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From the page: "1200 + African Parrots Rescued From Deadly Illegal Trade
More than 1,200 exotic African Grey Parrots have been seized from traffickers in Cameroon after 2 two shipments were intercepted at Douala International Airport. The parrots were being illegally shipped to Bahrain and Mexico for the exotic pet trade, but are now being cared for by the Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC).
African Grey parrots. Courtesy of Wildlife Direct.
The parrots were squashed into tiny crates, with the live birds standing on top of the many dead ones.

Two Year Ban on Export of African Greys
Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), only limited numbers of parrots can be moved or traded. In January 2007, the Animals Committee of CITES, the convention governing international trade in species, recommended a two-year ban from January 2007 on exports of African Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus) from five West African countries (Cote dâ€Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cameroon). Even with regulations in place, millions of wild birds find themselves stuffed in boxes or bags headed for the black market.

In 2006, Cameroon had a legal quota of birds that it could export. With the global outbreak of Avian Flu in 2007, all trading of birds was ceased. â€The ban on the movement of birds has been lifted (although Cameroonâ€s quota for 2008 is zero birds), so the traders wanted to use up their 2006 quotas.

The trade in bird species is banned in the USA but is still legal in Europe and elsewhere. â€The African Grey Parrot is in decline due to a growing and highly lucrative harvest for the pet trade from West and Central Africa. The species may be threatened with extinction in its natural environment unless the trade is subject to strict enforcement,†says Dr. Emmanuel de Merode, CEO of WildlifeDirect.org.

The parrot family has more globally threatened species than any other bird family and the capture for pets is a primary cause of decline. â€This is a tragic story of wildlife being exploited for the international trade in exotic pets, one of the most lucrative illegal trades in the world. However, due to some diligent work by those responsible for implementing the wildlife laws of Cameroon, at least these birds have been saved. How many other shipments of birds make their way out of the country undetected we can only dread to imagine,†reports Dr. Lankester.
The Limbe Wildlife Centre

* The Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC) is situated in the small fishing town of Limbe at the foot of Mount Cameroon which has the second highest levels of biodiversity in Africa and is home to many locally endemic and critically endangered primates such as the vellerosus chimpanzee, the Preuss's guenon and the drill. Currently this ecosystem has no legal protected status and suffers from illegal logging and high levels of poaching for the bush meat trade. Linked with the bush meat trade is the illegal pet trade, whereby the infant chimpanzees, gorillas and other primate species that are too small to have a value as a meat source are sold as pets. The LWC's very existence has evolved from these illegal trades.

The African Grey Parrot is listed on CITES appendix II which restricts trade of wild caught species, because wild populations can not sustain trapping for the pet trade. It is popular as a pet, partly because of its ability to imitate speech. While captive-bred birds usually assimilate into their new households with relative ease, wild-caught African Grey parrots require considerably more time to adapt to living with humans, and have a tendency to growl and panic when they are approached. Unlike more common pets, African Grey Parrots have not been greatly â€modified†by selective breeding; they are only available as wild-type birds.
© 2006 Wildlife Extra
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