Discouraging Wild Parrot Poaching in the Borough of Brooklyn

Several residents of Marine Park have approached me recently, asking what happened to their once-thriving colony of wild parrots.

I have been able to verify through a source that these parrots have been stolen by thieves. According to this source, two men, one with a long pole, have been taking live parrots from the pole nests in Marine Park. They work at night, and have been seen by residents. If this is the same operation that has stolen parrots in Midwood, their MO is to sell the parrots to local pet stores for $25 a piece, where they have value not as pets, but as breeding pairs.

According to my source, these thieves may soon move onto Manhattan Beach, so residents should be vigilant. Next week, myself and other members of the Brooklyn Parrot Society will be flyering areas of Brooklyn where the thieves have been active. If you see suspicious activity at night around pole nests in your area, please call the police, and notify Con Edison, which does not want people probing its high voltage lines.

The Monk Parrots of Brooklyn enjoy no special protections under New York State Law. They are classified, along with pigeons and starlings, as birds that can be "taken" at any time, unlike protected species. They are vulnerable to poaching, and because Quakers are legal in New York, there is a ready market for captured birds. They are considered unworthy protection because they are classified as "introduced." This stigma is equivalent to "illegal alien" in the human world - "introduced" species don't have the same rights, protections, and privileges. When bad things happens to them, society feels free to turn its back.

Do the wild parrots of Brooklyn, which have been in the borough for 40 years, have a right not to be captured and sold into captivity? I think so. The Brooklyn Parrot Society asks the Borough of Brooklyn, the City and State of New York to recognize the unique treasure that wild monk parrots bring to the urban landscape and take action which will discourage wild parrot poaching in the borough of Brooklyn. We intend to introduce legislation, at the earliest possible date, to take the incentive out of such poaching. I hope to put up an online petition on this site soon.