UN Wildlife Conference Bans Global Trade Of Africa's Grey Parrots

One hundred and eighty-three member states gathered at the CITES Cop17 meeting in Johannesburg and voted decisively in a secret ballot to provide the greatest protection possible to the endangered African grey parrot

If you live with a companion African grey parrot, then you should know that international commercial trade of wild African grey parrots was just banned. This decision was made by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) members, which concluded their 12-day Conference of Parties (CoP17) today in Johannesburg, South Africa. This trade ban is intended to reverse sharp population declines of wild grey parrots in 14 of their 18 range countries, caused by illegal trapping for the pet trade and by rampant habitat fragmentation and loss of forests.

"During the past 25 years, more than 1.5 million wild African greys have been taken from their native habitats, making them one of the most traded of all CITES-listed parrots," said Daniel Ashe, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director and head of the U.S. CITES delegation.

Between 1975 and 2013, more than 1.3 million wild African greys were legally exported from their range states. In 1981, concerns about the potential impact of overexploitation on these parrots' populations led to the species being listed on CITES Appendix II, which allows for only limited global trade.

But their populations still declined. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) estimates that many more wild grey parrots -- between 2.1 and 3.2 million -- were captured than officially reported, but 40-60% died due to poor capture and transport practices. Grey parrots also suffered from a poor quota system; poor management and regulation of trade; and fraudulent permitting. Combined, these factors precipitated severe population declines in wild grey parrots. According to a 2016 study, the African grey parrot experienced population declines of 90-99% in Ghana, where the species is now considered to be "virtually eliminated" due to poaching for the pet trade and to habitat loss (ref).

“Grey parrot populations in Ghana have declined catastrophically and the species is now very rare across the country,” said a co-author of the study, Professor Nigel Collar from BirdLife International.

“Illegal trade must surely have contributed to the post-1990 declines that we report,” said another of the study's co-authors, Stuart Marsden, a Reader in Conservation Ecology at Manchester Metropolitan University.

"This is affirmed by the fact that in the years 1991–2012 when trade was outlawed and Ghana’s reported exports of grey parrots totaled just 35 individuals, the population in the country still declined by 95%,” Dr. Marsden said.

But African grey parrots are sharply declining everywhere throughout their range.

"It is extremely rare or locally extinct in Benin, Burundi, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Togo," said Susan Lieberman, Vice President of International Policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society, in a statement.

The proposal to "uplist" these parrots to Appendix I was submitted by five range states (Gabon, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Togo), and was co-sponsored by Chad, Senegal, the U.S.A. and the E.U. After a heated debate where South Africa, Cameroon, the D.R.C., Brazil, Norway, the U.A.E., Bahrain, Japan, and China strongly advocated for continued trade, a motion by Kuwait resulted in the first ever secret ballot held by CITES. The secret ballot received 95 votes in support of uplisting grey parrots, with 35 votes against and 5 abstentions.

According to CITES, there are two formally recognized subspecies of African grey parrots, the larger Congo African grey, Psittacus erithacus erithacus, and the smaller Timneh African grey, P. e. timneh. Both subspecies are now listed as Appendix I. (Other agencies have officially classified African grey parrots as two distinct species.)

Globally, African grey parrots are highly prized pets, often referred to as the "Einsteins" of the parrot world because of their talking ability and their intelligence. For example, during a 30-year study, captive-bred Congo African grey parrot Alex showed that he could identify 50 different objects and understand quantities up to six; he could distinguish seven colors and five shapes, and understand the concepts of "bigger," "smaller," "same," "different," "over" and "under" -- and he was the first animal to ever demonstrate that he comprehended the concept of "zero."

A CITES Appendix I listing is intended to improve the welfare and conservation of the dwindling populations of wild African grey parrots by protecting them from uncontrolled and illegal trade; and by requiring their range countries to support efforts to increase protections for them. But this uplisting also raises important policy and paperwork issues associated with keeping and breeding domestic grey parrots (legally imported, often generations ago) by zoos, aviculturists and pet owners -- and these are not trivial concerns considering how popular this parrot is throughout the world.

During the 12-day conference, 62 proposals were considered to tighten or loosen trade restrictions for roughly 500 species. The CITES treaty, signed by 182 countries and by the E.U., protects approximately 5,600 animal and 30,000 plant species from over-exploitation due to commercial trade.

Source:

Nathaniel N. D. Annorbah, Nigel J. Collar and Stuart J. Marsden (2016). Trade and habitat change virtually eliminate the Grey Parrot Psittacus erithacus from Ghana, Ibis 158:82–91 doi:10.1111/ibi.12332

CITES Approves Trade Ban For Africa's Grey Parrots | @GrrlScientist