But a month later, captured parrots were still present in the Ngungwa and Kimwachi communities in Maniema, according to Corneille Kalume, manager of the NGO Community Action for Environmental Management (Action Communautaire pour la Gestion de l\u2019Environnement) based in Kindu, the provincial capital.<\/p>\n
\u201cPoachers are still capturing parrots,\u201d Kalume told Mongabay over the phone. \u201cIt is good to have a ministerial decree banning poaching, but there needs to be action on the ground to stop people from trapping the birds.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RecoveredGreyParrots_SankuruDRC_AdamsCassinga-673x800-1.png\")
Gray parrots seized in an antitrafficking operation at Lodja, DRC. Image courtesy of Adams Cassinga.<\/p>\n
Rehabilitation centers for seized parrots<\/p>\n
The parrot trade is violent and deadly. Only a third of captured birds survive the journey from the DRC\u2019s forests to buyers overseas, according to the Lukuru Foundation. The foundation includes committed government representatives, legal experts, as well as John and Terese Hart, two conservationists from the U.S. who have been working in the DRC for 40 years.<\/p>\n
In April 2025, the foundation and the ICCN, the DRC\u2019s conservation agency, established a parrot conservation center at Kisangani Zoo. By September, the new center had already received 112 parrots, according to Gentil Kisangani, the zoo\u2019s director.<\/p>\n
The new center added extra capacity to receive and rehabilitate birds recovered from traffickers, which are often in bad condition, with their flight feathers clipped and their wings sometimes broken. Lukuru had already established rehabilitation centers for parrots at Lodja, in Sankuru province, and at Dingi, in Maniema.<\/p>\n
Rehabilitation can sometimes be slow and costly, says Terese Hart. Budgets for the rehabilitation centers need to cover treatment and food for the birds, as well as maintenance and inspections. There are also expenses for food for carers who don\u2019t live near the centers, as is the case for the one in Dingi, and for other support for the staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo care for 100 parrots for one month, [the cost] ranges from $1,300 in Lodja, $2,200 at Kisangani Zoo, and $2,900 in Dingi,\u201d Hart says. \u201cBuilding an aviary amounts to over $1,000 and varies depending on the cost of materials and labor. We have seven aviaries in Dingi, three in Kisangani and one in Lodja.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first parrot releases from the Kisangani center aren\u2019t expected until the end of 2025, according to the zoo\u2019s director. But 50 birds that had completed their rehabilitation in Maniema were ready to be released by early October: \u201c397 parrots have regained their ability to fly and have already been released. We\u2019re anticipating roughly 50 more to take flight later this week,\u201d Hart wrote in an email to Mongabay in late September.<\/p>\n
Despite the joy prompted by each bird that recovers and returns to the wild, there\u2019s a risk that the birds are being cycled back into the trafficking loop, according to Bijou Koy, environment minister of neighboring Tshopo province. \u201cThere is a high risk that, following their release, the same birds could be captured again by the same people. With the signing of the decree [protecting parrots], awareness campaigns will be necessary,\u201d she told Mongabay in a phone interview.<\/p>\n The parrot trade is seen as a source of easy profit. With some public officials involved in it, compliance with the new regulations banning all commercial trade will not be easy, conservationists say.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is difficult to be sure that no staff member at the center is involved in trafficking,\u201d Gentil Kisangani says. \u201cBut we also cannot suspect employees without any evidence.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important to strengthen other mechanisms related to the protection of wild spaces, such as raising awareness among local communities and Indigenous populations, and involving political, administrative, and military authorities,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n \u201cSafety cannot be guaranteed post-release,\u201d Hart says. \u201cOur Maniema and Tshopo centers are located on ICCN land where rangers are present. We will continue to advocate for the enforcement of stronger laws to protect parrots and for their efficient enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n Banner image: African gray parrots at a refuge in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Image courtesy of WCS.<\/p>\n This story was first published here<\/a> in French on Oct. 10, 2025.<\/p>\n DNA research changes the fate of the most trafficked parrots in Colombia<\/a><\/p>\n Study shines light, and raises alarm, over online trade of West African birds<\/a><\/p>\n DRC finally moves to protect African gray parrots from unsustainable trade<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0 ![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1024px-Psittacus_erithacus_-flying-8a.jpg\")
An African grey parrot flying. Image courtesy of Robert01 via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (CC-BY-SA-3.0<\/a>)
\nA major challenge: Ensuring released birds are safe<\/p>\n
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