In 2020 a well known poultry show bird breeder was approached by another breeder who offered her an unwanted rooster. Rachel didn't need the bird but quickly found some one who would take it. This led to others asking Rachel to re-home their unwanted birds. Word got out that Rachel had so many contacts that she could find homes for unwanted birds. Soon she had local government authorities and the RSPCA referring people with unwanted birds, mainly roosters. Her husband, Michael gave her service the tongue in cheek name "Rid Rooster" and the name stuck. The number of birds being referred to Rachel was overwhelming so her friends and family formed an association to support her work. The Western Australian Poultry Rescue Association Incorporated (WAPRA) was born.
The Western Australian Poultry Rescue Association was incorporated in November 2020, was granted a Charitable Collections License in April 2021 and is registered with the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission.
For the next year WAPRA operated from a property in Furnissdale and re-homed more than a thousand birds. The Shire of Murray
contacted WAPRA to say that the operation was not allowed by the semi-rural zoning. The irony there was that the Shire of Murray Rangers had delivered unwanted poultry to WAPRA. Nonetheless WAPRA was forced to suspend operations in Furnissdale and utilize social media to connect people with unwanted poultry with prospective adoptees. This is a much reduced service as it removes the quarantining and health checks. It also removes the ability to provide a holding facility for those who are unable to kept the birds in their current location. This mainly applies to families who have purchased fertilized eggs so their children can raise chicks only to find some are roosters which can't be kept in an urban area.
WAPRA started the search for a new home with little success until the Department of Planning offered a lease on some land in Baldivis. WAPRA is currently going through the process of lodging a development application with the City of Rockingham. Hopefully the application will succeed and WAPRA will be able to again provide the much needed service that was provided from the Furnissdale property.
WAPRA is still better known in the community as Rid Rooster.