By Dominic Abassi

Nanaimo Lends a Hand As Group Finds New Home for 450 Parrots

Jun 23, 2016 | 11:40 AM

A bit of relief for a non-profit bird sanctuary working to clean up the mess at the World Parrot Refuge in Coombs.

The city of Nanaimo has allowed Delta based Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary to use the now vacant SPCA building on Labieux Road as a staging area for some of the 450 birds they are trying to find homes for.

The SPCA has moved into their new building on Westwood Road, so their old location is now vacant. Nanaimo council has approved the sale of the land and building to Bowen Road Developments, but that deal doesn’t close until December.

The city leased the land to the SPCA for $1 a year, so Greyhaven won’t have to pay for anything besides insurance and utilities, according to the city’s Bill Corsan.

Greyhaven’s education coordinator, Jan Robson, says their small society, which typically takes in about 200 birds annually, will be paying $30,000 to $40,000 a month to keep the Coombs facility operating.

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“The sanctuary has had issues with rats, and we’re trying to deal with that. Trying to get fresh water, fresh food, a lot of injured birds, a lot of ill birds, it’s been quite a challenge,” said Robson.

The Nanaimo building will help, she says.

“Certainly it takes a significant load off as far as immediate pressure and getting some birds out there we perhaps don’t have immediate plans for. It’s huge, it’s terrific that space has been made available to us.”

Greyhaven is working under an August 1st deadline to move out of the Coombs facility. The World Parrot Refuge’s owner, Wendy Huntbatch, died in February and her widower, the building’s landlord, has set the deadline.

Robson says it would be overstating it to say they’re confident they will find homes for all of the roughly 450 parrots by the deadline.

“We are getting so many indications of interest, it really is quite overwhelming. So far, a huge percentage of the people who have indicated an interest in adopting one or two of the birds have bird experience.”

Robson says they will be screening all of the potential adopters, adding it’s their goal to avoid having a number of the animals returned several months down the line.

A plea has also been put out to all of the zoos in North America, as well as a call to any owners who may have given their birds to the Coombs refuge and want them back. Robson notes they’ve had a few reunions recently.

“Last weekend alone we managed to reunite seven birds with their people. Actually, the birds found them. The people would come in, call out something and one of the birds would go nuts, it’s lovely.”

Robson says the most pressing need they have right now is for money. She says they want to avoid a scenario where Dr. McDonald at the Night Owl Bird Hospital on the mainland, is covering the costs of caring for the birds at her veterinary hospital. About 50 of the most sick and injured birds were taken there shortly after Greyhaven got involved about a month ago and the bill is around $2,000 a day for their care.

Greyhaven has spent about $20,000 to date, according to Robson. A manager has been hired at the Coombs building to try to get things back on stable footing there.

A Facebook page has been created to coordinate information, donations and adoption. It’s WPR Community Support Central.