- Balala declared the 45-day amnesty in October last year following concerns over increased illegal trade.
- The keepers are required to pay Sh12,000 for registration and Sh7,000 annual fees to be allowed to keep the birds.
Kenyans who declared last year that they possess the African grey parrots are yet to receive registration certificates, four months later.
The declaration was made from October 25 to December 8 last year after Tourism CS Najib Balala threatened to prosecute any unregistered keeper of the rare bird.
The keepers are required to pay Sh12,000 for registration and Sh7,000 annual fees to be allowed to keep the birds.
KWS admitted it has not processed the registration, but said it is doing so.
“The process of registering African grey parrots that were declared to KWS within the amnesty period (October 25, 2021 to December 8, 2021) is going on,” KWS said in a statement.
African Greys are highly intelligent birds, popular due to their ability to mimic human voices.
They are now on the brink of extinction due to habitat loss and massive illegal animal trade, even though the trade of these parrots is banned by the United Nations.
KWS said it will advise the people who declared they have the birds on the date, time and nearest registration centre to present the parrots for registration.
“All persons who declared African grey parrots in their possession within the amnesty’s timeline are requested to wait to be contacted by KWS for registration,” it said.
Balala declared the 45-day amnesty in October last year following concerns over increased illegal trade.
“Any person, group of persons or institutions in Kenya who are in possession of African grey parrots without a permit or license issued by the Kenya Wildlife Service, declares them to the service for registration/permitting within a period of 45 days from the 25th October, 2021, shall not be subject to criminal prosecution,” he said.
According to the Kenya Society for Protection and Care of Animals, parrots are wild birds that can live up to 60 years.
“But without the right living conditions, they are very prone to various behavioural problems, including aggressive behaviour, jealousy, stress and feather plucking,” KSPCA says.
“Ultimately, birds should not be kept in cages at all, but if your parrot has been born and raised in captivity, it cannot suddenly without consideration, be released back into the wild either, thus you have the responsibility of making sure it has a comfortable existence.”
The society claims their diet should consist of 70 per cent commercial pellets, 20-25 per cent fruits (mango, pawpaws, banana, pineapple, melons, oranges, apples, berries, coconuts) and vegetables (cucumber, broccoli, spinach, zucchini, peas, kale, butternut, peppers, carrots, corn, lettuce) and only 5-10 per cent nuts, seeds and grains.
However, such a heavily exotic fruit diet is also not available in the African wild, where they live.
“Clean, fresh water should always be available, both for drinking and bathing. Feeding your parrot mainly seeds is an incomplete and imbalanced diet and will lead to obesity and illness as seeds are high in carbs and fat,” KSPCA says.