Abstract
What will the CITES listing of all parrots (except budgies, cockatiels and Indian ringnecks) mean to zoos and aviculturists? It will simply mean that the U.S.F.W.S. would require all parrots coming into the U.S. to have legal export documents from the country of origin. Currently the vast majority of imports already have these documents and, in fact, these documents are already required by other U.S. laws such as the Lacy Act. The Lacy Act requires that any wildlife imported must have been exported legally from the countty of origin. No U.S. permit is required for importation of Appendix II species.
How will the listing of all parrots on Appendix II affect zoos and aviculturists? It simply will not have any effect as long as birds were legally exported. Thirty-two countries voted for this proposal in New Delhi in spite of the U.S. delegation's opposition. Now we must either work within this framework or propose a better system to submit to CITES as an alternative.
If you have suggestions, comments, or wish to have more information, contact Don Bruning.
Sincerely,
Donald Bruning
Curator
Department of Ornithology New York Zoological Society
I should like to think that Dr.
Bruning 's forecast is correct if rather simplistic. It is, however, no easy task to predict the future, especially in an economic and political concern such as this that involves a number of quite volatile 3rd World governments. I prefer to wait and watch.
But the main problem, I fear, has
nothing to do with economics, politics, or 3rd World countries. It has to do with your opponent changing the rules of the game while it is his move. CITES changed the classification of a whole Order of birds without going by its own well established rules for such a change. It may as well cast out the whole kit and caboodle of treaty terms and run the thing by popular opinion poll among the delegates. In fact, that is what it has done.
I wish I had Don Bruning 's faith-orhis crystal ball.
ED.