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R. Sollund

Busch et al (2014), in a study of CITES records of animal trade, found
that in 2006–2012, 56,792 birds, 6,310 reptiles and 1,226 mammals were
trafficked legally (p. 670). Of the nonhuman animals to be abducted, birds
(23 %) and reptiles (10 %) were most likely to have been abducted from their
habitats, or to be the first generation of abducted parents. These numbers
include CITES I-listed species, for example, yellow-naped parrots (amazon
auropalliata), 88 of whom were abducted from Central and South America
and trafficked to the US and Canada (Busch et al. 2014). Latin America and
Southeast Asia are great source and import localities for the trade of animals
also within a country’s borders (for example, from the forest to urban areas)
or between neighboring countries (Goyes 2015; Busch et al. 2014; Herrera
and Hennessey 2007; Sollund and Maher 2015; Pires and Clark 2011).
The more desirable a species is for humans, the more at risk it is for
trafficking. Tella and Hiraldo (2014; see also Pires and Clark 2011) found
that a cross cultural preference for species of parrots that have certain
characteristics—colorfulness, large size and speaking ability—increases
these species’ risk of extinction. African grey parrots, for example, which
are trafficked mainly from Cameroon and the DR Congo for the pet market,
are another species that is threatened because of their cognitive skills and
ability to learn human language (Pepperberg 1999). This is understandable
considering the numbers of trafficking victims: between 1994 and 2003
according to Wildlife Extra (2008), 350,000 African greys were traded
legally, yet these numbers say nothing of the number of individuals dying
in transit or the number of birds who are trafficked illegally.
The EU is a large market for the pet trade (Sollund and Maher 2015),
despite its ban on wild-bird trade in 20077 which came as a result of the avian
flu. The ban entailed reduced import to the EU, while export to the Middle

East (for example, 753 falcons from Germany in 2006 on one occasion) and to
South America increased (Busch et al. 2014). CITES expressed disappointment about the ban in wild-bird import to the EU (CITES 2007). The focus
of CITES is as always on ‘wildlife’ as a natural resource that should continue to
be exploited for human benefit (Sollund 2011); therefore, a fall in import of
live birds may represent a disappointment because the birds remain
‘unexploited resources’. The CITES website states that the global trade in
wild birds has declined from an estimated 7.5 million birds a year in 1975
7

On 11 January, 2007, the European Commission’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and
Animal Health (SCOFCAH) unanimously adopted a permanent prohibition on the import of wildcaught birds into EU countries, effective 1 July 2007, in order to address the health threat posed by
H5N1 avian influenza and other diseases (SSN 2007)