Wildlife trade and conservation

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Keeping exotic birds in Australia

If you keep, trade or breed exotic (non-native) birds in Australia there are some important things you need to know.

The Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts regulates international trade in exotic birds in order to:

• help reduce illegal international trade in endangered species
• prevent the introduction of new diseases into captive and wild bird populations in Australia
• prevent exotic birds becoming established in the wild as pest species (feral animals)

Bird keepers who possess exotic birds must be able to prove the legal origin of their birds. The Australian Government has introduced a record keeping scheme to help bird keepers comply with this.

Exotic bird record keeping scheme evaluation

An independent evaluation report on the exotic bird record keeping scheme has been prepared by a consultant to assess:

• the levels of awareness of the scheme in the exotic bird keeping sector
• the levels of understanding of the scheme and attitudes towards it
• the impacts of the scheme on the keeping and trade in exotic birds, and
• the effectiveness of administration and possible improvements.

• Exotic bird record keeping scheme evaluation report

A meeting was held on 19 May 2009 with key stakeholders to discuss the evaluation of the scheme and possible future options.

• Stakeholder meeting summary

The exotic bird record keeping scheme will continue in its current form until a decision is made on its future.

Publications

• 2007 Inventory of Exotic (non-native) Bird Species known to be in Australia
• A guide to record keeping for exotic birds in Australia
• Marking and individual identification of exotic birds for record keeping purposes
• Compliance guide for exotic birds in Australia