A win for African Grey Parrots!
6th October 2016
Paradise Park in Cornwall is home to the World Parrot Trust a leading, science-based, parrot conservation and welfare organization. Along with partners, Paradise Park has been involved in petitioning CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) to ban the international trade in African Grey Parrots.
Paradise Park Director Alison Hales explains “CITES members met recently to decide if Greys, among many other species, should be given additional protection by being ‘up listed’ to Appendix 1. This would mean that their capture in the wild for the international bird trade would be banned. The African Grey Parrot was once widespread throughout Africa, but over 1.3 million Grey Parrots have been legally exported over the past four decades. Many are poorly treated and die before export. Falling numbers are driving trappers into ever more remote areas to find parrots to catch. I am pleased and very relieved that it will now be illegal for these birds to be trapped for export.
My father Mike Reynolds, who started the World Parrot Trust, wrote in 1989 that there was “one immediate action which could be taken to improve the parrots’ prospects of survival. This is to put a ban on the mass shipment of wild-caught parrot from one country to another.” It has taken a while but for Africa’s Grey Parrots the world has eventually caught up with his thinking.
We would like to thank everyone who signed the petition in support of this milestone decision for the African Grey Parrot”
This video underscores just why this was so important.
From the World Parrot Trust…
“VICTORY declared for the African Grey Parrots. CITES have announced that legal trade in wild-caught Grey parrots will end. Congratulations to Gabon for their leadership on this issue and in African parrot conservation. The WPT is also deeply grateful to all the Grey parrot African range and non-range states that supported the Appendix I proposal, as well as the US and EU. You have sent a powerful message to CITES about keeping African Greys protected from the wildlife trade. But much more has yet to be accomplished to ensure the species’ preservation. WPT will continue to collaborate with local NGOs, range countries and CITES to preserve and protect the iconic African Grey parrot. We hope you’ll continue to remain a partner in our efforts.”