The Foundation for the Welfare of Parrots and Parakeets was established in 2003 with the objective to defend the interests of parrots in captivity and in nature.

Campaigns of The Dutch Parrot Foundation

Niemand kan de charmes van een papegaai weerstaan - Politie te paard bij het Binnenhof tijdens aanbieden petitie

The Foundation for the Welfare of Parrots and Parakeets was established in 2003 with the objective to defend the interests of parrots in captivity and in nature. A major objective was and is providing information to owners of parrots and parakeets.
In 2003, the foundation immediately choose to spearhead against the import of and trade in parrots and parakeets which were caught in the countries of origin

Many dead birds caused by legalized import
For many years parrots and parakeets were caught en masse in the countries of origin for legitimate international commercial trade. Apart from parrots and parakeets many other species were caught and imported. Annually more than one million birds were imported in Europe. Most of the captured birds did not survive the capture and transport. Through the import / trade all kinds of infectious diseases were spread. This trade also carried the extra risk to humans by potentially spreading psittacosis. Partly due to the massive import many species in nature have seen their survival become endangered. By cutting down or damaging nesting trees with the intend of stealing the young birds from their nests a lot of nesting opportunities have been lost. The loss of nesting trees is a disaster for the survival in nature.

More parrots and parakeets living in captivity than in the wilds
Nowadays there are more parrots and parakeets living in captivity than in the countries of origin. There are lots of parrots and parakeets bred in captivity. Volunteers have collected many signatures at all sorts events. The Foundation for the Welfare of Parrots and Parakeets (SPPW) has collected 23,000 signatures in the Netherlands. These signatures and the petition against the import of birds was offered to the parliament on March 16, 2005 during a special day of action.

Ban on import
Thanks to the information, the signature action and media attention, the majority of political parties voted in favour of stopping these imports. Partly due to the spreading of the infectious disease "Bird Flu", which was a high economic risks for the poultry industry, the European Commission decided to announce a ban on import of wild birds within the EU on July 1, 2007. This was a big step forward and will benefit millions of individual birds and provide the opportunity for species to be preserved in the countries of origin.

The SPPW can look back in pride on how they brought this problem to the attention of the political parties through the media.

How can you support us with campaigns?

Currently The Dutch Parrot Foundation is campaigning against the trade in and hand rearing of baby parrots by means of a petition. Why? Read more.

Campaigning takes a lot of time and quite possibly even more money. You can help us with a financial contribution. You can become a sponsor or support our campaigns.