Birds International

Birds International Incorporated or BII (not to be confused with BirdLife International, an environmental non-governmental organization and not affiliated with the short-lived quarterly publication Birds International by Joe Forshaw) is a company working in the field of aviculture established in 1975 by Antonio de Dios. It is located in Quezon City near Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

Birds International functions as a research and breeding center especially for endangered species of exotic birds. The company thus uses the sub-title "Avicultural Park & Research Centre." It is the largest captive bird breeding facility in the world also regarded by many to be the best. The company especially specializes in and is most notable for parrot production and therefore is also referred to as a parrot breeding facility. It is reputed to have the largest parrot collection in the world.

According to the website Zoos of the World Birds International has a total area of six hectares hosting 6,000 animals from 198 species only one being a mammal and the rest birds. The number of staff is 167. The facilities are not open to the public. The location of Birds International is suitable since the tropical climate of Philippines is conducive to the breeding and propagation of exotic birds.

Birds International provides captive-bred birds to pet lovers, hobbyist, zoos and parks.

The company is evaluated to be "the biggest and most successful breeder of exotic birds in the world". It has 20,000 exotic birds at any given time. Most of them are exported to Asia, Europe and Japan. Prices can be high, making Birds International a successful business venture and thus a model for similar enterprises.

It has also been pointed out as a model for aviculture industry in Australia where, as in the Philippines, commercial trade in native exotic birds has existed for decades. In the Senate report titled Commercial Utilisation of Australian Native Wildlife an entire paragraph is set apart for Birds International experience based on a submission: "As an example of the potential for expansion, Ms Anderson noted that an avicultural enterprise in Manila, 'Birds International' which houses six thousand birds on a 6-acre (2.4 ha) property, breeds to order large quantities of birds for overseas markets. They retain 15 per cent of stock bred each year for future breeding. Ms Anderson believes that 'similar establishments could be developed in Australia to house specifically Australian species of birds and the benefit to the Australian economy in terms of trade would be substantial'. Flow-on effects could include a boost to domestic markets for birds and a rejuvenated interest in breeding birds in captivity which could assist the recovery of rare species in the wild." Indeed, G. R. Wilson mentions "some international competitors such as Birds International" as a source of "considerable competition when they target markets with low animal-health standards" in his entry on trade in native birds in the The New Rural Industries handbook of the Australian Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.

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Wikipedia