Nanaimo location pivotal to adoption efforts after Parrot Refuge rescue
NANAIMO — A simple gesture by the city of Nanaimo is being described as a “godsend” by the group that volunteered to rescue nearly 600 parrots from a facility in Coombs.
About 75 birds remain in the old SPCA building on Labieux Road after the city leased the empty facility – for $1 – to Delta-based Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary in June.
“It’s been amazing in terms of adoptions on the island, never mind the space itself,” says Jan Robson, Greyhaven’s education coordinator. “We’ve been able to have it kind of as adoption central for the birds that are going out to homes on the island.”
Robson says the numbers are significantly down at the Nanaimo location because adoptions have been quite active out of the building. She says they have three very dedicated volunteers working out of that building, visiting potential adoptive homes around the island and vetting applications. It’s quite unlikely they will have homes for all of the birds by the time the lease with the city terminates on December 1.