Ban on global trade in rare wild parrots

THE global trade in wild African grey parrots has been banned after an agreement forged by countries meeting in Johannesburg for a major conference on endangered wildlife.

The birds are the thirdmost traded in the world and make popular pets in the UK and elsewhere because of their ability to mimic speech, their intelligence and longevity. But the capture of an estimated fifth of their numbers in the central and west African nations to which they are native means it is now extremely rare to see them in the wild.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare estimates up to 3.2 million African greys were captured between 1975 and 2013. Around two-thirds die as they are shipped in “deplorable” conditions, it says.

The parrots were first listed for limited trade under a quota system in 1981 but destruction of their habitat, illegal poaching and inefficient and sometimes corrupt regulation of sales has led to a fall by up to 90 per cent in 14 of 18 states. The birds’ low reproductive rates mean they cannot easily bounce back. Proposals for them to be listed under Cites Appendix I, which bans all global trade, were submitted by Gabon, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Togo, with co-sponsorship by Chad, Senegal, America and the EU. It was agreed by 95 votes, to 35 against, and five abstentions. Dr Colman O Criodain, of the World Wildlife Fund, said: “Fraud and corruption have enabled traffickers to vastly exceed current quotas and continue to harvest unsustainable numbers.”

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is due to consider proposals to lift the ban on the elephant ivory and rhino horn trade.