International parrot trade

The international trade in parrots is a big business and is part of the wildlife trade. As parrots become more endangered, many countries have made rules to limit or stop this trade. Even with these rules, the trade still happens in legal and illegal ways.

One group that helps control this trade is called CITES, which stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Animals and Plants. It started in 1975 and includes many countries and the European Union. CITES works to protect many species around the world by giving them different levels of protection.

About 2,600 bird species in the world are traded, and 20% of these are parrots from the Psittaciforme order. In 2009, many homes in the United States had birds as pets, and most of these birds were parrots.

CITES

CITES is an organization that helps protect animals and plants that are in danger of disappearing. It has special lists, called appendices, that show which species need the most protection.

Appendix I lists species that are in big danger of disappearing, and usually, only special permission allows trading them. Appendix II lists species that are not in immediate danger but still need careful control when traded. Appendix III lists species protected by at least one country.

International trade

The pet trade is a big part of buying and selling animals around the world. Parrots join this trade in two ways: they are either caught from the wild or bred from wild birds and then sold.

Birds, including parrots, are a large part of the animals traded. Many bird species are at risk because of this trade. Some of the top places that send out parrots include Latin American countries like Guyana, Suriname, and Argentina. The biggest buyers of parrots are the European Union, the United States, Singapore, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Many birds do not survive the journey to markets, and the rules about trading them differ between countries, making it hard to stop illegal trade. This can cause problems for the birds and for wild populations.

Trade in the United States

Most parrots in the United States come from other countries. Some are taken from the wild inside the country. In Florida, there are wild blue-and-yellow macaws that are not from there and are not protected by local laws. This means they can be taken and sold online. Experts say that when wild animals are wanted as pets, it can lead to them being taken from the wild.

Legal rules and restrictions regarding Psittacidae trade

The Wild Bird Conservation Act was made in 1992 to stop people from trading exotic birds across countries. This law says that wild birds can only come into the United States if there are plans to keep enough birds in the wild. Because of this law, the number of parrots brought into the US went down from over 100,000 each year to just a few hundred.

In 2005, the European Union stopped letting wild birds be brought in after some birds got very sick from H5N1 bird flu. This ban became permanent in 2007, and now only birds that were raised in captivity in certain countries can be imported.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species helps protect some bird species from being traded too much. Several kinds of parrots, like the Ara (great green macaw, blue-throated macaw, scarlet macaw, military macaw), are protected, so it is not allowed to trade these birds from the wild internationally.

Trade in Mexico

Many parrots are taken from the wild and sold each year in Mexico. This trade has caused parrot numbers to drop over time because of losing their homes and being captured.

The trade of parrots has been part of Mexico's history for a long time. The Aztecs kept parrots as pets and used their feathers for special events. Even before new people arrived from far away, there was trade of parrot feathers and birds within Mexico and nearby places. When new people came, new trade routes opened, which increased the parrot trade. Laws to stop illegal trade only started in the 1900s.

In 1982, Mexico banned selling parrots to other countries, but many were still brought into the United States secretly. A law in the United States in 1992 made it harder to bring exotic birds into the country. This law also helped create places where parrots could be raised in captivity, and many people chose to buy these birds instead of ones taken from the wild.

Today, illegal trade inside Mexico is a bigger problem than sending birds to other countries. Even with bans and permits, it is hard to enforce the rules. Many parrots are still taken from the wild by people who sell them to others, who then sell the birds in markets. Stopping this trade is hard because of limited help and difficulty following the birds. Some ideas to help include better watching in places where poaching happens, building pride in Mexico’s parrots, and creating ecotourism chances that help local communities instead of trapping birds.

Illegal market

Smuggling of parrots was very high in the 1980s. Many parrots were brought into the United States without permission.

Sample market prices

• A Lear's macaw can sell for about $60,000-$90,000
• Hyacinth macaws sell for $5000–$12,000 for a pair that can have babies
• Captive bred blue-and-yellow macaw sold for around $1,800 in the United States in the early 1980s, and for $650 to $900 in the early 1990s
• Live birds and bird eggs are often found when the Australian Customs Service checks things at the border
• The price of a blue and gold macaw could reach as high as $1200 in the early 1990s