BIRD IMPORTATION MAY BE BACK

ZYBen

ZYBen

Well-Known Member
Its true there is a chance that bird importation can resume, ok heres the deal,
there an egg facility on Torrens Island (i think in SA, are there other Torrens islands.) There rent is something like $126 a day for the house on the island, then you also have to rent the egg facility (not cheap) there is a 5 year waiting list.

All eggs must have been layed in a quarantine facility, and they must stay in the facility for 3 months (after hatching),

SO it is possible. I dont know who is renting the facility at the moment, probably poultry breeders.
 
that's great, but i'm sure there is no doubt years of paperwork standing in the way. what i would like to see is bulk imports of around 10-15 exotic birds that will be zoo-only species. should the collection be planned carefully and imported in bulk (say at least 20 individuals of different blood) then we can expect the animals to do well here long term. the few exotic birds we do have here are suffering so badly from inbreeding that if we are going to continue to keep them here we will have to include them in our importation endevours. examples of such are siamese fireback pheasants and greater rhea, the latter being so inbred now that they are no longer producing fertile eggs and are effectively extinct in our region.

other species such as the curassow's and victoria crowned pigeons are in such small numbers and in single sexed groups that their species existance in our region is negligable. therfore, i hope when choosing a range of species for import our zoos don't automatically feel the need to bring in more members of the existing exotic contingent simply because we already have them. that said, some of the exotic birds currently in the country and in need of new blood are amazing species that are worth preserving here and the previous experience with them may be benificial.

my suggestion is a range of species that will compliment the immersion themes our zoos are focusing their attentions on, with no importations of parrots or other genera that are already very well represented. instead we should focus on softbills and a variety that will compliment the exotic birds that already exist in the regionin sustainable numbers. any species chosen would also have to be species common in zoos and aviculture overseas, so that there was a sizeable genetically variable population from which to source founder stock and a swathe of husbandy information and resources available to our zookeepers. since it will be such an expensive effort, we must be sure these are species that we will have thriving success with.

below is my suggestion for a range of birds that would suit. all species are very well established in captivity in zoos around the world. all are very colourful and or interesting representations of their families. the only bird from asia i recommend is the bali myna and this is due to its virtually extinct status in the wild. it would therefore serve as a good educational example. other that this however asian birds are very well represented in australia already and many australian birds have a distribution that extends well into the region. therfore it is largely exlcuded.

AFRICA
purple gossy or emerald starling
red-crested or white-cheeked turaco
congo peafowl
greater flamingo
east african crowned crane

SOUTH AMERICA
keel-billed, channel-billed, sawinson's or toco toucan
scarlet ibis
razor-billed curassow
greater rhea
andean condor

NEW GUINEA
blyth's or great hornbill
victoria crowned pigeon
reggina bird-of-paradise

ASIA
bali myna
 
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Hi guys i accidentally sent an application for an import permit and got this take a read.

Dear Ben
Thank you for your enquiry regarding licence forms for keeping birds within Australia. This issue is managed by state governments. Pleasecontact the relevant state parks and wildlife service to find out theirrequirements.
NSW NPWS (02)9585 6444
Parks Victoria (03) 9412 4011
QLD NPWS (07) 3227 7800
Environment ACT (02) 6207 9777
SA NPWS (08) 8204 9167
WA CALM (08) 9334 0333
NT Parks and Wildlife (08) 8999 5511

If you wish to import live birds from overseas, please contact WildlifeTrade with the scientific name of the species you wish to import and Iwill advise you of our requirements. I hope you find this information useful. If you have any furtherqueries, please contact our general enquiry line on
(02) 6274 1900 oremail wildlifetrade@deh.gov.au

Kind regards
Wildlife Trade
Click to expand...
So we can import birds from overseas, this is very confusing to me
 
ben, as i'm sure you know as an aviculturalist that their are lots of bird that have been imported into australia over the years. the so called "total ban" has allowed many birds through nonetheless, most notably bulk impots of parrots such as macaws and lories. if you read the import application on the DEH website you see that people are constantly applying to import pet parrots that they purachased whilst living abroad. whether these applications are successful or not i have no idea (people try for hedghogs and all sorts of other creatures as well). as you said it is a confusing matter and i have no idea whatsoever what the actual regulations are and why zoos and private indviduals seem to have no problems getting in some animals, yet others are so difficult. i don't understand how one could argue a lorie, macaw or other parrot is not at risk at establishing itself in the wild, but a flamingo or turaco is. green iguanas would pose a serios threat if release up in queensland, bumese pythons and boa constrictors even more. these are species with a history of establishing themselves in the wild overseas, yet our zoos are allowed to have as many as they like.

if anyone can shed any light on the actual current issues surrounding bird importations, like you ben i would looooove to know what they are!!!!
 
Yes i agree pat, If we can do it why arent Zoo's i was told by a keeper that there is no way taht there will every be any more flamingoes in Aust, surely it is less likely for a feral Flamingo Colony to set up, The only birds i can see setting up feral populations are birds already common in Aust (probably the only exotic birds i can see that happening with is either lovebirds or Indian Ringnecks, other exotics are way to expensive, or maybe some finches), no ones going to let there $30 000 Rajah Lory fly free

i oudn this list of all the species already cleared for import, its a pity that many animals aren't on it.
http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/trade-use/lists/import/pubs/live-import-list.pdf
 
I think i have worked it out,

When zoo's import Animals where do they go, yes to the zoo, Its how it happens with most (i know about the elephants being in the coco's first, but this is a bird thread). Well the DEH and Government agencies, only allow birds to go to 2 facilities
– Spotswood, Victoria (imported birds)
– Torrens Island, South Australia (hatching eggs)
and both these facilities are very expensive, as i said before with Torrens Island. Now we all know how much the Zoos spent on the elephants (i know i keep picking on the ele's, sorry elphant people), well they will bring in heaps of Visitors, but say Zoos spent the same amount on importing Curasow, Flamingo and Touraco these animals would just be over looked, I constantly hear around Adelaide Zoo, "excuse me Volunteer, Where are the Elephants?", (then i have to explain to this visitor the whole small zoo thing.) Can you really see your average Joe (or Jane) saying, Ohh Where are the Curasow, Flamingo and Touraco? I am sorry to say this but people just dont want to see birds, i do, i was very angry when i was last at Taronga and the Macaws were not on Display.

I know for a fact many visitors get annoyed at the diverse range on Finches and Softbills at Adelaide, something they are very proud of, and would much rather have a row of aviaries and the rest of the room spent on Bear, Tiger, Leopard, Elephant and Giraffe(another thing being discontinued at Adelaide) enclosures.

They only want 1 Macaw, 1 Cockatoo and maybe 2 Finches, and a pretty duck, thats it.

So if we want more birds we need to get more $$$$, so most likely the only way Birds can get here is through private hands, Elephants bring in the crowds, Strawberry Avadavats do not.
 
bird exhibits-key attractions

i reckon it all depends on how the birds are actually displayed. true a lot less people would rather see birds than elephants, but i think given the immersion exhibits that many zoos are creating the emphasis is more on inter-species links and multi-species exhibits where birds could play an exciting role.
i particularly like walk through aviaries like taronga's wollemi and melbournes great flight aviary. both of these are stand-alone attractions but taronga's wild asia exhibit helps show how incorporating smaller bird exhibits within precincts can turn them into key attractions too.
in taronga's wild asia there are two aviaries-both walk-through and they exhibit a rather diverse range of species. the palm aviary is probably my favourite with simulated ruins and palms growing everywhere-it features nicobar pigeons, bleeding heart pigeons, king quails, golden pheasants, green peafowl, chukar partridge, lories, pekin robins, bulbuls and manakins.
the main theme in that aviary is the birds role in the forest eco-system, such as seed dispersal as well as how different species have spread from asia to australia.
the second aviary is the wetland aviary, where visitors enter through oriental pagodas from the wetland zone, with its tapirs, otters and fishing cats. it features reed warblers, java sparrows, royal spoonbills, imperial pigeons, mandarin ducks, whistling ducks, kingfishers and metallic starlings. the key feature is the boardwalk out over the wetlands that passes against the waterfall. here the messages are about wetland eco-systems which are related back to australia too.
both these aviaries are exciting parts of wild asia. in other parts of the exhibits there are mixed species exhibits of birds and mammals, such as ruddy shelducks with the tapir ad junglefowl with the chital. they add a new dimension to the experience and offer many intriguing interpretation oportunites.
i think in many ways new bird exhibits represent the shift by some zoos to build exhibits which emphasise more than just the charismatic mega-fauna.
in contrast to taronga and melbourne, who are most likely at the forefront of this approach, perth zoo maintains a comprehensive bird collection of more than 40 aviaries in its 'world of birds' precinct. but it is bypassed by most visitors. in the future, integrating these species into other precincts, as with their wetlands exhibit which also features crocodiles and reptiles, should help to attract more interest.
 
i agree with glyn. many people just don't seem to have the same interest in birds as they do mammals or even reptiles. zoos can however maintain decent sized collections that are appreciated by the public by doing exactly what glyn said and mixing them up with mammal exhibits in immersion-themed habitats. glyn has given good examples of wild asia at taronga and likwise melbourne has four decent sized aviaries as part of its asian rainforest precinct (and no doubt more on the way when the new orang exhibit opens soon). these aviaries hold very attractive SE asian bids and whilst they are often bypassed by children and high-school excursions (but they ignore most animals and are generally happy to scream at them, play dumb in an attempt to be cool and crack bad jokes about elephant dicks in an attempt to lure the opposite sex) the quieter zoo enthusiasts and couples enjoy them.

the amazon aviary at melbourne always gets attention. it contains conures and macaws but also squirrel monkeys and agoutis, making for a much more engaging experience.
 
i really love them as well, in melb last week, the avaries on the asia trail are fantastic, and the oz trail

the rice feilds 1 across from tigers with ducks
a pheasant one down the trail
the red lori one across from cow paddock in elephants, and the mixed aivary near the research hut in male paddock, (which now has the orangs moving in background, looks like forest, thts wht i thought then noticed the cage) which is kool.
 
the rice paddy aviary is by far my favorite.

the great flight aviary at melbourne is in the process of a bit of a refurb. its a great place. bird ID kits can now be collected at the entry to be taken through the aviary with you. originally the GFA was a series of large ajoining aviaries for large birds of prey such as wedge-tailed eagles and was eventually developed into one big space. thus it has strong heratage value, but i think the zoo has done a great job of modernising it and it will continue to stand the test of time. the idea of three habitats in one works very nicely. Zoo_Boy, did you notice there was good population of endangered freckled ducks?
 
i did actually notice alot, i didnt no what they where but they looked nice, hehe, i see that the cassowaries are often looked over, i stopped and sat down to watch em, and no body noticed, cept for some kids who said emus, then ostches, then storks, then finally cOsowaries. they didnt pronounce, it so they walked away

i didnt notice the pick up kits, until i saw a sign saying drop here, and i didnt get back

i love the brolgas i think they were in there, i absoluatly love that avary, its huge!!!!
 
Two other really great aviaries are at Currumbin and The Australia Zoo. I am an avicultarlist and am fascinated with birds and it thoroughly pisses me off when I see people charging through the aviaries not even bothering to look to see anything. Wollimi is a great place, not just for birds but for mammels as well but you really have to spend a lot of time there. The wallabies and platypus as well as the birds will be seen but you need to be quiet amd patient and most people don't want to be. Adults are just as guilty of this as are kids.
I have visited Adelaide once and was rapt in their collection of birds. I hope to see them again sometime.
 
one thing i'm afraid to admit i have never, ever done, in all my visits - is the big taronga zoo aviary. how big is it? for some reason i get the feeling its bigger than melbournes - true? rainforest? bush? species? how does other zoos great flight aviaries hold up in comparison?
 
at adelaide we have three large aviaries, Australian Rainforest, Australian Wetlands and South-East Asian. Our rainforest is 20m X i think 40m and about 8m high, Wetlands is 20m X 20m same height as last (they are joined) we have a good collection (wetlands) of Ibis, Spoonbills, Comorants, Lorikeets, Star Finches, Stilts and heaps of ducks with a RT Black thrown in for good measure. Rainforest has White headed, Torresian and Brown Cuckoo pigeons, Green Pygmy Geese, Metalic Starling, Eclectus and King Parrots, Bowerbirds and Fig Birds. Southe East Asia has Eclectus, Green Peafowl, Pheasant Coucal, Mandarin Duck, Herons and Ibis. All our other aviaries are large the smallest being 6m X rm out in teh parrot block, we have some other natives aviaries which we call botanics, theres Coastal, Swamp, Adelaide Hills and Rainforest we also have Jewels of Asia with our Palm Cockies and many other birds, we have a huge collection of pheasants and african finches in teh pheasantry aswell as pigeons, lories and parrots
we have Australian Habitat AViaries featuresing Desert Forest (both made into our toilet block(don't ask)) and our Lyrebird aviary (my fav) made on a Temperate forest theme. We also have in the parrot block a heap of themed aviaries mainly desert, and a couple of foresty one, and a Mallee one
 
tarongas wollimi is bigger, but the others are smaller on recent ionspection of melbs, much smaller, no high boardwalk, jsut on solid dirt, and a bridge or 2
 
i like the great flight aviary at melbourne but i think wollemi is at taronga is better. i like the way it mixes mammals, birds, reptiles and fish, it even included butterflies when it first opened!!!
i actually think its really well designed, and you dont have to be that patient to see things. ive seen the platypus in the pool about every second time i visit, but the rock wallabies and echidnas are great if you cant see the platypus.
i think other highlights include the bush stone curlews, the black cockatoos and kookaburras on their cliff face and the cunningham skinks and bearded dragons who are always out sunning themselves along the footpath. also check out the reptile exhibits hidden in the simulated rock outcrops.
other great aviaries i think are...
tarongas rainforest aviary
the wild asian aviaries
western plain's mallee aviary
melbourne's asian aviaries
and perth zoo's wetland aviary and penguin plunge, which are combined and also feature crocodile exhibits and frogs and western swamp tortoise.
see zoolex for a great presentation on wollemi with plenty of great pics.
 
Check out the walk through aviarry at Hamilton Zoo in NZ
Its one million litres of airspace -- its really huge !
 
Read recently that 2 or 3 consignments of pigeons are imported into Australia each year. They come in via Spotswood. the birds are held in quaratine for a minimum of 35 days. During this time each individual bird is tested for diseases. If all pigeons are healthy they are allowed to be taken home by their owners. The pigeons are imported from approved countries, which are UK, USA, Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and Ireland.
My question is if pigeons are imported for private owners why can't zoos import exotics on a regular basis?
 
Zoos can import birds from overseas (with restrictions on the source countries) in the same way you mentioned, i.e. via Spotswood. The problem is that to use Spotswood, you need to rent the entire facility for the 35 days and this is very expensive. To make it practical, the only way to do this is to cooperatively import a large shipment, big enough to fill the quarantine facility, and share it between the zoos.

We've done this once before, importing Lories, amongst a shipment of other parrots that was brought in by private aviculturists (the Lories went to Melbourne and Taronga), but coordinating the right species, from the right countries, and the right age (live birds vs eggs), in a large enough shipment is a nightmare to organise.

It is feasible, but would take a massive amount of coordination, and the zoos haven't felt the need to outlay these resources as yet.
 
well thats nice to know.

you would think that the cost may indeed be worth it for some species. certainly flamingoes are a big potential drawcard, and would need to be brought in in very large numbers (as unltimately each zoo wold need a flock of 20+).

if planned carefully, i think with a minimum of just around 10 new exotic softbill species brought into the region, we could bulk up our existing limited exotic collections to the point were we would have some pretty diverse and decent exotic displays, even if exotic birds never do makeup the bulk of our avicultural collections in australian zoos...

hopefully one day we will get round to it.
 
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