Abstract
By Concetta Ferragamo
It is no secret that aviculture (the keeping of birds) is in danger of not surviving. Ask yourself these questions. Do you want to live in a world that does not have parrots? Do you want to live in a world where the only surviving parrots are kept in glass enclosed aviaries found only at high profile zoos? Do you want to live in a world where your great grandchildren will be able to learn about parrots only from books and e-books because there are no living parrots left to see? These scenarios have real potential. Let's not let our beloved parrots die out like their dinosaurs relatives. Understanding aviculture is comprised of four vital sections that will help us all to see how working together isn't just a choice, it is a necessity. Conservationists, breeders, pet owners and veterinarians all have an equally important role for the survival of aviculture as is depicted in AFA's 4 leaf Aviculture Clover.
AFA 4 Leaf Aviculture Clover and Clover Field
The APA Membership Committee developed the 4 leaf Aviculture Clover and Aviculture Clover Field in 2013, as an easily accessible metaphor to depict the partnership among all aspects of aviculture. The goal was to find a way for all people involved with birds to see where they belong and to understand that we are all united as one. Utilizing St. Patrick's metaphor, we decided that the ever-so-popular clover could help all bird people realize how we are all part of the same aviculture dover field and have the same goals - "For A Future With Birds".
Communication lesson from a Saint?
As the story goes, St. Patrick was standing on a clover covered hill speaking to crowds of people. They asked how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit could be one in the same. St. Patrick
picked a clover and held it up. He showed them how the three separate leaves of the clover equals one whole clover and that they are equally important. Without one, the other cannot exist therefore it would no longer be a three leaf clover. We used this concept as we created the APA Aviculture Clover. We decided to highlight how lucky we are to have birds in our lives, so we used a four leaf clover as our official APA Aviculture Clover.
What does the 4 Leaf Aviculture Clover represent?
The four leaf sections of our Aviculture Clover holds a title of equal importance.
Conservation: Without conservation we would have no birds to save. APA is very active with helping conservation. Please take a moment to look up the wonderful conservation projects, past and present, that APA has been involved in, such as the Red Siskin Project, the Cuban Amazon Nestbox Project, the "Ears for Lear's" project and many, many more. Pay attention to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) lists, as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora reports for legitimate facts instead of the skewed and fictitious reports made by antianimal groups and the media, etc. Conservation efforts in the wild alone are insufficient to recoup populations of a majority of threatened species. Captive breeding through skilled breeders and diverse captive populations of birds offers the greatest advantage-the only advantage-to many species. Moreover, skilled breeders have contributed their knowledge of optimal breeding conditions to conservation efforts worldwide with increasing success.
Breeders: Without breeders, there will be no more birds. Despite what the media and other sources say, the legitimate facts show an alarming rate of deforestation in the wild. The species are, in truth, dying out due to habitat destruction. The consistent growth of the "threatened in the wild" lists shown by CITES and ESA prove that too many birds are in danger of inevitable extinction.
Veterinarians: Without our doctors and avian medical teams we would not be able to save our birds from diseases and keep them healthy. Look up the latest research on avian medicine; it's quite impressive. The message that the 4 Leaf APA Aviculture Clover gives is that we need each other equally. We each have an important role to uphold, or else aviculture will simply cease to exist.