Authorities to join forces against parakeet pest

Agreement has been reached that there needs to be a common policy across all council areas to deal with the number of parakeets on the Costa and in inland Malaga province.

The surge in breeding threatens native species and causes noise and damage, so a meeting is due to be held today, 29 November, to discuss the problem.

Councils, with the help of the Diputación provincial authority and University of Malaga, want to know what they are allowed to do to control the birds.

Up to now the only measure used has been the removal of nests, but, say the experts, this has made the problem worse as it makes the birds spread out to more areas. There are an estimated 5,000 parakeets in the province.