Monk parakeets in MadridMadrid has declared war on monk parakeets that they say threaten the peace of mind of the Spanish capital's human residents and the survival of native species of birds and animals. The city is to begin a cull of the American raccoons and the South American parrots whose populations are reaching plague proportions in their opinion.
Both creatures were introduced to Europe as pets and raccoons were sold in pet shops as recently as 2011. Those which escaped or were abandoned have proliferated rapidly. Raccoons were first seen in the area in the early 1970s while the parrots date from the mid-1980s.
Monk parakeets build precarious nests in trees and live in raucous colonies. Madrid claims the parrots feed on newly-seeded lawns and drive out local bird species, but the main objection to them is noise. Madrid's once peaceful Buen Retiro park is now filled with the squawking of hundreds of parrots.
The raccoons are also a health hazard as some carry rabies and a parasite (Baylisascaris procyonis) that attacks the human nervous system. They have no predators, but prey on a range of creatures, as well as eating birds' eggs. They eat everything, from the young of protected species to rubbish.
Although the city has authorised "the capture and death of any specimen" the cull is not a call to arms, however, and the city doesn't want people to form anti-raccoon militias. Nor will it use poison, but plans to trap and kill the animals. The parrots will be caught in nets and their nests destroyed. "It is not too late to control this population explosion," said Felipe Ruza, deputy director of environmental conservation for the Madrid area.
Although Monk parakeets are alien to Spain their populations are limited to urban areas and therefore not truly invasive. Their presence has not resulted in any loss of native wildlife whatsoever. From the 1970’s onwards there where concerns these birds could become agricultural pests but this threat has never materialised in Spain the UK or the USA where many introduced colonies of this species exist. Monk parakeets can indeed be noisy in the morning and evenings. Compared however to other sources of noise in cities this seems negligible and hardly a just reason for elimination. Removing of nests and other pestering of parakeets never resulted in the eradication of the species form a city area. Large scale shooting and poisoning of the creatures in their urban habitat pose serious threats to the public and are consequently unlikely measures.
Declaring war on these parakeets will now result in people killing and torturing these birds they come to look on as expendable. Children’s catapults will target these second-class avian citizens and the trigger happy Spanish hunters will use them as target practice. Destroying their nest will result in dramas with eggs and youngsters falling to their deaths onto the streets. Al this suffering will however not result in elimination or even thinning of the parakeet population. Perpetuating this suffering for generations to come.
This ecoxenophobic attitude of the local Spanish authorities once again show their lack of conservation and animal welfare concern that is emblematic to the country.