This scheme was set up
some thirteen years ago with the intention of maintaining strains of Australian
grassfinches and parrot finches within our mandate, recognising that these birds unless
bred would disappear from our aviaries, sadly it is happening at this very time.
We aim to maintain species
in captivity, which will represent their wild counterparts as closely as possible.
We started with the intention of concentrating on species which were difficult to keep or
breed by using the joint expertise and knowledge of those members who had experience of
succeeding where many of us had failed. However it was realised for the scheme to be
successful it had to include all the birds in our mandate because ALL birds are in
jeopardy.
To be a member of
the RADS Plus group could not be easier because it is open to any member of the AFS and to
join all you need to do is to ring the co-ordinator (whose name can be found in the
Society’s magazine, The Grassfinch.)
Today with our birds
becoming scarcer due to a number of factors, but not all due to difficulties in breeding,
some species in our mandate are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain and without
urgent action they will be lost forever. In many cases these were species, which
were easy to breed, but due to this fact they became difficult to sell or pass on and
hence became unpopular. Others of course were difficult to breed and sadly not
enough breeders became sufficiently proficient at breeding to establish good viable
groups.
Details of the RADS scheme
will appear at regular intervals in the AFS magazine to keep all members informed of our
progress.
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