Animal Chronicles Summer 2007

Loving them to extinction: The sad tale of Mexican parrots

by John Thompson

There are 20 proven methods for smuggling parrots across the U.S. border. The key is to keep them from vocalizing, so drugging the birds or taping their beaks shut are tricks often used by amateurs. The pros are more sophisticated. Either way, most of the birds will die.

Ranging from elegant to extravagantly beautiful, subtle to raucously noisy, but always keenly intelligent, these animals live in the warm, forested environment of Mexico and Central America. They travel in flocks from tree to tree sampling nature’s banquet of fruit and vegetation. They thrive in the company of their own kind and can become tragically forlorn and frightened when isolated in captivity.

People’s fascination with these marvelous birds, though, has increasingly placed them in jeopardy. Some 20 species in Mexico alone are heading dangerously close to extinction from both habitat loss and trapping.

A very detailed new study underwritten by Washington, DC-based Defenders of Wildlife, says that between 65,000 and 78,500 Mexican parrots are illegally trapped annually. “Parrot trappers view their work as a way of life. Some have been trapping parrots for more than 50 years, having started as young children and learning their trade from their fathers and grandfathers,” the Defenders report, entitled “The Illegal Parrot Trade in Mexico,” says.

The bird-trapping business is so well established that there are “unions” of capturers, transporters and salespeople. Like cartels, power often resides in a single person who can control an entire geographic area.

Laws concerning the parrot trade are confusing and often ignored. There are few firm laws regulating how birds can be taken, and those that exist are almost never enforced. The government does issue some permits to capture specific quantities, but these simply provide a template for forgeries. Anyway, trappers say authorities never check, so they take what they want.

The most common capture technique employs nets of material too fine for the birds to see. Even though this is considered “safe,” up to 10 percent of the birds die from stress. And when adults are trapped during the reproductive season, nestlings will certainly perish also.

Trappers specifically wanting nestlings take them by hand from tree cavities. If they can’t reach deeply enough into the cavity, they may cut down the tree, injuring many of the birds in the process and depriving future generations of a nesting place.
For everyone in the chain of commerce, it’s all about starting with a high enough volume to make up for mortalities along the way. The Defenders investigation found that between 50,000 and 60,000 of these wonderful birds die annually in this illicit commerce.

Selling wild parrots in the U.S. is illegal, but the beautiful Mexican species may be purchased by unscrupulous pet shops, exotic animal collectors or breeders who want to enhance their stock. Mexican parrots can also be found on the Internet or through classified ads, and they may even have documentation that looks official.

The only way to stop the illicit taking of wild birds is to eliminate the market. Rescue organizations urge that a parrot never, ever be purchased. For those who can accept the responsibility, the shelters are full of wonderful birds to adopt who are very much in need of gentle care.

John Thompson is a local journalist focusing on environmental and animal issues. He is also an MHS board member.

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