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September 2015. Palau has had a request to import a pet bird, Agapornis roseicollis, the rose-faced (or peach-faced) lovebird. Does anyone on the list know anything about its potential invasiveness. The bird is apparently naturalized in Arizona, in the United States, and they carry psittacosis.
Information was obtained from the Department of Agriculture, NSW:
The US Biosecurity info on importing birds is below:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/sa_animal_disease_information/sa_avian_health?1dmy&urile=wcm%3apath%3a%2FAPHIS_Content_Library%2FSA_Our_Focus%2FSA_Animal_Health%2FSA_Animal_Disease_Information%2FSA_Avian_Health%2FSA_Biosecurity_for_Birds
In the context of risk, lovebird are carriers of psittacosis http://www.azdhs.gov/phs/emergency-preparedness/documents/zebra-manual/zm-s5-psittacosis.pdf that can be transmitted to humans. It would appear that authorities in the USA identified this bird disease as a potential problem in the context of bioterrorism!
A more detailed coverage of this topic is in the following presentation with reference to similar case histories in NZ and Australia! http://www.azdhs.gov/phs/oids/training/documents/2014/anne-justice-allen-craig-levy.pdf
In a later email, Palau said that the request had been denied as it had learned that the birds was causing serious problems in Maui, Hawaii. Also, Palau has a blanket prohibition on the importation of any species of parrot.
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