There has been a worrying development in bird conservation in the Caribbean recently. On March 17, two Sisserou (Imperial Parrots Amazona imperialis) and ten Jaco (Red-necked Parrots Amazona arausiaca) were whisked away from the island of Dominica, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Maria last year. How, why and where did they go? Well, we know they were taken to Germany, courtesy of an organisation that claims to have “rescued” the birds due to an “emergency” and their poor condition – which is is far from the truth. The birds were being well cared for in an aviary operated by experts on their island home; some had already been returned to the wild.
Well, you can read BirdsCaribbean’s full statement on the matter on the BirdsCaribbean website here.
BirdsCaribbean concludes:
We know that the people of Dominica are resilient and proud of their beautiful birds and in particular, their National Bird, the Sisserou. For this reason alone, the recent removal of these birds from the island calls for far more explanation and justification than has been made public.
Please sign the petition here. Bring back Dominica’s precious parrots! Their export was on very shaky legal, scientific and conservation grounds and was far from transparent.
Petchary's Blog 
I think it is absolutely disgusting and have signed the petition.
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Thank you so much!! We really appreciate your support.
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Am I reading this craziness correctly? Dominican parrots taken to Germany for safe keeping? Who let this happen?
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Sadly Mark – yes, you are reading it correctly. I hope you read the full statement. It appears that one or two people in the government MAY have let this happen, and the government claims it was done legally, although no one knew about it until virtually after the fact. However, please note a letter from several conservation organisations sent to CITES and the UN Environment Programme, just today. I am just about to post it on my blog. This is how people and organisations overseas take advantage of small islands, after a disaster. Words like “rescue” and “save” and “emergency” to justify their actions. Who benefits? Well, somebody does – but the people rarely do! Thanks for caring!
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Disaster capitalists and lustful negroes
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Predators; they are always out there, but it’s especially disgusting when they prey on what few good things remain in areas recovering from disasters…. thank you for this, and for the petition link.. heading there now…
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Yes… What Naomi Klein calls “disaster capitalism.” People take advantage of the situation, as if they are knights in shining armour, instead of actually helping to empower the people to help themselves and to “build back better” (a favourite phrase). Look what happened in Haiti after the earthquake – it was a disaster on top of a disaster!
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There is so much corruption in the world; leaders asking for help and then stealing funds… hiding behind false smiles or even knowing the facts (as in climate change) yet their greed is greater than concern for what’s ahead. At least we have good people doing good things to balance against the evil ones – you are one of those people.
I’ve been reading what I hope are most/all of your posts, but usually offline. I remain one of your greatest fans!!!!
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Yes, corruption comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes! As you are no doubt aware, here in the so-called “Third World” we are particularly vulnerable and don’t always have the mechanisms to deal with it. I am glad you used the word GREED. I think that is at the root of it all…Thank you so much for your kind words, and for your faithful support as a reader – whether on or offline! I hope things are working out a little better for you as I know you have been through a difficult period. With very best wishes…
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