# Saving the wild parrots.



## bigbird (Aug 19, 2000)

I happen to beleive in banning of wild caught parrots.
Hope some of you agree and will send in a petiton form.
Thanks,
Carl

Sent: Monday, December 16, 2002 6:15 PM
Subject: Thank you for saving wild birds!

Dear Friend of the Wild Birds,

Thank you for taking the time to sign the World Parrot Trust's petition to ban the importation of wild-caught birds into the European Union. By doing so, you've helped move us all toward a world where wild birds are no longer trapped and forced to suffer through the cruel conversion to a captive life. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your effort, to update you on the progress we're making on behalf of the birds, and to suggest ways in which you can continue to help save the wild birds.

The Latest Petition Figures

We are pleased to report that over 16,000 people have signed the petition and that number is growing daily. The United Kingdom now has the most signatures with over 6000, and people from all over the globe have now spoken up with supporters from 82 countries. For an update on the numbers and to see how your country is doing, please visit our updated website to view the current statistics: http://www.worldparrottrust.org/trade/tradeupdate.html. To learn more about how you can easily help us gather more signatures, please read the section below which explains how to download a simple signature page to fill out and return.

The Latest Progress on Trade in Parrots

So where are we in the process of stopping what we feel is a destructive and short-sighted trade in wild-caught birds? From the start, we've felt this would be an uphill battle, but we have good news to report on several fronts.

Anti-poaching

We at the Trust are currently funding anti-poaching activities in three countries, Bolivia, Indonesia, and Cameroon. In Bolivia we have sent tens of thousands of dollars to support the protection of clay-licks and other areas where parrots and macaws congregate. These were formerly ideal trapping and hunting sites, and the protection we are supporting has now stopped these exploitive activities. In some cases, the trapping has been replaced with ecotourism which protects and creates real jobs for local people at the same time. In Indonesia where trade in cockatoos, lorikeets, and other parrots is widespread, we are supporting a local group called KSBK which seeks to end destructive trade practices and educate local people on the value of protecting their wildlife resources. In Cameroon, we are supporting the protection of recently established national park which includes several clearings which attract tens of thousands of African Grey parrots. With our support of their anti-poaching efforts, our local contact there Dr. Leonard Usongo feels that he has been able to make a significant impact on the poaching of some 15,000 greys from that area each year. Our intent is to end the unsustainable trade in wild caught African Greys. Direct financial support for any of these projects is greatly appreciated and can easily be done through our on-line store at http://www.worldparrottrust.org/onlinestore/storeindex.htm. 100% of such donations go directly to support the specified project.

CITES

Last month, the international convention that oversees the legal trade in wildlife (aka CITES) considered four proposals to upgrade parrot species from their Appendix II category which allows trade, to their Appendix I which essentially does not allow trade. The four species are the Yellow-naped Amazon (Amazona auropalliata), the Yellow-headed Amazon (Amazona oratrix), the Blue-headed Macaw (Ara couloni), and the Cape
Parrot (Poicepahlus robustus). We have provided input to government
delegates to CITES as well as collaborated with several non-governmental organizations to encourage the passages of these proposals. The good news is that the first three of these proposals have been accepted and those species are now on Appendix I. That represents a huge step forward for parrot conservation in general, but especially for the global protection of these three species.

Additionally, the Swiss delegation proposed to remove many parrot color-morphs from CITES jurisdiction, effectively loosening trade regulation on more than 20 parrot species. Because such a change would create additional difficulties for border guards and make it difficult to identify and stop illegal shipments, the Trust provided extensive comments to the IUCN on this proposal, strongly opposing this effort to weaken CITES. We are pleased to report that the proposal was turned down and CITES will not be weakened.

Bird Trade Research

We also feel that it is crucial to know exactly how the trade is impacting wild bird populations. A ground breaking study was published in the scientific journal Conservation Biology last year and this documented the impacts of on-going poaching of parrots throughout the New World (http://nature.Berkeley.EDU/~beis/Pubs_PDF/pub_docs/PoachCB.pdf). The paper found that collecting parrot chicks from nests is widespread and in many cases has a dramatic impact on parrot populations. Data from the 23 studies also showed a dramatic change in poaching levels following the passage of the Wild Bird Conservation Act in the USA - the country that was at the time the largest single importer of wild-caught
birds. Last winter, we met with several staff members at the Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds in the UK to discuss the on-going trade in wild-caught birds, particularly into the EU. They too felt that it would be helpful to expand this research to the Old World to see if capture for the pet trade was having similar impacts on wild bird populations there. Recently the RSPB has funded a research effort directed at this specific question and we hope the results of this will help us approach all bird trade issues with stronger and more current knowledge.

How you can help

Trade Ban Stickers

We are currently launching a bumper sticker campaign to help get the word out in Europe that the trade needs to be ended - you can see a picture of the stickers at http://www.worldparrottrust.org/trade/bansticker.htm. Supporters in Italy have helped design the stickers and a supporter in the USA has donated the printing costs. These stickers are available on our website and we hope you'll help us get them out in places where lots of people can view them and help support this trade campaign (10 stickers for a ?10, 50 stickers for a donation of ?30). Please help the wild birds further by getting as many stickers as you can, and give them out to your like-minded friends to help spread the word about the need to ban the trade in wild-caught birds for good.

Help collect more signatures

Of course we are continuing to collect as many signatures as possible to show the various government bodies in the EU how strong the support is
for such a change. Please recall that anyone can sign this, young or
old, it just has to be someone willing to lend their name to help save the wild birds. The Trust has created a new and easy way for you to help gather these signatures - we've made an Excel spreadsheet available for you to download at http://www.worldparrottrust.org/trade/signatures.xls. Please fill these in as fast as possible and return them directly to [email protected] or send hard copies to the UK office so we can tally up the figures quickly and efficiently. We prefer electronic contributions because we have few staff to work on this, but we're happy for any signatures you can send. If you'd like to support this campaign further, please take the time to download this file and get as many friends and family members as possible to fill it out.

Write your government representative

Finally, there is nothing like writing elected representatives to let them know that you care about how trade is impacting wildlife around the world. We encourage you to write your CITES representatives or other government officials about Europe's on-going exploitation of developing countries' wildlife resources. Since we are sending this message to dozens of countries with nearly as many languages, please take a moment to look up your country's CITES representative at http://www.cites.org/common/directy/e_directy.html click on your country name, and write to them directly. Simply tell them how you feel about catching birds from the wild and putting them in cages - they need to hear just how many people feel strongly about saving the nature we have left on this Earth.

Again, thank you for your kind support of this campaign. We're convinced that with the kind of grassroots enthusiasm we've seen on this campaign so far, we'll continue to make important strides toward the long term protection of millions of wild birds.

Sincerely,


James D. Gilardi, Ph.D.

Director, World Parrot Trust

[email protected]
_____ 


PS. If you have received this message in error, we regret the mistake, but if the capture of wild birds concerns you, we encourage you and your friends and family to please sign the petition at http://www.worldparrottrust.org/trade/tradeindex.htm. Although it takes just a few seconds to fill out, your effort makes an enormous difference, especially when combined with thousands of like-minded people from around the world.


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Hi Carl,
Just sent in my petition form.
Thanks for the info.
Cindy


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I signed too, though I thought this had been banned years ago!

Cynthia


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## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Wow, I signed that along time ago and made my family sign too.

The World Parrot Trust is an Excellent organization!

Thanks

Mary

[This message has been edited by maryco (edited January 22, 2003).]


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## fred2344 (Jan 9, 2002)

Carl, Thanks for the heads up on this petition. I gladly signed it.


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## Wild Dove (Apr 9, 2002)

Thank you Carl...signed and sent!
My husband and I just adopted our first hookbill...an adorable Parrotlet we have named "Kinney", (bird number 5! Eeek!). I am lucky to know that she, her parents, and grandparents were born in Canada. Before that? I shudder to think.
Wild Dove


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## raynjudy (Aug 22, 2000)

Done and done!

Best,

Ray & Judy


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## turkey (May 19, 2002)

Here in Florida there are parrots flying in the wild that of course are not native to Florida. I believe that Munk parrots is their name. Correct me if I'm wrong. 

My Mom saw some men in a park that did not work for the park going in every palm tree and taking the baby Munk parrots from their nests. She asked them why and they said they were doing some sort of animal control. My Mom was suspicious of what they said and called the police. She later heard they were caught and was told that this was a common accurance. But what happened to them I do not know. 

I'm signing the form. http://www.worldparrottrust.org/trade/tradeform.htm 

Julie

[This message has been edited by turkey (edited January 23, 2003).]


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

I have signed the petition too.

Julie,

I think your Mom was quite correct in feeling that these people were shady at best.

Terry Whatley


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Bump!


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