Conservation

[Red]

...... i can't understand why there are groups out there now saving foriegn finches from lose in Australia when many our own birds need help and specialising in,surely they can tell with these survey numbers going on which Australian birds are in trouble and need to be bred up to save them.
Craig

Hi Craig,

Although I do privately agree with the sentiment of putting Australian species first, I think it's best to encourage all conservation efforts regardless. I say this because there really aren't that many birdkeepers around and I don't like the idea of aviculture being divided up into factions. For example:

Mutations vs Wild type

Big show budgerigars vs Small show budgerigars

Native Species vs Foreign Species

While most (including myself) will hold some of these to be more important, I think we can agree there are people who feel each one of these is important to them. We just need to respect our differences.

I have seen what having birdkeepers turn on other birdkeepers leads to. When the miniature show budgerigar group attacked the big show budgerigar breeders in the Daily Telegraph it made all birdkeepers look bad. It really was bad for everyone.

Regards

[Myzomela]

So long as aviculturists continue to deliberately hybridise species for either novelty value or to transfer colour mutations from one species to another, and so long as this practice is not frowned upon by the avicultural community at large, then we are going to struggle to conserve much at all.

Granted, this is mostly a parrot problem, but it is the general attitude that this practice is ok that is concerning and puts aviculture in a negative light in the eyes of the conservation community and much of the general public.

Yes, I respect everyone's individual right to practice aviculture as they see fit. And we do all need to be united.
However, we are dealing with bird species here, not breeds of dogs, cats or any other domestic animal species.

It is a PRIVILEGE to keep these birds, not a right, as so many claim.
Therefore, we need to treat them with respect, both on an individual level and on a taxonomic level.

However, it is from within the public/private sector that the groundswell of pressure must come to keep the conservation effort going; we all can do our own bit at home and also keep the pressure on government and support the organisations that are actually doing something eg STGF etc

[Red]

If you believe that conservation within aviculture can only be applied to wild species then I guess I agree to disagree.

Some bird species have been domesticated and I feel that these breeds and varieties are worth preserving. I don't consider them as important as a wild species but still they are important to me.

I don't think I have met anyone who believes hybridising parrots is good for aviary populations. No-one is going to disagree with you there.

[Craig52]

If you believe that conservation within aviculture can only be applied to wild species then I guess I agree to disagree.

Some bird species have been domesticated and I feel that these breeds and varieties are worth preserving. I don't consider them as important as a wild species but still they are important to me.

I don't think I have met anyone who believes hybridising parrots is good for aviary populations. No-one is going to disagree with you there.

All i can say is that i think this thread has gone way off topic from the original post of Case's in regards of conservation of certain species and not others,in other words whats worth more money wise for conservation in our country.I'm out of here. Craig

[TomDeGraaff]

I find the defeatist attitude of "let's spend money on projects that can save a species, bugger the too hard basket" angers me. There is no need for that "let 'em die" sentiment when it comes to saving our world's biodiversity imo.

Governments should harness private interests to achieve conservation ends. NSW lets private shooters control pests in it's state parks. All governments should be using private breeders to help all species: orange-bellieds, leadbeaters possums, corroboree frogs etc. We have the experience, the FREE facilities and the motivation to work 24/7 at it.

Chatham Is robins, Lord Howe Is Woodhens, Nenes, Laysan teal, whooping cranes all came back from a pittance of population. Do we stop the Californian condor, echo parakeet and Spix's macaw projects just because it uses up a lot of public money? I for one, pay taxes to do those kinds of things.

Being an apologist for a stupid government policy burns me up.

I know I am being idealistic but I find it abhorrent to give up on any species.

Tom

[Mortisha]

In Saving A Species, You Might Accidentally Doom It.

Black Robins in NZ

the article on this link explains some of the hazards of human controlled breeding of endangered birds
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com ... y-doom-it/

[TomDeGraaff]

I think that this article shows a real issue to be dealt with. Nenes apparently had some goslings lacking feather waterproofing. That could have been a little problematic!

This "rim-egg" business is certainly no reason to stop trying. The black robin was okay in the end. Anyway, if this trait of laying eggs at the rim of the nest was such a huge selective pressure, why did it stay in the population? (rhetorical question, by the way).

No, I still subscribe to the view that we caused the problem, we should pull out all stops to fix it. We won't win them all, but each battle for a species is a fight well worth having.

This also applies to our aviary birds where our genetic stock cannot be replenished. I feel we should keep fighting the good fight.

No more bandwagon! I get too excited!

[Myzomela]

If you believe that conservation within aviculture can only be applied to wild species then I guess I agree to disagree.

Red, I believe that all our birds need to be conserved, and that includes domesticated breeds.

But enough. Craig has already chastised us for getting off topic!