Dear
Lee,
What follows is a potted
history of our campaign to save the feral monk parakeet population in the UK
from eradication by DEFRA and reasons why we would urge others not to report
sightings to DEFRA.
Feral monk parakeets
were first seen in Borehamwood in 1993, their release into the wild believed to
be as a result of a house burglary. Following field trials commencing in 2008,
in which birds were shot and maimed using experimental cartridges, DEFRA began a monk
parakeet eradication programme in 2011. This has been at great expense to the
taxpayer, the programme so far having had a budget of £235,000, including the
cost of the field trials. DEFRA has stated it will re-home trapped birds but
nestlings and adult birds have been killed and eggs destroyed using the “most
sensible approach to dispatch”.
DEFRA continues to apply for licenses to
eradicate this small population (less than 77) of free flying monk parakeets in
the UK but we will continue to campaign to save them. This is not for emotional
reasons but because their eradication is senseless and unjustified. Although
DEFRA claims that the birds could pose a danger to crops, electricity pylons and
other species, their numbers have remained low and stable over many years; even
a report by the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat admits that the threats
posed by the birds are relatively minor.
This can be borne out through our research conducted for the
campaign, from which we have discovered that here in the UK monk parakeets are
slow to expand and are susceptible to winter mortality and predation by crows
and magpies; they do not compete with other species for nesting sites and
actually share their nests with other species including house sparrows, helping
to support this species. DEFRA states the birds present a health hazard yet
there is no evidence their droppings pose more of a health hazard than those of
any other animal. Furthermore, they have not nested on electricity pylons in
the UK nor do they pose a threat to agriculture. No agricultural damage by the
monk parakeet in the UK has been reported – they prefer to feed from suburban
bird tables and do not venture into the countryside.
The birds appear to be much loved by Borehamwood residents, who
have campaigned vigorously to prevent their eradication. A similar campaign is
being conducted in the Isle of Dogs to save the feral monk parakeets in that
area. We presented a petition to Number 10 Downing Street in August 2011 signed
by over 4,000 people, including 2,000 Borehamwood residents, collected over a
period of only 10 weeks.
The hand-signed Borehamwood
petition of 2,000 signatures was presented to Hertsmere Borough Council and on
the 9th November 2011 at Hertsmere Borough Executive meeting we successfully
presented our case for the council to ban DEFRA from removing these attractive
birds from Council land.
Finally, it is still legal to import monk parakeets into this
country and sell them via the pet trade yet the law hasn’t been changed to
prohibit this, which makes the eradication programme particularly futile.
Kind
regards,
Dr Christine
Brock and Simon Richardson
Borehamwood
Parakeet Protection Campaign
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