Petition grows as Raystede considers ending onsite parrot care

A petition is gathering pace around Raystede as the Ringmer charity weighs a restructuring that could phase out onsite care for birds, a move supporters say would put parrots with nowhere easy to go at risk of another upheaval.

The pressure has focused on the aviaries at Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare, where more than 90 birds, including parrots, budgies and chickens, are housed on the 43-acre site in East Sussex. For campaigners, this is not a simple budget question. It is about what happens to birds that have already come through neglect, trauma, repeated rehoming or years of uncertainty, and whether they will be forced into yet another move.

Raystede has said the proposal is welfare-led and remains in consultation, but the charity is also clear that it is facing severe financial strain. It recorded a deficit of more than £1 million in the financial year ending 31 March 2025 and has said it is looking at roles that may be changed, merged or cut. The charity says doing nothing is not an option.

Supporters argue that the birds most affected are not the easy cases. Many parrots are long-lived, highly social and deeply attached to routine, and specialist welfare groups have repeatedly warned that captive birds can suffer serious welfare problems when their environment changes abruptly or lacks proper stimulation. For birds already carrying behavioural issues or a history of instability, another relocation could be the wrong answer.

Raystede says it will carry out thorough welfare assessments for every aviary bird and will only consider rehoming or relocation where another environment can demonstrably meet or exceed its standards. It says it is working with reputable avian organisations and charities. If the plans go ahead, the charity says it will gradually withdraw from caring for birds and move them to suitable specialist homes.

That is the question now driving the campaign in Ringmer: where would the birds go if onsite care is reduced? Raystede says its aviaries have long been part of a wider rescue, rehabilitation and sanctuary mission at a centre that was founded in 1952 by Mabel Raymonde-Hawkins and now cares for more than 1,200 animals overall. For the parrots and other aviary birds already in residence, the answer will decide whether their next chapter is a carefully matched sanctuary or another stressful transfer.