The Conservation Committee of the Avicultural Federation of Australia has been working on the concept of facility accreditation for some time. This is particularly since the American Federation of Aviculture introduced its Model Aviculture Program in 1990. The US scheme, while it has many good features, is not directly applicable to Australian conditions. In particular:
· The Americans have a very active pet bird market, and the MAP scheme acts as a form of consumer protection.
· Australia has licensing requirements that vary between states.
Therefore the parameters we are using are:
· A national scheme
· Taking account of state regulations.
· Meet conservation objectives with:
· The maintenance of viable, genetically diverse captive populations.
· The collection of valid life table data.
· Assist aviculturists with:
· The collection of morbidity data.
· verifying the source of stock.
· Raising avicultural standards, and reducing the potential for criticism from welfare bodies.
· Providing levels of certification, which can be used in negotiations with local, state and federal governments.
· Meeting CITIES requirements for the export of birds.
Therefore we propose a three-level certification system. The three levels are designed to allow an aviculturist to progress up the ladder to the level that suits them. The levels are as follows:
Level 1
Requirements:
· Keep birds in clean and appropriate conditions.
· Meet applicable state legislative requirements and codes of practice.
· Provision of definable quarantine, hospital, and food preparation areas, appropriate to the size and style of the collection.
· Institute verifiable quarantine procedures.
· Maintain basic record keeping system.
Participants:
· Open to all aviculturists as an indication of their commitment to competent and responsible avicultural practice.
Accreditation:
· Inspection by experienced aviculturists, possibly at a club level.
Level 2
Requirements:
· Meet the requirements of Level 1
· Operate a record keeping system such as the International Species Inventory System (ISIS) ARKS or equivalent.
· Demonstrate a working knowledge of genetics as they apply to captive breeding programmes.
· Willingness to share records to further species management and avicultural knowledge.
Participants:
· Aviculturists wishing to participate in species management programmes.
· Aviculturists wishing to receive stock from zoos (by negotiation).
· A level of accreditation that can be used by government authorities when considering things like importation and endangered species recovery programmes (by negotiation).
· Aviculturists who wish to demonstrate their commitment to the highest standards of avicultural practice.
Accreditation:
· Completion of a short course (possibly at TAFE level) in species management, covering topics such as record keeping, population genetics and studbook management.
· Demonstrate practice of the requirements.
Level 3
Requirements:
· Meet the requirements of level 2.
· Meet the requirements of CITIES, as applicable.
Participants:
· Aviculturists wishing to export CITIES birds.
· Aviculturists wishing to participate in breeding programmes of species not normally available to private aviculturists.
Accreditation:
· As defined by CITIES or an appropriate authority.
We are facing a world where increasingly we are subject to regulation and control. If aviculture grasps the nettle and pursues this style of accreditation, we may avoid more onerous controls forced on us by governments. At the same time aviculture would benefit from better aviculturists, increased knowledge about the birds in our care, and conservation objectives would also be met.
If you would like to find out more about the American MAP program, please follow the following links:
Comments, suggestions and criticisms are welcomed. Please forward them in the first instance to: martim@ozemail.com.au