Bird flu to increase foreign demand for African lovebirds (2nd part)

Conclusion

BADILLA’S Aviary, located in Parañaque City, is presently housing some 200 pairs of birds and almost the same number of newly hatched babies or young birds.

The aviary owned by the Badilla brothers, Billy and Bob, employs a full-time veterinarian, who is also a bird enthusiast. It also maintains a subcontractor aviary. All the materials are provided by Badilla, and the caretaker is paid, including several people working for him.

Rogelio L. Sicat Jr., an African lovebird breeder, has 30 pairs. His aviary is on the third floor of a four-story house in Cainta, Rizal. A considerable collection of bonsai trees and other plants were specifically positioned near the birds to help cool down the aviary. During the hottest of days, he regularly sprinkles the enclosure with water.

Another African lovebird hobbyist, Bibo Andrae Dusaran, started breeding in 2014.  “Once, I visited my friend’s residence and saw his 35 pairs of African lovebirds and I fell in love immediately with the birds,” Durasan said.

He bought one matured pair and shortly, the hen produced several eggs hatched after 21 days. He now has 40  birds.

According to Durasan, he’s using the birds to trade things that he needed in his breeding, like cages, perches, nest and pairing boxes, and even bird seeds. He sometimes sells some of his birds to friends who are also venturing into breeding, but at prices just enough to cover the expense for the bird seeds.

Breeding African lovebirds, however, are not for everybody, according to Durasan. He knows many who quit after a few years of breeding, mainly because even at low maintenance, the birds still need minimum hours of care.

The birds need only to be fed and given fresh water once a day. Those with chicks need additional protein-rich feeds. Durasan is using a section of his front lawn as aviary.

Both Sicat and Durasan agree that love and caring for the birds should come first before the business aspect because once you cared enough for the birds, it will return the favor by producing many healthy and quality young birds. Fallows, for instance.

These are birds that have lost the eumelanin, or pigments, in the eyes but not in the feathers, resulting to richly colored birds with wine-red eyes.

They are unlike the albino that mutated from the violet line of colors and lost the pigments in their feathers and, hence, completely white with red eyes. They are also unlike the lutino, which evolved from the green line and now completely yellow with red eyes.

Lutino’s “yellow”, however, is different from that of the yellow-feathered, which is more “creamy yellow”. The difference between dun and pale fallows, on the other hand, is only in the color on the tip of their wings.

Regulatory environment

BASED on guidelines under the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act (RA) 9147, also known as Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, owning and trading of lovebirds require different levels of permit and certifications. For general welfare of animals, the applicable law is RA 8485, or the Animal Welfare Act of 1998, especially in cases of animal cruelty, farming facility and transport of animals.

Under these laws, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and other related agencies are joined in several implementing guidelines. The farming of animals for food belongs under the DA’s purview, while farming for nonfood, especially wildlife animals, are within the DENR’s province.

For simply owning lovebirds, a certificate of wildlife registration (CWR) from the DENR is enough. This is common practice among lovebird enthusiasts, which cost less than P100 for not more than 10 birds.

According to Sicat, a newbie should buy not only from a refutable breeder, but from a breeder with Wildlife Farm Permit (WFP), especially if there are plans to engage in trading in the future. The receipt from the breeder with farm permit is required by the DENR for the issuance of CWR.

“We are very familiar with the breeders with farm permits for they are only a handful,”
said Catalina G. Garingarao, officer in charge at the Permitting Section of the DENR-National Capital Region.

Permit to sell

ACCORDING to Garingarao, as per DENR regulation, a CWR entitles the holder the ownership of the birds, while the WFP permits the holder to sell or trade lovebirds.

She further explained that the CWR does not end in the release of the certification, but the owner needs to periodically file a breeding report to legally update the inventory of birds. The permits are good for five years and would have to be renewed.

“African lovebirds are not endemic to the Philippines and in no way threatened, as the stocks are sourced from wildlife, so there are no special clearances needed other than the registration, farm permit and payments per head should the breeder decide to export,” she added.

A breeder who would want to apply for a farm permit would have to secure a clearance from the Department of Trade and Industry, Bureau of Animal Industry, barangay clearance and would need to be inspected.

The application also requires a management plan, which includes the project location and housing specifics, including veterinary and feeding program, bio-security and environmental plan.

According to Sicat, this is the reason many small-scale breeders have difficulty securing a farm permit, because of the requirements. “Many small-scale breeders have only the edges of their houses as their aviaries and would no way be issued farming permits,” Sicat said.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2017/05/23/bird-flu-to-increase-foreign-demand-for-african-lovebirds-3/