http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25679150/?pg=8#WildlifeTrade_2008
Birds
The parrot family has more globally threatened species than any other bird family, and the capture for pets is a primary cause of decline. The trade in wild birds is banned in the United States and, since 2007, in Europe, but the trade is legal in other areas.
Of particular concern is trade in African Grey parrots in West and Central Africa. "The species may be threatened with extinction in its natural environment unless the trade is subject to strict enforcement," says Emmanuel de Merode, head of WildlifeDirect.
In 2008, some 1,200 live or dying African Greys stuffed into cages were seized from traffickers in Cameroon. The parrots were being illegally flown to Bahrain and Mexico for the exotic pet trade.
Asia also is a hub for the sale of birds as pets, both to locals and foreigners. "One bird market in Java (Indonesia) is estimated to sell between 1 and 1.5 million wild birds per year for the pet trade," says Liz Bennett, head of the wildlife trade program at the Wildlife Conservation Society.
At the Tangkoko Duasudara Nature Reserve in Sulawesi, Indonesia, the number of anoa and maleo birds declined by 90 percent between 1978 and 1993, she adds.
BirdLife International notes that bird species threatened due to the illegal trade include the:
*Yellow-crested Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea of East Timor and Indonesia;
*Red Siskin Carduelis cucullata in northern South America;
*Java Sparrow Padda oryzivora of Indonesia.
The Spix's Macaw Cyanopsitta spixii of Brazil is already extinct in the wild due to the illegal trade and habitat loss.
Birds
The parrot family has more globally threatened species than any other bird family, and the capture for pets is a primary cause of decline. The trade in wild birds is banned in the United States and, since 2007, in Europe, but the trade is legal in other areas.
Of particular concern is trade in African Grey parrots in West and Central Africa. "The species may be threatened with extinction in its natural environment unless the trade is subject to strict enforcement," says Emmanuel de Merode, head of WildlifeDirect.
In 2008, some 1,200 live or dying African Greys stuffed into cages were seized from traffickers in Cameroon. The parrots were being illegally flown to Bahrain and Mexico for the exotic pet trade.
Asia also is a hub for the sale of birds as pets, both to locals and foreigners. "One bird market in Java (Indonesia) is estimated to sell between 1 and 1.5 million wild birds per year for the pet trade," says Liz Bennett, head of the wildlife trade program at the Wildlife Conservation Society.
At the Tangkoko Duasudara Nature Reserve in Sulawesi, Indonesia, the number of anoa and maleo birds declined by 90 percent between 1978 and 1993, she adds.
BirdLife International notes that bird species threatened due to the illegal trade include the:
*Yellow-crested Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea of East Timor and Indonesia;
*Red Siskin Carduelis cucullata in northern South America;
*Java Sparrow Padda oryzivora of Indonesia.
The Spix's Macaw Cyanopsitta spixii of Brazil is already extinct in the wild due to the illegal trade and habitat loss.
Angus Starling-British missionary (Brian McArdie) :
l've lived in Africa for a year,
and l don't know what you know.
How long have you
been here?
Col. John Patterson (Val Kilmer) :
Just about 24 hours.
But l've been longing
for this all my life.
in
The Ghost and the Darkness.
Indian Parakeets
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