As the International Day for Biodiversity 2022 approaches, staff at the International Department of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CIFD) noted that a Congolese wildlife smuggler was arrested last month for allegedly smuggling 122 endangered African grey parrots. Recently, the man was sentenced to 7 years in prison by a wildlife court in Uganda.
The incident dates back to April 2022, when more than 120 African grey parrots from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were intercepted in Uganda by authorities in the western Kisolo district. In this joint operation by the police, the Uganda Wildlife Service (UWA) and the army, the suspects stuffed the parrots into two cages. At the time of the interception, 3 parrots had been found dead at the scene. Other parrots who were confiscated were sent to the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre.
Source: Network
Source: Network
Behind this smuggling is a large international trafficking network. The gang has been destroyed after the East Window incident and the leader of the gang has been arrested. It was revealed that they were suspected of corruption and used forged CITES documents for transportation in the smuggling of wild animals, hoping to fool through customs.
African grey parrot (scientific name: Psittacus erithacus), also known as grey parrot or Congolese grey parrot, commonly known as grey parrot, is a more well-known medium and large parrot, but also a model species of parrot family, the wild lifespan of up to 40 to 50 years, the longest known lifespan is 70 years. The species is native mainly in low-altitude areas of central and western Africa. Because of its beautiful looks, intelligence, longevity, and strong language imitation ability, it is favored by Europe, the United States and the Middle East, and has become one of the highly sought after "exotic pets". As a result, the species is also a species that has suffered the devastating impact of the "exotic" market, and is one of the largest wild birds in the world in the illegal trade.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the population size of the African grey parrot is about 560,000-12.7 million. Currently, the species is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List as their populations are declining today.
African Grey Parrot. Source: IUCN
Green Committee staff found that, according to the 2020 assessment documents of the IUCN Red List, population declines in burundi, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda, and parts of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been recorded.
In all of these declines, trapping for the wild bird trade is linked to this, and habitat loss has had a significant impact across West and East Africa. Data show that 21 per cent of these wild birds are poached in the wild each year, and population losses in forests in Côte d'Ivoire (31 per cent) and Nigeria (26 per cent) are estimated to be particularly large during the period 1990-2000. Between 1982 and 2014, the total number of birds caught from the wild was probably 1.3 million (according to UNEP-WCMC 2016 data), and in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Cameroon could have caught about 100,000 African grey parrots (F. Egrets) a year. Dowsett-Lemaire in litt. 2012）。
Although the rate of population decline is difficult to quantify, given the large number of this bird species caught for trade, as well as the high loss of forests in some areas, the magnitude of decline may be between 50-79% over three generations (43 years).
Map of the distribution of the African grey parrot. Source: IUCN
In fact, in 2016, AfricaGeographic published an illustrated investigative report report on the brutal trade in African grey parrots. "The parrot trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has developed into a fictitious legitimacy." Not only is the real data much more than the 5,000 grey parrots exported each year, but at every stage of the capture and transport process, these grey parrots also come at the expense of huge mortality rates. In AfricaGeographic's report, many parrots died on their way to being trafficked, becoming corpses in garbage heaps and even food heaps.
Behind each glamorous caged bird, there may be cruelty and the loss of life that you can't see. Be wary of individual scholars using "the vigorous development of the exotic pet market" as the "value" of biodiversity, let us say "no" to such foreign pets!
Regarding the incident, which has just been sentenced to 7 years, wildlife conservation scholar Rowen Martin said happily on social media, "It is great to see wildlife crimes dealt with quickly and decisively." ”
(Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, BBC, AfricaGeographic, China Green Development Council, social media, etc.)
Organize | Sally (Green Society International) Edited | Green
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