ABOUT US
The Hong Kong Bird Shelter and Rescue was specifically set up to provide pet birds a safe, secure and healthy environment when their owners are no longer able to look after them.
Most pet birds are imported into Hong Kong after being trapped in the wild or captive bred. Once in Hong Kong they are sold through pet traders or pet shops where they are held in cramped and somewhat unsanitary cages.
Apart from some songbirds that may also be found living wild in Hong Kong, the vast majority of pet birds are not native and cannot survive if released back into the wilds of Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Bird Shelter and Rescue accepts most non indigenous, perching birds that can exist in a cage or aviary environment. We do not have space for waterfowl or farm birds and are unable to accept protected species unless any and all CITES, local AFCD or Hong Kong ordinances are complied with.
Commonly accepted birds include:
- All parrots and parakeets,
- finches and canaries,
- conures, love birds
- Song birds.
Facilities
At our facility on Lantau Island, all our birds are contained in protected and weatherproofed, outdoor aviaries or individual cages. We make every effort to allow the birds to live as natural a life as they possibly can and that includes letting them have plenty of fresh air, sunlight and as much freedom as possible.
Birds unused to outdoor living are carefully and slowly introduced to their new lifestyle, a process that for some has taken months to achieve. As a general rule the facility is not open to the general public. We do this to allow the birds to remain undisturbed and of course free from the chance of any inadvertent diseases being accidentally carried in. |
ACCEPTANCE Procedure
Prior to accepting any bird we must firstly protect our existing birds from any disease that may be inadvertently introduced. Incoming birds will be quarantined (isolated) for at least a week or two and ideally we ask that they are given a health check by a qualified vet too. The last thing we would wish is to take in an unhealthy bird and unwittingly introduce disease to the existing birds.
Permanent shelter
Once quarantined and checked, we try to place all birds into aviaries with compatible species or single cage conditions. To make the transition as stress free as possible, especially for the larger parrot species we prefer that the bird and its cage are handed over together so the bird can adjust in somewhat familiar surroundings. For the more intelligent parrots, who often times find change extremely stressful we encourage owners to visit with their birds in the weeks prior to them handing their pet over. In this way the birds are settled and used to being transported before the big day arrives. It also gives the owners plenty of time to see where their pet will live and satisfy themselves that they and their pet are doing he right thing.
Should you wish not to relinquish ownership of your bird to us, we do offer a temporary holding service. However under such circumstances we cannot do so for free and would expect the owner to continue to provide for the bird(s) sheltered with us.
Should you wish not to relinquish ownership of your bird to us, we do offer a temporary holding service. However under such circumstances we cannot do so for free and would expect the owner to continue to provide for the bird(s) sheltered with us.
Adoption & Rehoming
We are not a commercial entity and we never re-home a bird given into our care unless we have permission from the original owner to do so. However, we may allow bonded bird pairs to breed as part of their natural lifestyle. So very occasionally we may offer any potential new pet owners the opportunity to adopt a genuine, captive bred bird.