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the pet market. Yet, due to the demands of the United States market, nations wishing to 

 protect birds from trade found it impossible to prevent the smuggling of wildlife to neighboring 

 countries, which allow exports. 



In one investigation conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Division of Law 

 Enforcement, two of the largest importers of wild exotic birds in the United States were found 

 to be using the legal trade as cover for massive smuggling operations. By using falsified export 

 permits, protected birds worth millions of dollars were smuggled into the United States. The 

 export permits were easily obtained by bribery from the officials of neighboring nations that 

 allow export. In another case, tens of thousands of African grey parrots were exported for 

 years from Senegal before it was discovered that the species did not even exist in that country.* 

 Once smuggled birds enter our nation, it is impossible to determine their true origin. 

 Consequently, United States consumers were unintentionally supporting the illegal trade in 

 wild birds, a business that the Wall Street Journal has compared to the drug trade in terms of 

 profits, only without the threat of substantial penalties.' 



Almost all exotic bird species for which wild individuals are subject to legal, commercial trade 

 are listed on Appendices II and III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered 

 Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Appendix Il-listed species, which includes all but 

 three species of parrots, are those that might become threatened with extinction if trade is not 

 controlled through a system of permits. Prior to granting an export permit for these species 

 countries are required to make a finding that the export will not be detrimental to the species. 

 However, virtually none of the studies needed to determine the sustainability of trade and 

 make the required non-detriment findings has been conducted. 



As unsustainable trade in Appendix Il-listed bird species continues, wild populations eventually 

 decline to the point of requiring an Appendix I listing, which bans international trade. 

 However, Appendix I protection is often too late to prevent a continuing decline towards 

 extinction. Birds in an endangered population become even more prized by collectors due to 

 the limited number of individuals remaining. As a result, their dollar value multiplies, fueling 

 an illegal trade which furthers the species' decline. In fact, for some species greater numbers 

 exist in captivity than in the wild due to trade demands. 



Because existing treaties, laws and regulations were providing inadequate protection, the 

 United States, as the major consuming market for exotic wild birds, needed to take a 

 leadership role in seeking a solution to the severe problems presented by this destructive trade. 

 We needed to support the efforts of other nations to protect their native fauna by ensuring 

 that we were no longer a participant in the unsustainable trade in wild exotic birds. 



' Nilsson, Greta. 1992. Importation of Birds into the United States Animal Welfare Institute: 

 Washington, D.C. 



' Allen, Michael. Parrot Smuggling Closely Apes the Drug Trade but Isn 't as Risky. The Wall Street 

 Journal. 28 December 1990. 



