Abstract
Introduction
International trade in wildlife threatens many species with extinction. Several governments have made serious efforts to halt the trade. For example, the United States banned importation of most avian species with the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992. However, an economic incentive to trade birds persists and illegal trade, however poorly quantified, remains a serious conservation concern.
One possible approach to mitigate the pressure of illegal trade on wild populations is to repatriate birds to their native habitats. However, to evaluate the effectiveness or even feasibility of repatriating birds interdicted in illegal trade it is crucial to establish how many birds are actually taken into custody by governmental authorities. This project was undertaken to examine public records regarding how many smuggled birds are being caught at international borders, what species are involved, and what their disposition is after interdiction.
The results of initial efforts to collect such records were largely unproductive. Government agencies with enforcement responsibilities - including U.S. Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Customs Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Border Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Agency - were not forthcoming with relevant records. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests were thus made to these five agencies to gather as much data as possible regarding the extent and fate of birds captured in illegal trade at U.S. borders.
Data resulting from FOIA requests, as well as a review of the literature, indicates that the United States is not in compliance with its obligations as a CITES Treaty signatory nation. Moreover, the number of live birds confiscated by federal agencies appears to be far smaller than those agencies would have the public and Congress believe. Indeed, the lack of effectiveness, particularly on the part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in policing wildlife trade and disposing of confiscated birds in an ethical and legal manner begs the question of whether more cost-effective approaches to wildlife trade should be considered. The following is a summary of the findings.
I. Published estimaes regarding the magnituse of the wildlife trade
A. Government Estimates Regarding Avian Wildlife Trade
A "brisk trade" in live birds has been ongoing in the United States and in many other countries over the past 150 years. Of the 9600 identified species of birds currently found throughout the world, approximately 2600 species
have been recorded in international trade (Inskipp, 1990). The United States is one of the primary consumers in the international trade of birds - historically acting as the leading importer of wild birds. While no one has been able to establish an accurate number of birds traded legally or illegally throughout the world, one researcher estimated that a minimum of 7 .5 million birds were traded, both legally and illegally, annually during the early 1970s (Inskipp, 1979). Likewise, trade records show that during the 1980s more birds were imported into the United States than any other country - an average of 700,000 birds per year from 1984 to 1988 (Mulliken and Thomsen, 1990).
With respect to smuggled or illegally imported birds, the statistics are sparse and contradictory. "This trade, by its very nature, is impossible to quantify, but has been estimated to involve at minimum tens of thousands of birds" (Thomsen et al., 1992). In 1986 the U.S. Justice Department estimated that more than 150,000 birds per year were being smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico alone. A lower estimate was provided by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which reported that an average of 25,000 illegal birds enter the United States each year (APHIS, 1998; Gobbi et al., 1996). These numbers reflected the total number of illegal birds coming into this country, not just those that were confiscated by governmental agencies.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is the agency charged with providing wildlife inspectors to monitor and identify smuggled birds when the animals come across the border. That agency admits that the numbers regarding the magnitude of smuggled avian species could be ten-fold the number of birds actually identified and seized' at the various ports of entry around the country (Gobbi et al., 1996).' However, this lack of verifiable data has not stopped the USFWS or other federal agencies from making statements regarding the size and extent of the illegal bird trade in this country.
For example, the USFWS has stated, both in press releases and other statements to the media, that: "The illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion-dollar-a-year global 'business' that threatens the future viability of the world's wildlife. Wildcaught birds, including parrots and macaws, are a prime target for this black market. Many species are highly prized by collectors and other people who seek exotic pets, making them highly profitable commodities for wildlife smugglers" (USFWS, 1990; Patten, 1991; USFWS, 1991; USFWS, 1996; Cable News Network Impact, 1997; Environmental News Network, 1997; NOVA, 1997; Environmental News Service,
1998; USFWS News Release, 1998). Likewise, the U.S. Justice Department has stated, in conjunction with the criminal prosecution of an alleged bird smuggler, that: "Illegal wildlife smuggling is estimated to be a $5 billion annual industry, generating more profit than illegal arms sales and second only to the world-wide drug trade" (U.S. Dept. of Justice Press Release, 1996; CNN News Report, 1997).
It is interesting to note, however, that this view of the wildlife trade is not necessarily held by law enforcement agencies around the world. For example, a representative of Interpol (the European consortium of law enforcement agencies) stated that:
Various estimates of the scale and value of illegal trade in protected species have been made during wildlife crime conferences and meetings, in brochures, NGO's publications and in international press releases. As there is no central global database on all detected cases of illegal traffic in protected species nor an indicator of the number of undetected cases it is not possible to give statistics on the scale of international wildlife crime. At the Interpol General Secretariat, we only receive information on major international cases of illegal traffic of protected species from our Member countries and thus our statistics do not provide enough information even to give an estimation of the illegal trade scales and values. However, illegal traffic in endangered species of wild fauna and flora is a big problem around the world - below please find some examples of national illegal trade figures:
--in 1995 German Customs registered 1758 CITES related seizures, for a total of 55,824 specimens;
--French Customs seized approximately 1400 live animals and over 5000 dead specimens and products as well as 700 kg of ivory in 1995 and 576 kg of ivory in 1998;
=According to a 1995 Dutch study made by the University of Leiden concerning illegal trade in animals, an estimated 87 ,600 animals are illegally smuggled into the Netherlands each year (Sabourin, 1999, emphasis added).'
It should also be noted that, for the most part, the countries that view the trade in certain identified animals or birds as "illegal" are generally limited to Europe and the United States. Conversely, a number of developing countries see the trade in wildlife as a means of improving their economic status. In effect, some developing countries view the bird trade and other types of wildlife utilization as a positive mechanism for generating income both at the rural and national level (Thomsen, 1992; Nash, 1993). The downside, of course, is the fact that the trade may actually result in radical alterations of the local ecosystems which, in tum, will eventually lead to complete exhaustion of natural resources and the concurrent economic hardship once again (Thomsen, et al., 1992).
B. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Data on Confiscated Birds Since the USFWS is the lead agency in the United States with respect to the handling of confiscated smuggled birds it is logical to look to its statistical information to
determine its view of the problem. The USFWS uses information from its LEMIS4 database to document the numbers of animals confiscated from smugglers entering this country (General Accounting Office, 1994 ). The information is keyed into the computer database by a nationwide network of approximately 250 Special Agents and another 85 Wildlife Inspectors stationed at the major points of entry around the United States' (USFWS, 1996). In conjunction with the LEMIS statistics the Service has also suggested that it is detecting less than 10 percent of violations associated with declared shipments (those actually presented to USFWS agents for clearance) and that the number is probably less than 3 percent for undeclared shipments.
Additionally, shipments that are designated as containing wildlife or wildlife parts are only inspected 5 percent of the time (USFWS, 1991 b ). This low number, according to the USFWS, is due to an overall insufficiency of staff to perform the inspections coupled with an ever increasing number of individual shipments coming in to the over 100 designated ports of entry in the United States (General Accounting Office, 1994; USFWS, 1990 and 1991a).
Despite the handicaps posed by limited staff, budget, and time, the USFWS maintains its position that wildlife smuggling is a crime of great magnitude in this country. To substantiate this claim, the Service points to two covert operations carried out in the last five years to identify and apprehend individuals involved in the illicit wildlife trade. One project, called Operation Jungle Trade, was a threeyear investigation that allegedly broke up an international smuggling ring dealing with protected birds and other wildlife. This sting operation, carried out in conjunction with the U.S. Customs Service and concluded in May 1998, resulted in the arrest of 40 individuals and the seizure of more than 660 exotic birds and other animals, most of them species native to Mexico.
Purportedly, these United States federal agencies worked with law enforcement agents in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Panama to document the criminal activity and to gather evidence. 6 The USFWS claimed that the snare seized more than 600 endangered or threatened psittacine birds with a domestic value in excess of $600,000, in addition to a number of monkeys, lynx, mountain lions, and kinkajous (USFWS, 1998). 7
A similar undercover investigation, code name Operation Renegade, involved a three-year investigation into the bird trade alone. At the conclusion of the investigation the Service reported that it had documented elaborate schemes designed to disguise the native origins of large quantities of parrots allegedly worth millions of dollars. In essence, the "laundering" process involved smuggling birds out of many African nations where they are protected by limitations on trade imposed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)8 and into other African countries where they are not protected." The birds were given false documentation showing that their "country of origin" was the second country, allowing them to then be "legally" exported for sale or trade to the United States and other receiving countries. Likewise, certain protected cockatoos from Australia were smuggled to New Zealand and then falsely documented as captive-bred so that they might be exported to the United States for the pet trade (USFWS, 1996). The Service reported that 40 of the 44 individuals charged with smuggling were successfully prosecuted and paid fines totaling over $170,000 and/or were sentenced to prison time totaling 460 months or 480 months of probation time (Environmental News Network, 1997; USFWS, 1997).
Although these two operations demonstrate that bird smuggling is indeed taking place, the number of birds confiscated through these two exemplar operations suggests that the numbers and values of birds being smuggled is significantly lower than the USFWS claims in press releases, news reports, and even budget justifications presented to Congress. Support for this statement comes from ( 1) the actual number of birds confiscated in the two 'sting" operations (between 300 and 600) and (2) the USFWS statistics regarding confiscated birds between 1990-1996 (approximately 3,500). If one believes the USFWS's statement that it is only able to "catch" 10% of the smuggled birds (Gobbi, 1196), and we know (based on the LEMIS records) that they are catching an average of 500 birds per year, that would mean that an average of 5,000 birds are being smuggled into this country each year. This number is significantly lower than the magnitude of the illegal bird trade alleged by the USFWS. For example, that agency claimed that between 20,000 and 25,000 birds crossed the border from Mexico into...