Progress for Parrots at the IUCN World Conservation Congress
IUCN members at the World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi have voted to adopt a motion calling for the creation of urgently needed global guidelines to help countries manage the commercial trade in wild animals kept as pets.
Each year, vast numbers of animals are taken from the wild to feed a global trade which has been supercharged by online platforms, increased transport connections and growing affluence. Parrots are among the groups of animals most affected by this trade. Almost one in three parrot species are on the IUCN Red List of threatened species, many as a result of overexploitation for the pet trade. This trade not only affects wild populations directly but also impacts the functioning of ecosystems, animal welfare and human and animal health.
WPT research has revealed how the exploitation of wild parrots for trade is threatening wild populations and spread infectious diseases such as Beak and Feather Disease. Critically our work has shown how the vast legal trade in wild birds is used to hide trade in some of the world’s most threatened species showing the need for a holistic approach that looks beyond the needs of individual taxa.
The motion, adopted with widespread support, underscored the need for coordinated international action to tackle the pet trade and will see the IUCN establish a Taskforce to examine the problem in detail and develop guidelines helping governments take a science-based, precautionary approach to managing the trade in wildlife.
WPT’s Director of Bird Trade Programmes travelled to Abu Dhabi to ensure the voices of parrots were heard loud and clear during discussions and build and strengthen collaborations to help protect parrots.
The IUCN World Conservation Congress takes place every four years and is the world’s largest convening of conservation practitioners bringing together government officials, scientists, Indigenous Peoples organizations, conservation organizations, youth representatives, and the private sector to shape the global conservation agenda.