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Tenerife parrot congress marks four decades with record turnout
Loro Parque and Loro Parque Fundación have officially presented the XI International Parrot Congress of Tenerife, a historic edition commemorating four decades of science and conservation since the event was first held in 1986. From today until 17 September, Puerto de la Cruz becomes the world epicentre of parrot science, bringing together a record 800 biologists, vets, scientists, breeders and conservationists from more than 55 countries — surpassing all previous editions and welcoming representatives from 15 nations taking part for the first time.
Institutional backing for a global reference event
The gathering has the institutional support of the Canary Islands Government, through Promotur Turismo de Islas Canarias; the Cabildo of Tenerife, through Turismo de Tenerife; and Puerto de la Cruz Town Council, in a joint show of backing that positions the island as an international benchmark in wildlife research and conservation.
The president of Loro Parque and founder of the Congress, Wolfgang Kiessling, recalled during the presentation the origins of a forum closely tied to the history of the park, founded in 1972: “When we organised this congress for the first time in 1986, I never imagined that we would be here, four decades later, celebrating not only the continuity of an event, but also the growth of a global community united by a shared passion: parrots.”
Kiessling also stressed the purpose behind the event’s creation, “to bring together people from every corner of the world to share knowledge, experiences and dreams around these exceptional birds. Today, this gathering is an international reference in the conservation, welfare and breeding of parrots.”
A community of nearly 60 countries united in Tenerife
The vice-president of Loro Parque, Christoph Kiessling, highlighted the scale the event has reached: “That 800 specialists from almost 60 countries are meeting in Tenerife shows the dimension that a Congress born here four decades ago has acquired. Our aim is for all this exchange of knowledge to help generate real solutions for the conservation of species and their habitats.”
The scientific director of Loro Parque Fundación, Rafael Zamora, summed up how knowledge about parrots has been transformed over these four decades: “Forty years ago, much of the information came from accumulated experience. Today we talk about genetics, nutrition, veterinary medicine, biosecurity, behaviour and environmental enrichment. Science allows us to understand these species better and better, and to develop more effective tools to protect them.”
Cutting-edge science and the world’s largest living parrot gene pool
The highly specialised scientific programme includes talks by international leaders in the field, technical Leaders Breakfast meetings and exclusive visits to the Loro Parque Fundación Breeding Centre, a facility that holds the largest living genetic reserve of parrots in the world.
Representing the Canary Islands Government, the director general of Tourism Infrastructure, Sustainability and Quality, Héctor Mateo, stressed the strategic value of the event for the archipelago: “Events of this scale project the Canaries as a territory committed to a higher-value tourism model, one capable of attracting knowledge, fostering international cooperation and moving forward hand in hand with sustainability.”
For Turismo de Tenerife, its chief executive, Dimple Melwani, linked the success of the turnout to the island’s legacy: “In 1972, Wolfgang Kiessling launched a project that has become a global benchmark for its commitment to research, animal welfare and environmental education. Hosting this Congress is fully in line with Tenerife’s tourism strategy, in which sustainability is not merely a goal, but the guiding principle behind our decisions.”
Municipal pride in a gathering born in Puerto de la Cruz
The mayor of Puerto de la Cruz, Leopoldo Afonso, struck a note of municipal pride: “It is a source of pride that a gathering born in Puerto de la Cruz has become an international reference. Over these days we welcome hundreds of specialists and reinforce our position as a destination capable of bringing together tourism, knowledge, science and conservation.”
With this eleventh edition, Puerto de la Cruz once again becomes, for four days, the international meeting point of reference for parrot science and conservation, strengthening the global cooperation needed to protect these species and the ecosystems on which their future depends.
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