Dave Longo was born and raised in both Toronto and Mississauga. In 2004 he moved to Meaford, Ontario to expand this operation. Dave has been involved with birds since he was six years old, first successfully breeding zebra finches when he was 11. This was the same little boy you saw walking home with the baby Robin that fell from its nest and brought it home to feed cut up worms and insects. His enthusiasm engaged him to search for more interaction with birds and started working for the retail pet industry when he was 18 where he has to date raised over 100 different species of parrots through this and his own collection. He started with his first large parrots at the age of 20 and now has over 100 pairs of approximately 80 species of parrots. Dave's main interest lies in rare species of parrots that are in need of help due to their endangered status in aviculture and their endemic habitat. So far he has achieved two Canadian first breeding awards and has assistants help with daily operations throughout the season for the birds. Dave's interests not only lie with birds, during this period, Dave also attended the University of Guelph for Ornithology, Herpetology, Zoology and Marine Biology. His experience that relates to this has bred and kept numerous types of marine and tropical freshwater fish as well as reptiles for several years including 10 species of snakes, 4 species of chameleons, 11 species of geckos, 13 species of turtles, tortoises and even poison arrow frogs. Dave loves adventure, and has a passion for fast cars, speed and adrenaline. He owns his own street rod, a 1959 custom built Volkswagen Beetle. He also is very active in water sports, surfing and snow boarding. He also enjoys soccer, bungee jumping, rock climbing and nature photography to name a few. He has been a disc jockey for over 20 years and hopes to one day operate his own nightclub. He is also in the middle of building an ideally designed aviary that will include 50' outdoor flights for each pair of birds. His primary operation is Longo's Aviaries Inc. and a division of this is an agency that provides specimens for zoological institutions and private facilities worldwide recognized as Zoo Trade International. Dave is actively involved in several organizations and avicultural communities around the globe. For his young age Dave has seemed to accomplish quite a lot and continues to be a dedicated aviculturist and conservationist who will have the welfare of every other species come before man. Dave feels it is most important that us as aviculturists and breeders must share valuable information to ensure successful captive propagation of rarer species to relieve the pressure of wild caught specimens.
