Import ban saves many thousands of wild birds
16/06/2006 00:00:00
Import ban facts
- The RSPB believes that the ban on the import of wild birds into the EU should be made permanent because the trade as it is currently practiced cannot be shown to be sustainable. It also places our native wildlife, as well as the health of humans and livestock, at risk.
- The RSPB’s market research found that 92% of respondents in the UK and Germany disapproved of the trade in wild birds. It was conducted by BMRB International which in the UK surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,003 adults aged 16 or over on June 17 and 18, 2006 and in Germany surveyed 1000 people aged 14 and over between June 17 and 23, 2006.
- The trade in wild birds is worth little to developing countries - 0.02% of GDP in Tanzania, and 0.08% of GDP in Suriname. Much more important are debt repayments, global trade rules and the potential for wildlife tourism. The latter is a growing contributor to the economies of developing countries. In Tanzania it makes up the majority of the US$730 million tourism industry meaning that its impact is more than one hundred times greater than the bird trade.
- A study published earlier this year, of the citron-crested cockatoo, a bird found only in Indonesia, found that its numbers had doubled 10 years after trading in the species was banned.
- A Parrot Society survey in May 2006 found 75% of parrot keepers in the UK favoured an import ban.
- The African grey parrot is one of the most popular avian pets in the world because of its skill as a mimic and for its attractive plumage. According to CITES, almost 360,000 African greys were legally traded between 1994 and 2003. Many thousands more are exported illegally or die before they reach pet shops. Because of the pet trade, the African grey is declining in most of the 23 countries in which it is found. The species sells for up to £500 a pair in the UK. Between 1994 and 2000, the main export countries were Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Parrots lay few eggs and breed only once each year.
- Other imported species include the Toco toucan, made famous by Guinness adverts, the African spotted eagle owl, the crowned hornbill, the Cape sugarbird, the green winged macaw and the iris glossy-starling.
- Preventing the illegal import of wild birds, and other animals, will be an important part of the work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit, which was established in October 2006.
Hundreds of thousands of rare and exotic birds have been saved from death or a life in captivity by the temporary ban on the wild bird trade, which had it’s first birthday on October 27. The fact that the driving factor behind the ban was bird flu rather than toe conservation of rare and endangered birds was a disgrace.
Parrots, owls, exotic starlings and even the Toco toucan, made famous by Guinness adverts, are amongst birds still alive in the wild because of the ban. Without it many of these birds would be pets in Britain and Europe, cooped up in cages for the rest of their lives, and even more would have died on the way.
Monitoring is poor and it is not known how many wild birds were imported into the UK before the Europe-wide ban was imposed. What is known is that the pet trade is threatening 60% of the world’s 350 parrot species and one in ten of the 1,200 bird species now at risk of extinction. There are 9,799 species of bird in the wild and at least 3,000 of them have been sold as pets.
There is a danger now that the import ban that has reprieved these birds will be lifted. Sacha Cleminson, Senior European Advocacy Officer at the RSPB said: ‘The import ban has thrown thousands and perhaps millions of birds a lifeline and it would be a tragedy if the ban were to be lifted when it is reviewed in December. This could happen because the EU is under pressure from some of the countries that export exotic birds. If these states can prove that seizing wild birds does not reduce their numbers, there might be grounds for resuming a limited trade. But there is little evidence to prove this and if we are to stop birds from going extinct, the ban should be made permanent until there is.’
The ban was imposed after imported birds died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu while in quarantine. 2 years earlier, 2 crested hawk-eagles, smuggled from Thailand to Brussels airport, were seized and found to have the H5N1 strain of bird flu. The EU is responsible for 87%, about one million birds annually, of the trade in birds listed by CITES, with the trade in non-CITES birds thought to be even greater.
Wild bird populations are falling largely because of habitat loss and because controls on numbers taken from nests in Africa, South America and Asia are either non-existent or poorly applied. A report commissioned by the Belgian government says that exporting countries could make up to Є72 million annually by eliminating what costs there are for trade controls, increasing eco-tourism and boosting other, associated industries.
The report also suggests that a permanent EU import ban could generate more than Є1 million a year by stimulating the business in captive breeding and boosting funds for conservation. Julian Hughes, Head of Species Policy at the RSPB said: ‘Too many birds are taken too often because what curbs there are, are ignored. All countries are responsible for the conservation of their wildlife and those states with the most sought after birds, have the greatest responsibility of all.
‘Up to 60% of birds caught for the pet trade die before they reach their destination. This is a horrific toll, particularly when almost every bird wanted as a pet could be bred in captivity in the UK. There is overwhelming support for the unsustainable and squalid trade in wild birds to be outlawed. There is no justification for it particularly when birds bred in captivity make much better pets.’
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