Breeders, Pet Owners, and Enthusiasts Learning and Working Together
Our members include folks from all walks of life, brought together by our love of birds. Our membership includes students and retirees, pet owners and professionals. Some of us have owned and raised parrots for a lifetime, but most of us are relative newcomers. Our meetings provide a great environment to both learn and share. Anyone with an interest in exotic birds is welcome.
When we're not meeting, taking care of our birds, or talking on the phone, we are sponsoring Bird Marts, speakers, sexing clinics, and community outreach programs. Our monthly newsletter, The Hatchling, is full of club news, legislative bulletins, bird care tips, as well as bird and supply classified ads . We participate in the annual Bird Clubs of Virginia convention, and are active with both AFA and BCA. We sponsor annual money making projects, including a major bird raffle at the BCV convention, to raise funds to help support the many worthy avian research programs throughout the United States and Central America.
Our History:
In 1982, when the first members of PBAV came together as a club, exotic birds were readily available. There were no restrictions on importation, and finches, canaries, budgies, and parrots came into the United States by the carload, boatload, and planeload. Many came in legally, and many more were smuggled across the borders. Many, many died as a result of disease, poor nutrition, and mishandling.
Alan Greer, along with other concerned breeders in the area, established and incorporated the Parrot Breeders Association of Virginia, to promote education, avian research, conservation and responsible breeding standards and practices.
Today, we are known as the Pet Bird Association of Virginia. The world has changed and we have all become environmentally more aware. In 1992 the Wild Bird Conservation Act was passed by the US Congress, and importation of most exotic birds became a thing of the past. Our club membership now consists of pet bird owners as well as veterinarians, pet store owners, rehabilitators, shelter owners, and breeders. But our goals are the same as they always were...to support the many fine education, research, and conservation programs which affect not only our lives, but also the lives and well being of our feathered companions.
Whether your best buddy is a single tiny finch or you surround yourself with giant macaws, we’re all in it together... for the birds.
When and Where We Meet:
We meet regularly at 5 p.m. on the 2nd Sunday of each month at the Gardenwood Park Civic League building, 5652 Haden Road, Virginia Beach. Meetings generally include a guest speaker or workshop topic, a raffle table, business meeting, and of course, refreshments and time to socialize.
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For more information about PBAV, please call or write:
Pet Bird Association of Virginia
(Parrot Breeders Association of Virginia)
P. O. Box 65528
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23467
If there is a better, tamer, healthier parrot in your future, it's because together we helped produce it.