Birds seized from pet trade breed in zoo

Three pairs of birds rescued from the illegal pet trade have bred at a zoo.

In early 2020, three pairs of hill crickets were seized and transferred to Paradise Park in Cornwall.

According to the park, Beos were often kept as pets, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, and they could be taught all kinds of words, whistles and calls.

It said the birds had been rescued from Belgium and that the pairs had bred in 2021, 2022 and 2023, but that this was the first year that all three pairs had successfully bred in the park.

Curator David Woolcock said: “We are delighted to report that all three pairs of our mountain starlings have been born, which is fantastic news.

“Our deepest gratitude goes to our keepers for their excellent birdkeeping skills, helping to improve the fate of this priority species.

“We have already placed young birds bred in previous years in four other UK collections to create a viable captive population of the species in the UK.”

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