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ARCHIVED - Murcia sterilises parrot eggs to control the population
Argentine parrots are considered an invasive species in the Region of Murcia
Parrots have become a colourful part of the landscape all across Spain, but this non-native species is quickly becoming a pest, threatening the local wildlife, trees and crops. For this reason, several communities routinely cull the birds to keep the population under control, and it is now forbidden to keep many species of parrot as a pet in Spain.
In Murcia, the City Council is launching an offensive to prevent the Argentine parrot from breeding.
"They cause damage to the orchard and crops, since they feed by pecking a little of each fruit and leaving them useless for marketing," explains Antonio Hernández, who is responsible for monitoring birds through the Naturalist Association of the Southeast (Anse).
Aside from decimating harvests, parrots build huge nests which frequently damage trees and pose a risk to people walking underneath. According to Mr Hernández, their song also sounds more like “shrieks” which torments locals.
The Argentine parrot can also carry many diseases which are transmissible to humans.
To prevent the existing colony in the municipality from growing, the Department of Health has decided to act “before its management and control becomes much more difficult.” To this end, teams of specialists have sterilised all the eggs they have found in nests in Murcia.
This essentially kills the baby bird without stopping incubation, so the parents don’t lay replacement eggs.
In all, 12 nests located next to the Malecón promenade have been tackled, and the authorities have sterilised a total of 72 eggs. In addition, one nest has been completely removed as it was in danger of falling.
The authorities are also planning to capture adult birds later in the year.
While this offensive is being carried out in the municipality of Murcia, the largest Argentine parrot populations in the Region are actually located in San Javier and Cartagena; a national census of the species is currently underway to establish the exact number of the invasive bird.
Also of interest: Madrid culls thousands of invasive parrots
Image: Pixaby
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