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Executive Smnmarv 



The Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA) was enacted by unanimous Congressional consent 

 on October 23, 1992 for the purpose of conserving wild, exotic birds in their natural habitats. 

 It receives the widespread support of environmental, conservation and animal protection 

 organizations, zoos, bird breeders and pet stores. Federal legislation was recognized as being 

 the only solution to the inherent problems of the United States trade in wild exotic birds. 

 Prior to the adoption of the WBCA, it was recognized that: 



■ The United States was the world's largest consumer of wild birds for pets-importing 

 more than 7.4 million exotic birds between 1980 and 1991.' High mortality of birds in trade 

 increased the number that needed to be captured from the wild to supply the pet industry. 

 Experts estimated that for every bird offered for sale in the United States, up to five died 

 along the way.' 



■ American consumers were unknowingly generating a global demand for exotic birds that 

 was severely jeopardizing wild populations. This demand was directly responsible for the 

 endangerment of a number of species such as the Moluccan cockatoo. Coffin's cockatoo, and 

 the blue-streaked lory. Once a species was imperiled to the point of needing international 

 protection, the trade would simply move on to the next available species until it too would 

 come close to vanishing. This trend repeated itself again and again. 



■ After nearly twenty years of attempting to regulate the commercial trade in exotic wild 

 birds for pets through existing domestic laws, international conventions, and other mechanisms, 

 the abuses continued. The widespread availability of inexpensive wild-caught birds encouraged 

 the exploitation of wild populations and perpetuated the over-reliance of the United States pet 

 market on wild bird imports. Despite the absence of the in-situ studies needed to determine 

 whether trade was sustainable, birds continued to be removed from the wild in large numbers. 



■ The efforts of other nations to prohibit the exportation of their indigenous species had 

 often proven futile in the face of the lucrative United States market. To supply this market, 

 exotic wild birds were commonly laundered from a country prohibited export to a neighboring 

 country, which permitted exports. 



■ The legal trade in wild birds was serving as a smoke-screen for the illegal trade. Prior 

 to the WBCA, smugglers took advantage of the lack of controls in international trade and the 

 lack of basic scientific information on these species to by-pass international and national 

 restrictions on wild bird imports. 



■ Commercial trade in exotic wild birds was, and is completely unnecessary. Aviculture 

 already has enough individuals of most species to work with, so inbreeding is in most cases 



' Wyerman. James K. Testimony on H.R. 5013, The Wild Bird Conservation Act, before the Subcommittee 

 on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment, 16 June 1992. 



■ Liebennan, Susan. Landmark U.S. Legislation Will Conserve Exotic Wild Birds. Endangered Species 

 Technical Bulletin. December 1992. 



