Antonio de Dios

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Antonio de Dios is a "bird aficionado" known in the relevant circles [1] from the Philippines who established in 1975 Birds International, Inc. (not to be confused with BirdLife International, an environmental non-governmental organization and not affiliated with the short-lived quarterly publication Birds International by Joe Forshaw), a company working in the field of aviculture.

Philippines Republic in Southeast Asia

The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. Bounded by the South China Sea on the west, the Philippine Sea on the east and the Celebes Sea on the southwest, the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Vietnam to the west, Palau to the east, and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south.

Birds International Incorporated or BII is a company working in the field of aviculture established in 1975 by Antonio de Dios. It is located in Quezon City near Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats, and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. It is the world's largest partnership of conservation organisations, with over 120 partner organisations.

Contents

Early years

He came from a wealthy family and currently is the President and General Manager of Transport Equipment Corporation, [2] the family business established by his father.

Aviculture

De Dios was interested in animals since his childhood and kept many pets (including several birds) in their family house before proceeding to breeding business. [3] He had become aware of the critical decline of exotic bird population in his country in early 1970s and decided to open a breeding and research facility. He acquired a field of six hectares in Quezon City near Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and established Birds International Incorporated. The location of the center is suitable since the tropical climate of Philippines is conducive to the breeding and propagation of exotic birds. [4] He is also the director of the facility. [5]

Quezon City Highly Urbanized City in National Capital Region, Philippines

Quezon City is the most populous and a highly urbanized city in the Philippines. It was founded by and named after Manuel L. Quezon, the 2nd President of the Philippines, to eventually replace Manila as the national capital. The city was proclaimed as such in 1948. However, since practically all government buildings are still in Manila, many functions of national government remained there. Quezon City held the status as the official capital until 1976 when a presidential decree was issued to reinstate and designate Manila as the capital and Metro Manila as the seat of government.

Manila Capital / Highly Urbanized City in National Capital Region, Philippines

Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital of the Philippines. As of 2018 it was the most densely populated city proper in the world. It was the first chartered city by virtue of the Philippine Commission Act 183 on July 31, 1901 and gained autonomy with the passage of Republic Act No. 409 or the "Revised Charter of the City of Manila" on June 18, 1949. Manila, alongside Mexico City and Madrid are considered the world's original set of Global Cities due to Manila's commercial networks being the first to traverse the Pacific Ocean, thus connecting Asia with the Spanish Americas, marking the first time in world history when an uninterrupted chain of trade routes circled the planet. Manila has been damaged by and rebuilt from wars more times than the famed city of Troy and it is also the second most natural disaster afflicted capital city in the world next to Tokyo yet it is simultaneously among the most populous and most wealthy cities in Southeast Asia.

The company is the largest captive parrot breeding facility in the world;., [6] not to be confused with the largest 'bird collection in the world' boasting one third of all species existing in captivity which claims title to Dr. Jesus Estudillo Lopez of Mexico City. Mr. de Dios has been labelled "the biggest and most successful breeder of exotic birds in the world" and a successful business venture. [7] It is reputed to have the largest parrot collection in the world. [8]

However Antonio de Dios has also been heavily criticized by some conservationists for his commercial interests in the Spix's macaw, one of the rarest birds in the world, [9] [10] despite his success in captive breeding the species. [11] For example, when he decided to donate some birds to other facilities Natasha Schischakin, a conservationist working on Spix's macaw who is critical of private efforts, stated that "The owner of BII, Antonio de Dios offered to donate these birds to the reintroduction effort, but only with the establishment of rigorous protocols and involvement of his staff in the reintroduction program." [12]

Spixs macaw species of bird

Spix's macaw, also known as the little blue macaw, is a macaw native to Brazil. It is a member of Tribe Arini in the subfamily Arinae, part of the family Psittacidae. It was first described by German naturalist Georg Marcgrave, when he was working in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, in 1638 and it is named for German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix, who collected a specimen in 1819 on the bank of the Rio São Francisco in northeast Bahia in Brazil.

Publications

M. A. R. (1996). "Protocol for red-vented cockatoo at Birds International Inc., Philippines" in European studbook for the red-vented cockatoo.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Red-vented cockatoo species of bird

The red-vented cockatoo sometimes called the Philippine cockatoo or kalangay, is a critically endangered species of cockatoo that is endemic to the Philippines. It is roughly the size and shape of the Tanimbar corella, but is easily distinguished by the red feathers around the vent.

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References

  1. ↑ Adraneda, Katherine. 2002, November 25. "AMIANAN", THE RESCUED PHILIPPINE EAGLE DIES OF INFECTION. Philippine Headline News Online. http://www.newsflash.org/2002/11/si/si001365.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.pescp.org/Reports/PESCP_Report_2008.pdf (see page 3)
  3. ↑ Bringas, Roger and Sheldon Dingle. "AFA Visits... Tropical Paradise for Birds". Available from the WWW: http://www.birdsinternational.net/afa.html Archived 2008-02-25 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Goodwill Birds Training. "A World-Class Breeding Center". "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-06-15. Retrieved 2008-07-20.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ "Birds International Inc". Archived from the original on 2009-09-10. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
  6. ↑ Harrison, Greg J. 2000. "Extraordinary... The Birds International, Inc.". HBD's Avian Examiner 18. Available from the WWW: "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2008-07-20.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ Pangyarihan, Gilbert. 2007. "A Million Violins Singing Out of the Boondocks: Violins made of Philippine tropical woods." Business in Development Network. Available from the WWW: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-07-11. Retrieved 2008-07-20.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
  8. ↑ Public Aviaries
  9. ↑ Whittell, Giles. 2002, January 11. "Battle of the bird breeders". The Times. Available from the WWW:http://www.bluemacaws.org/spxart22.htm
  10. ↑ Juniper, Tony. 2003. Spix's Macaw: The Race to Save the World's Rarest Bird. Atria: Ch. 10 (pp 201-230).
  11. ↑ See for instance: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-12-05. Retrieved 2008-07-24.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
  12. ↑ Schischakin, N. "Captive Management and Conservation Programs for Parrots - Can Public and Private Sector Collaboration Work?". AZA Annual Conference Proceedings 2001. Silver Spring, Maryland. American Zoo and Aquarium Association, 2001. Available from the WWW:http://www.arabrasil.org/public-private.htm
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