Abstract
TRAFFIC Senior Program Officer
Addresses AFA Banquet
I am honored to have the opportunity to address you this evening. My thanks to your Board of Directors for inviting me here, and to all of you who have shared your thoughts with me throughout this conference.
It has been my good fortune over the past year to work with Gary Lilienthal in his capacity as the AFA's representative to the Cooperative Working Group on Bird Trade. Gary, joined by Susan Clubb, representing the Association of Avian Veterinarians and Marshall Meyers, representing the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, is participating in this working group in an effort to increase communication between organizations concerned with the importation of wild-caught birds. Other Cooperative Working Group members include representatives of the Humane Society of the United States, the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, the National Audubon Society, and other conservation and animal welfare organizations.
These individuals have agreed to work together in an analysis of U.S. avian imports. While each represents a constituency with diverse interests, working group members share the common goal of identifying trade-related problems and developing workable solutions. In addition to discussing the issues, the group is preparing a report analyzing federal controls of avian imports, exports and captive breeding programs. Upon completion, we hope it will form the basis of the group's recommendations to the federal government for improving the importation system.
Much to the credit of Gary, Susan and Marshall, the views of aviculturists have been well represented throughout this process. And well they should be. Because perhaps no other single group has so much to offer and yet so much at stake, so much invested, in the availability and welfare of exotic avifauna as you do. It is for this reason I so eagerly accepted the invitation to address you tonight. Your concerns and activities are critical to the existence of many avian species, both in the wild and in aviculture. Your knowledge of avian nutrition, behavior, breeding and disease will become increasingly important as habitat loss and other pressures drive many species to the brink of extinction.
But in the same breath I must add that your continuing demand for wild-caught birds in conjunction with the pet industry threatens the survival of several species in the wild. This is not emotionally charged rhetoric. It is simply fact.
Few would disagree that the major threat facing the world's birds, especially tropical species, is habitat loss.
But there is no denying that the harvest of wild birds for sale in international markets has had similarly devastating effects on both individual populations and entire species. The Hyacinth Macaw, several of the Amazons, and other species are threatened throughout part or all of their range as a direct result of their popularity with pet owners and aviculturists. To blame the decline of these species on use by indigenous cultures or deforestation is delusionary.
Even many of the species still considered common in the wild are suffering declines due in a large part to trapping for commercial trade. The Orange-winged Amazon in Guyana and the Bluefronted Amazon in Argentina have become locally uncommon in many parts of their range. The claim that these are pest species and, as such, should be removed from agricultural areas is not well documented. Therefore, it is questionable whether current export levels of these species benefit any but those people actually involved in the trade.
It is clear that a number of wild populations can no longer withstand the dual pressures of habitat loss and commercial harvest. And, if recent trends are any indication, it appears that individual countries and international treaties will increasingly limit the availability of most or perhaps even all wild-caught birds. These eventualities are not a matter of if, but when.
Therefore it is not simply the birds that are threatened by a changing environment, but you and your related interests. With dwindling supplies, the continued viability and diversity of your collections and breeding programs, as well as of the pet bird industry, will depend on your actions over the next several years.
The question I put before you tonight is not what can be done, but what will you do to prepare for these eventualities?
Certainly one course of action is to continue the present practice of lobbying against trade restrictions at the local, federal and international level. This approach has been somewhat effective to date. While a few species are no longer in trade, many are still available, if in limited numbers. Unfortunately, as a result, several species are declining in the wild due to the continued harvest to supply the international market. Therefore, in the long run, unrestricted trade will ultimately reduce your access to a growing number of species.
Perhaps a second, less obvious result of these lobbying efforts is their impact on the public's perception of aviculturists. Advertisements stating that "aviculture is conservation too" are greatly overshadowed by the impression that you support the annual importation of hundreds of thousands of wild-caught birds. An unwillingness to acknowledge trade-associated mortality further clouds your image. No one questions the sincerity of your support for endangered species' survival programs such as those of the Bahamas Amazon and Red Siskin. However, you cannot expect the general public and their representatives to view your contributions to these....