I see from todays Telegraph that Defra has initiated control measures to stop the spread of parakeets in this country. Apparently they were released several years ago and numbers in the Home Counties are beginning to build up. If left to multiply they could become a major nuisance and do untold damage to crops. So they have to be controlled.
The RSPB has said they would prefer the birds to be re-homed, in other words caged. But if that proves too difficult they would reluctantly agree to them being shot. Here, for once, all those involved, including farmers, are able to agree on action to prevent a build-up of trouble. Glory be.
And if the parakeets in Britain are anything like the gallar's in Australia, they're all member of the parrot family, the sooner they are eliminated from the wild in the UK the better. I remember, many years ago staying with a farming family in northern New South Wales where these "ruddy gallar's" as the family called them were virtually destroying their maize crop.
They flew around in flocks and once they settled on the crop were almost impossible to move. As regular readers may remember I have a personal vendetta against pigeons that eat my rape and peas. Limiting the damage they do is bad enough but I am certain from what I saw in Australia all those years ago that parakeets would be much worse. So, go to it Defra and RSPB and don't stop until you've captured or killed the last parakeet.