Bird News and Tidbits (continued)

The Wild Bird Trade . . . DID YOU KNOW?

The illegal wildlife trade is a highly lucrative black market that many believe ranks second in profits only to illegal drug traffic.

Wild birds are a major target for wildlife profiteers. Parrots, or psittacines, are highly prized in the pet trade for their colorful plumage and exotic appeal.

Scientists have identified some 330 psittacine species worldwide. These birds belong to the Order Psittaciformes; they include parrots, parakeets, macaws, cockatoos, rosellas, amazons, conures, and lorikeets. All possess a downward-curving upper beak; many sport brilliantly colored feathers.

All but two parrot species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This global agreement, which involves some 143 member nations, regulates international trade in species listed on any of its three appendices.

Forty-five parrot species are listed on CITES Appendix I, the Convention's highest level of protection. All commercial trade is prohibited because these birds face an immediate threat of extinction. Habitat loss and removal of birds from the wild have helped put these species at risk.

All other psittacine birds (except the two unlisted species) appear on CITES Appendix II. These species cannot enter trade without export permits from their country of origin. Such controls help ensure that commercialization will not jeopardize the continued survival of these species in the wild.

Most of the parrots protected under CITES Appendix I are also listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In general, these birds cannot be imported into the United States or sold in interstate commerce unless specific permits are issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Because the pet trade was taking such a toll on many wild bird populations worldwide, Congress passed the Wild Bird Conservation Act in 1992 to further restrict trade in protected species. The Act prohibits the commercial importation of parrots and other CITES-listed birds unless they come from countries with approved species management and conservation programs or approved captive-breeding facilities, or belong to certain approved captive-bred species.

Before passage of this law, the United States was a major importer of parrots and other CITES-listed birds. According to the World Wildlife Fund, some 150,000 psittacines entered the country through legal trade channels in 1990. Even with that volume of imports, smuggled birds were also believed to be meeting a significant portion of consumer demand for these pets.

" Bird laundering " was a common practice among wildlife smugglers earlier in the decade and continues to be a problem for psittacine species today. Birds are smuggled out of countries where they are protected and into countries where fewer restrictions exist. Export documents are secured in the second country so that the " laundered " birds can then be " legally " transported to

The copyright of the article Bird News and Tidbits (continued) in Birds is owned by Shane Tully. Permission to republish Bird News and Tidbits (continued) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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