Auckland parrot, reptile breeding ban sparks backlash

Wednesday, 12 February 2020

Auckland Council is set to ban the trade of galahs and west Auckland bird breeder Mary-lee Sloan is now facing business ruin (first published February 2020).

Parrot and reptile lovers are up in arms about an Auckland Council plan to ban the breeding and sale of their exotic friends.

Professional parrot breeders who sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into their aviaries say the plan would wreck their businesses.

But the Council says it is seizing an opportunity to prevent several non-native animals becoming the pest plagues of the future.

Mary-lee Sloan (pictured with her sulphur-crested cockatoos) is vowing to fight an Auckland Council plan to ban galahs, which she breeds for export.

The bans, set to come into force by 2022, are part of the Auckland Regional Pest Management Plan 2019-2029.

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Among the animals whose trade will become illicit are parrots including the sulphur crested cockatoo, eastern rosella, galah, and monk and rainbow parakeets.

Sloan has sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into her business.

The breeding, sale and distribution of reptiles including the red-eared slider turtle and a species of bearded dragon will also be banned.

BREEDERS TO TAKE FIGHT TO COUNCIL

Mary-lee Sloan, president of the Parrot Society of New Zealand, runs a commercial breeding operation at Huapai in north-west Auckland.

Among the birds she breeds are galahs, a grey and pink cockatoo endemic to Australia, which she exports as far afield as Japan.

Sloan said the ban will spell the ruin of her thriving business if it goes ahead.

'It's basically going to close me down.'

The plan said galahs can compete with native birds for nesting spots and carry disease.

They are a major pest of grain crops in Australia and their impact on grain crops is likely to worsen if their populations increase in Auckland, it said.

Willow, a bearded dragon belonging to Auckland man Sam Sword.

Fonz the African grey parrot took flight on Saturday, and her owner Darryl Jones is desperate for her return.

That reasoning does not wash with Sloan or other breeders.

Those in the galah game take all possible measures to prevent the escape of birds, which can go for more than $1000 each, Sloan said.

'Everybody's got safety doors on their aviaries, they don't want to lose their birds.

'Why have they just picked on these certain birds and not picked on cats that run wild?'

Sloan has vowed not to let the ban proceed without a fight and plans to take legal action against the council.

Māngere Bridge resident David Hilliar is calling for cat control laws, similar to ones in place for dogs.

Veterinarian Taryn Hutt's rescue red-eared slider turtle Squish enjoys a supervised walk in a fenced yard.

Down the road in Henderson, Bird Barn pet store co-owner David Jones sells everything from galahs to baby bearded dragons.

He is also examining his legal options.

The ban will have a 'huge' impact on his Lincoln Rd business of almost 40 years, he said.

'They're taking away freedom of choice for a lot of people.'

Willem Bosman is a second-generation parrot breeder who employs two staff.

He breeds galahs, monk parakeets and sulphur crested cockatoos at his lifestyle block just out of Whangarei and estimates he has spent close to $500,000 setting up the operation.

The galahs can fetch $1200 each and are almost exclusively exported.

His setup lies outside the region where the ban would apply.

But the ban will kill his operation because Air New Zealand flights out of Whangarei transit in Auckland, he said.

'Essentially that kills all my business, both local and international, for the species listed.'

Those spoken to said they were not sought for consultation before the ban came out.

'No-one we've spoken to has been notified of the change or given an option for applying for an exemption,' Bosman said.

If the ban on the sale and distribution of galahs came into force he would be out $100,000 per year, he estimated.

He could be forced to cull the highly intelligent, social birds, which can live to 80 in captivity.

'I would not want to, but … it's not easy to come up with $100,000 per year.'

ERRORS IN REPTILE PLAN

The planned ban has also raised the hackles of New Zealand's reptile enthusiasts.

Reptiles including the red-eared slider turtle and a species of bearded dragon, an Australian lizard about half a metre long, are set to be banned from breeding and distribution in the Auckland region.

Taryn Hutt leads the veterinary team at Peninsula Bay Veterinary Hospital in Whangaparaoa.

She has an interest in avian and exotic animal medicine.

'These species they are wanting to ban are pets, they are no less important to their owners than cats and dogs are to theirs,' she said.

Both red-eared slider turtles and sulphur crested cockatoos can live 40 years, meaning they can develop even stronger bonds than those of cat- and dog-owners, Hutt said.

Among her concerns are that stray turtles reptiles and parrots may not be re-homed due to the distribution ban, meaning they may have to be euthanised even when there are people willing to provide them a home.

COUNCIL RESPONDS

Auckland Council did not make anyone available for interview, instead supplying Stuff with written statements, attributed to principal biosecurity advisor Dr Imogen Bassett.

The council acknowledged there would be 'economic and other impacts for a small number of people'.

'However, all Aucklanders will benefit through the protection of our native species, as well as avoid ratepayer costs for having to control wild parrots in the future,' Bassett said.

There is already a flock of galahs in the wild in Auckland, moving between offshore islands and the Hunua Ranges, areas particularly important for native wildlife conservation, she said.

'I think most New Zealanders would agree that if we had the option to go back in time and stop possums and stoats from being released into the wild, that would be a good thing.

'We have a choice now to avoid making the same mistakes again with new species that pose a risk to our native ecosystems and threatened species.'

Research showed a link between the pet trade and species escaping to become invasive in the future, she said.

The council has the power to issue exemptions to the ban.

Bassett said the council is open to hearing from anyone who thought they had a case for an exemption, for instance if the breeding is only for overseas export.

Asked why the plan did not include more action targeting cats, Bassett said the best way to reduce the impacts of stray cats is to manage them at sites of special importance, such as Shakespear Regional Park, because they are so abundant throughout Auckland.

Bassett said prevention is better than the cure when it came to wild parrots, lizards and turtles.

'Birds and reptiles are really hard to control once established. Unlike rats and possums, we don't have off-the-shelf control tools for these new species.

'The most effective thing we can do is to prevent further breeding and trade before it's too late.'