Breeders of red-whiskered (crested) bulbuls in the South plan to submit a petition, accompanied by a list of about 100,000 supporters, to members of parliament this week, as part of their attempt to remove the bird from the list of protected wildlife species.

 

The breeders, mainly from the five southernmost provinces of Songkhla, Yala, Pattani, Satun and Narathiwat, have been campaigning for years for the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to have the popular pet bird removed from the list, claiming that many of the birds have been bred domestically and should be regarded as a commercial bird species, which can be a source of income for the breeders.

 

Last Saturday, the deputy secretary-general of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre, Chanathan Saengphum, called a meeting with representatives of the breeder associations in the five southern provinces, and lecturers from the Faculty of Science at Prince of Songkhla University, for discussions on the matter.

 

Full story: Thai PBS 2023-12-18

 

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If it's a protected species how come it's a popular pet bird?

For God's sake! And for the sake of our minds and souls. Why don't we grow up?

 

William Blake, the great radical artist and poet, wrote over 200 years ago;

 

'A Robin Redbreast in a Cage

 Puts all Heaven in a rage...'

 

Have we progressed at all in our treatment of 'our feathered friends'?