Investigation of prevalence of unregulated trade and the attitude of pet owners in sustainable parrot trade

Abstract

Wildlife trade is identified as the key issue of biodiversity conservation. Among all bird species traded internationally, parrot is the most threatened group of birds. Although Hong Kong is a major wildlife trade hub, there are few published studies quantifying the volume of parrots moving through Hong Kong. This study examines the trade of CITES- listed parrots to provide updated information on the trade volume, particularly concerning with the composition of captive- bred and wild- caught parrots, identification of most exploited species and major exporters, and to evaluate the effectiveness of CITES implementation in Hong Kong, in order to inform better parrot trade management in future. The results of CITES trade data analysis and market survey were used to investigate the scale of international and domestic trade. Official trade data was obtained from CITES Trade Database. During 2006-2016, Hong Kong imported 76,996 live CITES- listed parrots for commercial trade, from 32 countries, primarily from Africa (66.5% of total import quantity). Of these import, 41.4% were declared as wild- caught and 58.6% were captive- bred. Insignificant export level (just 31 individuals) highlighting the role of Hong Kong as a principal consumer market in international parrot trade. The most exploited species identified were the African Grey Parrot Psittacus erithacus, Senegal Parrot Poicephalus senegalus, Monk Parrot Myiopsitta monachus and Jardine's Parrot Poicephalus gulielmi, accounting for 71.1% of total wild parrot import. Notable discrepancy of reported trade data between Hong Kong and its trading nations was detected. Overall, exporters have reported the export of 6,290 individuals more than the declared imported by Hong Kong. Market survey was conducted twice a month from November 2017 to April 2018 in Yuen Po Street Bird Garden. A total 694 CITES-listed parrots of 56 species were recorded. Among these, six of the top 10 most traded species were small to medium sized and non- threatened species, including the Fischer's lovebird Agapornis fischeri, Pacific Parrot Forpus coelestis, Monk Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus, Sun Conure Aratinga solstitialis, Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus, Green-cheeked Conure and Lineolated Parakeet Bolborhynchus lineola. Contrary to the findings in trade data analysis, China is the main parrot supplier reported by the parrot traders. Since 2000, there is no import of parrot from China to Hong Kong recorded in CITES. The management authority of Hong Kong and China apparently did not take full responsibility in CITES trade reporting. An online questionnaire of 191 parrot owners showed that 85.2% of them owned CITES-listed parrots, but 71.2% were unaware of their parrots being CITES- listed. Only 37.1 % of owners had documents to prove their parrots were legally sourced. While 90% of them preferred to buy captive-bred parrots over wild-caught, only half could identify wild- caught parrots in the market without documents proof. Therefore, the effectiveness of current control on parrot trade is greatly undermined by high non- compliance with possession requirements, attributed to insufficient knowledge of consumer on regulatory mechanism. To uphold the implementation of CITES in Hong Kong, it is urged to take multi-faceted approach in trade management, including strengthening the enforcement on traceability of parrot source, tightening legal requirement of imported parrots, maintaining accuracy in CITES trade record and reinforcing consumer’s compliance with the trade regulations by education.