Barbara Strickland, Chair
Board of Directors of the Connecticut Audubon Society
2325 Burr Street
Fairfield, CT 06824

Dear Barbara Strickland,

Greetings from Friends of Animals. Headquartered in Connecticut, we’ve been working since 1957 to advocate for animals and the preservation of their natural habitat.

I write in the fervent hope that the Connecticut Audubon Society will consider changing its position and support the conservation of monk parakeets. Originally refugees of the exotic pet trade, these birds have, over four decades, integrated themselves into Connecticut’s biocommunity. Your Society has pointed out that the birds are ecologically harmless. Dwight Smith, a monk parakeet expert and the chair of Southern Connecticut State University’s biology department, adds that they are not a threat but rather an enhancement to the biodiversity of their semi-urban habitats.

Their large nests benefit more than 70 other species of birds, but now threaten their own survival. Because the nests sometimes appear on utility structures, the United Illuminating Company allocated $125,000 to trap and kill Southern Connecticut’s parakeets in late 2005.

On behalf of a distraught community, and in an effort to achieve an immediate halt to this violence, Friends of Animals has brought the bird’s case to the Superior Court in New Haven. But for long-term efforts, we hope for a wide range of community support, and we know that the Connecticut Audubon Society can help those involved in constructive conservation efforts.

Monk parakeets were an alien species 40 years ago—but not now. Yet this factor is invoked in many discussions of the 2003 decision to exempt monk parakeets from state protections that cover wild birds. It shouldn’t be. This month we are asking Rep. Richard Roy and the rest of the state’s Environment Committee to change Section 26-92 in order to revive that statutory protection.

Gassing these birds flies in the face of Connecticut Audubon Society’s mission to “offer enlightened leadership on key issues” related to birds. As your group has the potential to heavily influence this statutory change, we request your support. Would you work, along with us, to ensure that the state of Connecticut commits to the birds’ freedom and well-being?

After all, not only will the roundups fail to accomplish their purpose (as new birds are likely to replace the eradicated birds), but alternatives to killings do exist. Julie Cook is just one Connecticut resident who began hosting alternative nesting platforms for any birds that escaped UI’s exterminations. The platforms have gained wide support.

Your Educator’s Guide to “exploring the environment” shows your leadership in schools, and this could make for a great platform-building project.

With alternatives in place, the parakeets require neither removal nor rescue. Thus, we appreciate the Connecticut law which prevents these and other wild birds from being owned and traded, and we want to ensure that they are also protected from eradication. We hope you’ll support the parakeets’ interest in remaining alive and flying free, and the joy they bring to residents and visitors.

Hoping you’ll support us and the Connecticut residents engaged in a constructive project in the interest of monk parakeets, I look forward to your response in the near future.

Very truly yours,

Priscilla Feral
President