report that starting now, every contribution you make to the FlyFree campaign before January 31, 2010 is matched dollar for dollar! – to a total of USD $10,000.
As you contemplate your contributions for the end of this year, please consider supporting the FlyFree campaign. Your gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar, so your gift of $25 becomes $50, $50 becomes $100, and so on. 100% of your donation will be used to return parrots to the wild and help put an end to the wild-caught bird trade forever. And thank you again; your support makes our work possible!
Best regards,
P.S. This matching donation is for a limited time only, so please consider giving today. |
12/23/2009
You can now double your impact to help save parrots!
With your help, if we can raise an additional $10,000 by January 31st, the donor will match it
-- and the WPT will receive a total of $20,000 to help save parrots!12/17/2009
Donations made to honour special friends and family members
Donations are rolling in, thanks to our wonderful supporters! One of the best parts of this process is reading through some of the notes that are coming in with the donations. Whether a donation is made to honour a pet or person, they make us smile each time.
Below are a few examples of those special notes. See if you can guess which are the parrots and which are the people:
• In memory of Jeanne Louise Davis
• On behalf of Paul Sack
• In memory of Pinch and Pepita
• In honour of All abused and neglected psittacines
• On behalf of Irina Pismenskaya
• In memory of Squeegee and Cecil B.
• On behalf of Aspiring Hearts Counseling
• In honour of Terry and Bill Pelster: Terry and Bill, Sancho and Simba, Parrots on this planet have no truer friends than you. Love and a hearty Hip-Hip-Hoo-ray! Anny, Terry, and Stanley Bird
• On behalf of Trish Welter: Hey Mom!! If you don't want to clutter up the house, just set some birds free, instead!
• On behalf of Jose, Maria and Tiki
• In memory of Rodney S. Ketcham
• On behalf of Nelson Quinones
• On behalf of www.parrothaven.ca
• In honour of Boo & Sal
• In memory of Zoe my beloved & missed Moluccan Cockatoo
• On behalf of Hannah Raven-Fish
Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who took the time to support the FlyFree campaign on behalf of their beloved friends and family, feathered and otherwise.
12/11/2009
Press Release: Global Coalition Formed to Fight Wild Caught Parrot Trade
Global coalition formed to fight wild caught parrot trade
Hayle, Cornwall, United Kingdom
December 11, 2009
After hundreds of years of active trade in wildlife, a coordinated global effort has been initiated to end the trade in wild caught parrots and return the birds to the wild.
The World Parrot Trust (WPT) announced today the launch of the FlyFree Campaign, an international alliance of animal welfare and conservation groups working together to halt the unsustainable trade in wild caught parrots - a first in the global effort to save parrots, one of the most endangered groups of birds on the planet.
Campaign urgently needed; 300 illegal parrots confiscated
"This campaign really couldn't have come at a better time to help save parrots," stated Dr. James D. Gilardi, Executive Director for the World Parrot Trust. "In the last few days we were notified of a massive confiscation of 300 Grey Parrots at an airport in Cameroon." As part of the new FlyFree movement these birds are receiving emergency funding for their care and release, which is taking place at Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon, Africa.
Over the past several decades the trade in wild caught birds has caused the suffering and loss of millions of birds. Legal and illegal harvests for the domestic and international pet trade are destructive to wild parrot populations and few birds survive from trapping to the point of sale. Those that do survive can often carry diseases, some of which are dangerous to humans, are costly to manage, and can lead to disease outbreaks in the importing countries.
A fresh approach fosters global cooperation
This unique alliance builds bridges between individuals and organizations in relatively affluent developed countries with animal rescue and rehabilitation agencies struggling to find resources in developing nations.
The initiative serves a broad mandate addressing the immediate short-term needs for the birds caught in the trade including food, shelter and housing while also addressing the longer-term issues of better enforcement of existing wildlife laws, and public awareness. The FlyFree mandate includes:
- Helping to rescue, rehabilitate and release individual birds caught in the trade
- Furthering efforts to confiscate illegal shipments of parrots, as a deterrent to future trade
- Encouraging the adoption and enforcement of laws that protect parrots
- Supporting global awareness and education programs for school-aged children and the general public
- Funding research into better understanding regional aspects of the trade
- Finding viable economic alternatives to the trade for individuals in developing countries
- Developing broad-based coalitions to advocate on behalf of parrots
Building on success to send a strong and lasting message
The World Parrot Trust is proving that a fresh approach of international cooperation and dedication can work to end the trade. The FlyFree campaign is a continuation of a massive effort begun by WPT in 2000, which led to the end of the importation of wild caught birds into the European Union. This legislation, permanently enacted in 2007, resulted in the protection of approximately 16 million wild birds.
The new FlyFree effort (www.parrots.org/flyfree) is supporting front-line fieldwork in Brazil, Belize, Guatemala, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Cameroon, Kenya and South Africa. As new partners are found, they are added to this rapidly growing network.
The World Parrot Trust is confident that the FlyFree Campaign will continue to send a powerful message to would-be trappers, to law enforcers and to the general public. Ultimately, confiscating and freeing birds helps stop trade itself, and highlights the inherent value of these birds in the wild.
About the World Parrot Trust:
The World Parrot Trust (WPT) is dedicated to the conservation and welfare of parrots, worldwide. Founded in 1989, the WPT has regional branches in North America, Asia, Australia and Europe. Now in its 20th year, the WPT has aided 47 parrot species in 27 countries.
Notes:
- High resolution images of parrots caught in the wild bird trade are available at: http://www.parrots.org/flyfree/pressphotos.html
- Detailed information about the wild bird trade, FlyFree campaign partners, and related information can be found at: http://www.parrots.org/flyfree/about.html
- Video footage of the FlyFree program and wild caught bird trade can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32xAVh3NSYg
- Recent updates from FlyFree field partners including information on active confiscation, rehabilitation and release efforts can be found at: http://www.parrots.org/flyfree/media.html
- Reports, research findings and information about trade-related export quotas can found in the 'Resources' section of this page: http://www.parrots.org/flyfree/media.html
- Media interviews are available upon request. Contact information listed at: http://www.parrots.org/flyfree/media.html
12/08/2009
Why rescue and release?
A few of us were sitting around this morning, discussing the importance of saving parrots, and how they are so much a part of our world. Their effortless flight, their interaction with each other and the other organisms they share their ecosystem with, their contributions to the health of their special niche in the natural world -- that's why they're here.
Given that perspective, it is therefore easy to see why the FlyFree Campaign is so important, so necessary; because we need to keep each ecosystem as intact as possible. And to do that we need to rescue, rehabilitate and release as many trapped wild birds as possible, and get them back where they belong.
To give you some further food for thought, we encourage you all to visit this page:
http://www.parrots.org/flyfree/why-rescue-and-release.html
It explains a bit more about what the FlyFree initiative is about, and why we are launching this important campaign. At the very least, we hope it will give you something to think about.
12/04/2009
Welcome to the FlyFree Blog
Well here we are! Welcome to the FlyFree blog, place of all and any important news, updates and information relevant to the FlyFree Campaign, the campaign to end all campaigns. (How many times can we say campaign?)
Conceived of by the World Parrot Trust, FlyFree is a world-wide effort. That's pretty big. And it's for a pretty big problem. What is FlyFree about? In a nutshell, we're about ending the trade in wild caught parrots for good. We're working with local governments to help create or enforce existing laws in place to protect natural populations. We're partnering with many local and international non-profit organizations to support their efforts to create awareness and change local attitudes.
We're also aiding local peoples, whose livelihoods depend on the trade in parrots, to find sustainable replacement income. And we care about the welfare of individual parrots -- their rescue, rehabilitation and eventual release back into the wild, whenever possible. Where they belong.
Stay tuned, and please visit our new FlyFree website at www.parrots.org/flyfree.
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