The future of the World Parrot Refuge – a facility for the birds located in the small Vancouver Island community of Coombs – is up in the air, with the property's owner saying he cannot continue to rent it out unless he's properly compensated.
The refuge, which is home to hundreds of parrots and a short distance from a market famous locally for the goats that live on its roof, opened to the public in 2005. Wendy Huntbatch, the facility's founder, died in February.
Horst Neumann, Ms. Huntbatch's husband, said he supported his wife's work when she was alive. However, he said he's told the society that runs the facility that he can no longer allow it to operate without him receiving rental payments.
"I share the love for the birds, but I don't have the passion for having a bottomless pit and not having enough income," he said in an interview.
Mr. Neumann said he is not receiving any rent money for the property or the building, which is more than 20,000 square feet in size.
"I cannot support the Parrot Refuge without any remuneration. It's just a fact of life, there's bills to be paid," he said.
Mr. Neumann said he has told the society he's open to selling at least part of the property. He said he has also received interest in renting out the building from another business.
Sue Watkins, who is on the society's board of directors, said in an interview that it is looking into new facilities. She said she visited a potential site Thursday.
Ms. Watkins said the refuge currently has between 500 and 600 parrots. She said moving them would be a "logistical challenge" but is doable.
"It's not impossible," she said. "We've got some amazing staff with us right now. They're going above and beyond to try and keep everything up to par."
Ms. Watkins said the facility currently employs 18 staff members. It announced a new fundraising campaign earlier this month. Ms. Watkins said there has been a dip in donations in recent years. The society is a registered non-profit.
Ms. Watkins said the refuge is an important part of the community.
"It is quite a draw to the area. Not only do the birds live there, people know they live there," she said. "There's so much tied up in this and so much to consider right now."
Tina Heary, a senior animal protection officer with the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said her organization is keeping an eye on the situation and intends to have further conversations with facility staff.
"If they're going to have to relocate such a volume of birds, the SPCA would be concerned about the welfare of the birds in that transition and would want to offer assistance where we're able to," she said in an interview.
Ms. Heary said she visited the refuge Wednesday after a complaint from a member of the public. She said "numerous verbal recommendations and written directives" were given and they involved "the environment and individual birds." She did not provide further details.
Ms. Watkins confirmed the SPCA visit and said the refuge is taking immediate action.
A brief obituary on the refuge's website, written by Ms. Huntbatch's son, described his mother as a beloved animal-rights activist. "Her goal was to educate people why parrots should not be pets, to stop the trafficking and importing of parrots into Canada and to provide a home for life for those parrots there were here already," the obituary said.
The refuge's website says all of the parrots were previously owned, but the owners could no longer care for them.
Editor's note: A previous headline on this story said the World Parrot Refuge is in Vancouver. In fact, it is Coombs, a community located on Vancouver Island.