AR-News: Argentina Seeks to Export Wild-Caught Parrots to U.S. Pet Market

[Jill Kiesow]

Speak Out Against Trade in Wild-Caught Birds in the United States

Argentina Seeks to Export Wild-Caught Parrots to U.S. Pet Market

In 1992, the U.S. Congress passed the Wild Bird Conservation Act in 
response to the unacceptably high rate of mortality among imported birds 
and the devastating impacts that the trade has on wild bird populations. 
The Act essentially eliminated the legal commercial trade in wild-caught 
birds in the United States. However, if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
and the Argentine government have their way, wild-caught birds will soon be 
on the U.S. market again.

A loophole in the Wild Bird Conservation Act allows wild-caught birds to be 
imported if the exporting country can demonstrate that the "harvest" of 
wild-caught birds will not threaten wild populations. Argentina hopes to be 
the first to exploit this loophole by claiming that it is possible to 
"harvest" blue-front amazons in a "sustainable" manner, and the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service is listening.

Animal advocates are concerned that the legal trade in wild-caught 
blue-fronted Amazons will be impossible to regulate and will serve only to 
exacerbate illegal trade, thereby threatening wild populations. The birds 
themselves will be victimized, first by being taken from their rightful 
place in the wild, and again by the ruthless pet industry.

According to Argentina's proposal, wild blue-front amazons will be 
collected in two different ways. Some will be taken directly from their 
nests while unweaned and still dependent on parental care. In areas that do 
not have nesting trees, juvenile birds may be caught using snares set in 
citrus groves. When a parrot is caught, his or her loud screams alert the 
collector who transfers the terrified bird into a wire cage  never to fly 
free again. Collectors typically hold captured birds for 2-4 weeks before 
transferring them to a "broker," who will hold the birds for an additional 
2 weeks before taking them to Buenos Aires to be exported and sold as "pets."

Argentina claims that the trade will be controlled because legally captured 
parrots will each be fitted with a leg band. However, leg bands and other 
physical identifications can easily be placed on illegally obtained birds. 
History has shown that the increased popularity of exotic animals as 
"pets," whether wild-caught, captive-bred, or legally imported, often leads 
to a subsequent increase in the illegal trafficking of their wild 
counterparts within the U.S. and abroad. In fact, many experts have 
observed that the legal and illegal wildlife trades thrive together, with 
legal trade merely providing a smokescreen behind which poachers operate.

While Argentina purports that illegally "harvested" birds will be 
confiscated, the confiscated birds are not rehabilitated for release. 
Instead, the confiscated birds are "distributed," i.e., sold to local 
villagers as "pets." A system in which authorities are rewarded for the 
infractions of others creates a conflict of interest for law enforcement. 
Imagine the corruption that would result if police officers were allowed to 
keep the profits of arrested bank robbers.

You Can Help

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting comments on Argentina's 
proposal until October 6, 2003. Please write and express your opposition to 
allowing the importation of wild-caught blue-fronted amazons. Send letters to:

Dr. Peter O. Thomas
Chief, Division of Management Authority
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 700
Arlington, VA 22203

Fax: 703-358-2280
Email cites at fws.gov

Sample letter:

Dear Mr. Thomas:

I wish to express my concern over Argentina's proposal to export 
wild-caught blue-fronted Amazon parrots under the guise of "sustainable 
use" to circumvent the protections provided to birds under the U.S. Wild 
Bird Conservation Act of 1992.

Specifically, I am concerned that the legal trade in wild-caught 
blue-fronted Amazons will exacerbate the illegal trade, thereby threatening 
wild populations, and that the perils of capture and transport will 
negatively impact the welfare of the individual birds who fall victim to 
this trade.

Because legally and illegally traded wild animals are physically 
indistinguishable, the presence of legally held or traded wildlife makes 
enforcement of laws against illegal possession and poaching harder. It is 
ethically inconsistent to protect our own native birds from capture and 
exploitation by the pet industry while condoning the exploitation of birds 
from other countries.

Argentina's proposal does not meet the conditions set forth under the Wild 
Bird Conservation Act, which requires that the import of wild-caught 
CITES-listed birds be sustainable and humane. Approval of this application 
will jeopardize the survival of the species in the wild and the welfare of 
the birds themselves, and would not uphold the intent of the Wild Bird 
Conservation Act. For these reasons, I strongly urge the Service to reject 
Argentina's application.

Sincerely,


Posted by:
Animal Protection Institute
PO Box 22505
Sacramento, CA 95822
916-447-3085
www.api4animals.org
www.snowmonkey.org
www.chooseveggie.com
www.BanCruelTraps.com
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