Finch Trends and Status in Australia

[finchbreeder]

To those individuals and groups out there who are working to save endangered species, we all owe you a debt of gratitude. To everyone else, have you thought of keeping and breeding just one of the slightly less common species purely for the good of the finch world? Go on, the success will feel good and it will be your good deed for the world of tomorrow.
LML

[Fincho162]

Well said sir!!!!
If you wish to make a difference - aviculturally speaking - then learn all you can from the easier species then apply that to the more dificult species. As a mate of mine once said to me "if you wanna succeed with Red-crested start with an easier, yet behavioural similar species like the Jacarini" cause having a big wallet aint necessarily gunna make yer a good finch breeder". Wise man my mate!!!!!

Jackies, Red face, Cordons and Cubans have all been going out of Australia for decades how easy is it for us to include pairs of these in our avairies "just in case"?!!

Sorry Jayburd but I dunno if breeding Cordons will EVER prepare you for having a shot at Blue-caps - but its a damn fine starting place!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jayburd]

well I'll get all the experience I can with what I've got and can get before going at them

[roma9009]

I think that it sis stupid as we can't import but we can export and the birds being exported are gettin rarer and rarer in our own aviarys and yet where there exportin to can still bring in wild caught birds for a lot less so how can they make a quick buck i lived in england for 9 years and birds you spend thousand of dollars on or can't even get over there for a tenner or more i know that wild caought is bad for the population but takin a controlled few and importin them into australia as the bird keepers are some of the best in the world and finches and waxbills and other birds breed well so stop cutting your own throats with the exports to the states and so forth as i can't see the import ban bein lifted any time soon.

[Fincho162]

Trouble is what with civil wars in African states and bird flu it makes places like Australia an attractive place to source finches from...........its been going on for decades but I guess its our responsibility to ensure that we continue breeding the species that are being targetted for export.
As to imports the prices bandied around recently would put it out of the reach of most finch breeders I''m afraid given initial purchase costs and quarantine fees........plus the birds that we would be allowed to import would have to come from birds bred in the exporting country and not from any of the bush stock regardless of its legality.
Bit of a problem that one..........and also that high price would rule out many fo the finches that are on their knees........the Grey singer for one...........sad but true unfortunately.

[Jayburd]

it's a vicious circle.... people buy finches from us = we have to breed more = more finches for the exporters

[GregH]

And just why does Australia exprort anything? One day we might need that coal or iron ore and wouldn't lamb come down in price if they didn't export it and make us pay world parity prices just like the petrol! Unregulated export of anything may indeed cause harm within the exporting and importing countries but to simply say a ban would solve all our problems is naive. Australian aviculture need not suffer from the export of a sustainable harvest of any creature bred either in a cage or out. You can't call for a reinstatrement of imports and simultaeously call for a ban on exports and not place yourself into a logical bind.

[Fincho162]

Alas Greg it all comes down to that simplest of denominators..........$$$$$$$$$$$$$ .......or where there's a demand there will be a supply....legit or otherwise............way of the world I'm afraid.

[Myzomela]

A

Alas Greg it all comes down to that simplest of denominators..........$$$$$$$$$$$$$ .......or where there's a demand there will be a supply....legit or otherwise............way of the world I'm afraid.

...and where they impede supply with bureaucracy and high costs, the supply becomes more "otherwise"...but only for the most desirable species.

As you say Fincho, the poor little grey singer and his sombrely-coloured mates just miss out

[roma9009]

It shouldent come down to $ because that just shows that your in it for the money and not the long haul. I know the y don't look after there selfs it would be easier if they did but as australian breeders there has to be a limit on what goes out of the country. say you had ther last of a species and you thought theres a quick buck ow ill just export them and stuff the rest of australil I know a lot of you woulden't but that is what could happern i remember back in 2002 some irresponsible person bought up all the rarer finches around wa and exported them to america leavin us with slim pickings and that dosen't help anyone both concervationists or breeders.