Giving essential care to traumatized parrots

It all began in 2017 when Joe came back from overseas to visit his long-missed friend: a macaw named Kiwa who had been in his life for more than 20 years. She was living at the breeding facility where she had been born, which Joe thought would be an ideal home while he went travelling.

When he saw the conditions in which she and over 170 of her other macaw friends were living he was understandably horrified: they were living in small cages in a dark, unclean building with no ventilation. They had no room to exercise, and they were chronically overfed. Some were disabled; many were struggling to survive.

He became deeply concerned for their fates and knew he need to act urgently to save them but couldnt do it alone. After his visit he reached out to the World Parrot Trust with the idea of building a rescue facility for Kiwa and her friends.

Immediately, emergency care was provided for the birds that were struggling the most. And, after much preparation and enormous effort, the birds were moved to an enormous new home, the Kiwa Centre. Here the birds could experience the fresh air in the bright outdoors for the first time in their lives and begin their long road to recovery.

In February 2020, Kiwa and the others were joined by a new group of wild 50 Grey Parrots that had been rescued after being trapped in the wildlife trade and smuggled into Europe.

How can you help?

Today, the Kiwa Centre provides a perfect base for rescued parrots and groups that are intercepted in illegal trade. There is an ongoing critical need for the WPT to continue to run this facility so that these parrots can receive urgent care and be rehabilitated.

You can help support the enriching sanctuary that the Kiwa Centre provides. The parrots require a varied diet of pellets, fruits, vegetables and sprouted seeds every day. We also provide daily and weekly enrichment for the birds to encourage natural behaviours. It costs over £1,500 per month in food and enrichment for the birds alone. Your donation can also help to support food, enrichment, care, veterinary treatment and maintenance.

General donations to the project through this page allow us to direct funds to where they are most urgently needed and be flexible with our management of their care.

Thank you for supporting to the Kiwa Centre story and being a friend of the parrots.

You can watch a video of their story and rescue on YouTube .

You can read their story in our World Parrot Trust magazine, PsittaScene.

You can donate items directly to the parrots using our Amazon Wishlist.