Agriculture Minister endorses secret export of Dominica National Birds and dismisses concerns of local staff

​According to reports, Dominica’s Agriculture Minister, Johnson Drigo, is seeking to assure Dominicans that the 10 Jacko and 2 Sisserou parrots that were recently taken from the Parrot Aviary in the Botanic Gardens to Germany, will eventually be returned to the island.
 
The recent secret export of the National birds caused a major uproar among the Dominican public, due to the lack of public knowledge on the matter. The government has since stated that they were taken to a facility in a European country, to facilitate the breeding of the endangered species, since its habitat was severely damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Maria, on September 18, 2018.
 
Dominica’s Agriculture Minister gave the assurance that the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP), is “recognized” by other Caribbean countries such as St Lucia and St Vincent for captive breeding, and “it was only Dominica’s turn to look at that option, considering the impact of Maria on our birds.”
 
He continued further saying, “Hopefully they will breed in captivity and we will be successful in the captive breeding program and all of our birds will be back, and they will be released into the wild.”
 
Drigo has also denied the recent reports on the birds by IFAW, and some local officials within his ministry as gossip. He was speaking in an interview with Marpin Channel Five News, recently.