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Introduction 



I am a professor of ecology and conservation biology at Yale University, and curator of 

 ornithology at the Peabody Museum. I have conducted field studies and published extensively 

 on the biology and conservation of birds throughout the United States, Latin America, and the 

 Carribean for the past 20 years. In particular, I am a recognized authority on avian population 

 ecology, endangered species conservation, parrot and raptor biology, and the exploitation of and 

 international trade in birds. 



I testify today on behalf of eight organizations of scientists who study birds. The 

 American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) is the largest and oldest organization of professional 

 ornithologists in the United States. Representing over 4500 scientists from each of the United 

 States and from 66 countries around the world, the organization is dedicated to the study of birds 

 and their conservation. The Ornithological Council consists of the AOU and six other 

 professional ornithological societies of North America (the Association of Field Ornithologists, 

 Colonial Waterbird Society, Cooper Ornithological Society, Pacific Seabird Group, Raptor 

 Research Foundation, and Wilson Ornithological Society). The Association for Parrot 

 Conservation (APC) rq)resents more than 100 scientists from the United States, Latin America, 

 the Carribbean, Africa. Europe, and Australia concerned with the scientific study and 

 conservation of parrots. Together, these groups conqjrise the vast majority of professional 

 scientists who study birds. 



These professional societies have thoroughly investigated the scientific basis for the 

 international trade in wild and captive-reared birds. In 1990 the AOU formed a subcommittee of 

 five distinguished ornithologists concerned with bird trade issues representing academic 

 ornithologists, conservationists, zoo biologists, and museum curators. The charge of this 

 subcommittee was to review the problems associated with the bird trade and to make 

 recommendations for effective ways of dealing with the detrimental influences of trade on wild 

 bird populations. Its report is appended to this testimony. Likewise, APC held a symposium in 

 June 1994, and developed policy statements on the wild bird trade and on the use of captive 

 breeding in conservation. These statements are also appended to this testimony. 



Together, these documents and the scientific literature I will discuss represent a 

 concensus of current scientific opinion on the wild bird trade, and the role of captive breeding 

 and sustainable harvesting in avian conservation. They contain important conclusions that 

 pertain to the reauthorization of the Exotic Wild Bird Conservation Act that I will now 

 summarize. 



The Exotic Wild Bird Conservation Act Needs to Be Reauthorized 



Until the passage of the Exotic Wild Bird Conservation Act in 1992, wild bird 

 populations were being decimated as a result of importation into the United States and other 

 countries. The United States had represented the largest market for an international trade in wild 

 birds that exceeds two million individuals annually (Iiiskipp 1990). For example, nearly two 

 million birds from 85 countries were legally imported into the United States between 1986 and 

 1988 (Nilsson 1990). Forty-three percent of these birds were parrots, while about 54% were 

 fmches (Estrildidae, Fringillidae, and others) primarily from Africa. The remaining 3% 

 represented 77 different families of birds. The countries exporting the most birds to the United 

 States were Senegal, Tanzania, and Argentina. 



