I'm starting one of the first bird rescue centers in this region of México (Querétaro), along with some friends. We are all biology students, still looking for a good avian veterinary jaja (some of us are about to get our degree). But things work a bit different here than in the States or some other countries. It is really sad how things look like for our feathered friends in my country.
In México, it is illegal to own any native parrot species, some of them really popular like the yellow headed amazon or the scarlet macaw. It doesn't matter if the bird was born in the wild or in an aviary, it is no longer legal to own it. This law was aprooved on 2008 because all mexican parrots are endangered, mainly due to the pet trade. Sadly, this means that people now catch these birds illegally, keeping and transporting them in the ugliest conditions you can imagine...
For exotic species, breeders need a special permit, with lots of burocracy involved to get it. So, most of the breeders are illegal. Usually illegal breeders don't care about the conditions they keep the birds in.
When the police finds any bird trader, or bird owner without the right documentation, the law says they must take the bird away and place it in a zoo or sanctuary. But all zoos and sanctuaries are severely saturated, so all these birds end up in terrible conditions, and there is nothing we can do for them. Sometimes the police just ignores illegal breeders because there is no better place for these birds!
The sad thing is, if a bird was born in the wild or by an illegal breeder, it will never be legal to own it by anyone (unless you have the same legal permit as the zoos and sanctuaries). They can never be adopted or find a nice human home.
But we are trying to make a difference. We can't change the law or stop all illegal traders, but we are making arrangements with our government so confiscated birds come to us, where they will be cared for properly. We can't put them out for adoption, but we will rehabilitate them to release them back into the wild. For the unlucky ones who can't be released (due to injuries or imprinting on humans), we will provide them with the best care for life. It will be a reeealy hard work, and lots of research will need to be done to get the rehab program working, but we are determined to make it!
We still haven't started rescuing any bird because we will need to get all the permits and burocracy done, which can take months. Next is all the burocracy to register the center as a non-profit. Untill we have all our permits, we can start building the aviary and raising funds. So, I'm thinking it will take about two years untill we can start recieving birds. But I think it is for the best, because we have two years to learn about bird care and training!
Besides rescuing birds, we need to raise awareness on people about the problems of illegal pet trade. We will talk to children in schools and make lots of campaigns to re-educate people, because ignorance is our worst enemy!
Our rescue center will be named Xerecua, which means "nest" in purépecha (a beautiful native language). It will be placed in Querétaro city, in association with the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (our local university). You can already find us in facebook, as "Xerecua. Centro de Rescatre de Aves" https://www.facebook.com/Xerecua Our site is in spanish, but we can translate you anything you like, you just ask us! We will be posting our progress there, so you can follow us and post any comment you like
REMEMBER!! Always check out the origin of your birds before buying. If you live in the States, be specially carefull with mexican species. NEVER buy a wild caught mexican parrot, because there is no way it was caught legally! You can check the list of illegal species in México here: http://www.pericosmexico.org/ The link is in spanish, but at the left of the page you can find the list of all species with an image. When you click on the image, the english and scientific name will appear.
I hope I didn't bore you with this long post, and I apologise if I made any grammar mistake (English is not my native language). We are still not asking for donations, since we don't have our non-profit registration, but you can help us a lot just by spreading the word, and giving us a like on Facebook!!
