Baby parrots in Recife – video by Eco Conservation

The wildlife smuggling is one of the most environmental problems in Brazil, which together with habitat loss, has been responsible for the threat of extinction for many Brazilian wildlife species. The case reported in this video, refers to the seizure of 517 baby parrots on September 25th, 2011, at Belem de Sao Francisco City, Pernambuco State, Brazil. All the animals seized were packed in wire mesh cages which were hidden among a truck’s loading that was inspected by Federal Police on suspicion of drug trafficking. Due to the huge amount of seized animals, and mainly because they’re very young baby parrots and have a really poor health conditions, it was decided that they should be sent to the Superintendent of IBAMA.
The Brazilian Environmental Agency, in Recife, Pernambuco located about 400 miles from where they were seized. So, since when the baby parrots arrived in Recife, the ECO (Environmental Conservation Organization), an environmental non-profit ngo, is charged with assisting IBAMA in the feeding management and health care of these animals. Firstly, we asked for dozens of volunteers to assist us in the daily management of food supply, but due to the fact that almost none of them had previous experience with hand feeding baby parrots, the staff of ECO has made an agile training system and supervision of the volunteers in order to make a safe and fast feeding management for the animals. We have trained so far, about 200 volunteers! So, everyday, when the volunteers come to the feed management room where the parrots are, they learn some basic techniques on feeding and sanitary management for baby parrots. Moreover, all attempts to feed the parrots every day has been supervised by technicians from ECO and IBAMA, as a way to ensure correct performance of management procedures and also help those volunteers that don’t have enough skill, and they also are ready to act in emergency situations demanded for a more intensive support of experienced professionals.

The daily management of the baby parrots fortunately, is quite simple, due to conditions of very limited resources available at IBAMA especially in reard to the availability of a suitable site for the achievement of feeding procedures, as well as the limited availability of containment boxes for all these birds. Thus, these baby parrots, in all stages of growth, are fed only three times a day, using this syringes fitted with silicone tubes that are inserted in their esophagus; in enables a fast feed capacity and prevent getting soiled in the same time, reducing greatly the possibility of emergence of diseases such as candidiasis and aspiration pneumonia. The boxes where the baby parrots are packaged shall be cleaned twice a day, by changing their substrate (composed of wood shavings, sheets of paper and quicklime) early in the morning just when we get the first meal, and in the end of the afternoon, when we supply the last meal of the day. Thus we take food management activities to accomplish these changes and it avoids an excessive stress due to the animal handling too.

Since the arrival of the baby parrots at IBAMA at Recife until today (Oct 24th) one month has passed and we are very happy to know that only a few parrots have died! What a fabulous result when compared to other cases of animal rescue from the trafficking whose mortality rate reaches up to 100% due to harsh and poor conditions of food supply and health to which they are submitted by the wildlife smugglers. For all that, we would like to express our immense gratitude to Parrots International, in the person of its president, Mr Mark Stafford, for unconditional support offered to ECO since the earliest demands arisen to ensure the survival of baby parrots at IBAMA, especially for the financial support for the purchase of 720 pounds of specific food (hand feeding formula) and medicines for baby parrots; also many thanks to Hagen, Inc. represented by its president, Mr Mark Hagen, for the immediate donation and shipping, directly from Canada, of 500 pounds of specific top quality food to baby parrots (Hagen Tropican Hand Feeding Formula;); and thanks to SOS Fauna, in the person of its president, Marcelo Pavlenco, because his great aid in operating the shipment. Of all purchased feeding formula in Sao Paulo city, Brazil. It must be emphasized that the sum of these quantities of acquired parrot food is sufficient to ensure the whole development of all the baby parrots until they can feed on other kind of food, like fruits, vegetables and grains. We’d also like to thank all the volunteers, whom daily have been ready to work with extreme care and love in the activities of feed and sanitary management of the baby parrots, which certainly has contributed to the excellent result of growth and recovery of these animals.

www.parrotsinternational.org

www.eco-conservation.org