Crime victim grey parrots return to the wild

This video says about itself:

Free at Last – Grey Parrots in Africa

Until recently, African Grey parrots were nearly gone in Uganda. Were nearly gone, that is, until 224 Greys — confiscated from smugglers — were rehabilitated and re-released in Kibale National Park, in July of 2011. These birds were the among 272 birds confiscated in two shipments by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. All were taken to Uganda Wildlife Education Center for assessment and rehabilitation for release.

This is their story. Learn more about these efforts at: http://www.parrots.org/flyfree

From Wildlife Extra:

Confiscated parrots return to Uganda in first project of its kind.

Landmark international project sees the return to Africa of African Grey parrots confiscated in Bulgaria

March 2013. Thirty two African Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus), that were confiscated in Bulgaria in 2010, have been successfully transferred to Uganda for rehabilitation and release on Ngamba Island, successfully ending a three year odyssey that started with their capture in the wild, export to Lebanon and then to Bulgaria. They were confiscated upon arrival in Bulgaria as they were being illegally imported.

In past years, thousands of confiscated African Grey parrots have been successfully released in Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo and Uganda, but the return of African Grey parrots confiscated outside of Africa to one of their range countries for rehabilitation and release is the first project of its kind.

Dramatic declines and local extinctions

The parrots have been thoroughly screened for diseases while at the Sofia Zoo and will be brought to Ngamba Island for a further quarantine and rehabilitation period before their release. This species, the most emblematic of all African birds, has been one of the most heavily traded of all parrots worldwide. This has resulted in dramatic declines and local extinctions in most of its historical range.

Uganda has been on the forefront of the conservation of African Gray parrots by banning their capture and trade, performing seizures of illegal shipments and releasing confiscated birds. The World Parrot Trust, an international organization working for the conservation and welfare of parrots, provided financial and organizational support for this effort. Like dozens of similar initiatives supported by the World Parrot Trust through their Fly Free program, this project deters future trafficking in this species, and at the same time restores this endangered parrot to its historic range.

The World Parrot Trust is proud to aid the return of these parrots to Africa and is very grateful to all the partner organizations and institutions for their impressive embrace of this ground breaking initiative, and hope that more countries will follow this model when dealing with endangered confiscated parrots. …

This groundbreaking initiative resulted from an effective enforcement operation in Bulgaria and was made possible by the efforts of the World Parrot Trust, Sofia Zoo, the Ministry of Environment and Water of Bulgaria, the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC), the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), and the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary.

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