User:Araaph1/ConBio

Sandbox: Conservation Biology

The Act
The Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 (WBCA) is a piece of federal legislation that was enacted on October 23, 1992. This act was created in response to a concern that populations of many species of exotic wild birds have declined primarily due to habitat loss and the public’s demand for pets. The purpose of the WBCA is to promote conservation of exotic birds by ensuring that trade in the United States involving exotic birds is sustainable and not detrimental to the species. Importing exotic wild birds for trade may be limited or prohibited if the wild population is harmed by the removal of the bird or if the birds are treated inhumanely. The Act requires documentation by the importer on the source of the bird, a description, and reasons for importation. Also, the WBCA promotes conservation of exotic birds by assisting with conservation and management programs in countries where the exotic birds can be found. By conserving the birds in the wild their genetic diversity and ecosystems are protected. Furthermore, the WBCA places a one year moratorium on the importation of any exotic bird that is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and it created the Exotic Bird Conservation Fund (Fund).

Exotic Bird
The WBCA defines an exotic bird as a member of the Class Aves, is dead or alive, and is not native to the United States. Exotic birds do not include domestic poultry, dead sport-hunted birds, dead museum specimens, or products made from such birds. Also any bird in the following families is not considered to be exotic: Phasianidae, Numididae, Cracidae, Meleagrididae, Megapodiidae, Anatidae, Struthionidae, Rheidae, Dromaiinae, Gruidae.

Exotic Bird Conservation Fund
The WBCA created the Exotic Bird Conservation Fund (Fund) which is primarily composed of money from donations and collected penalties and fines. In addition to this money, some states, like Oregon, are trying to pass a new piece of legislation to charge a five cent tax on bird seed which would contribute to the Fund. The Secretary of the Interior is in charge of distributing the money as he feels is necessary to provide financial assistance for projects to conserve exotic birds in their native countries. A portion of this money is used to assist countries where the exotic birds occur with developing management plans and implementing those management plans while a second portion goes to habitat restoration for some of the United States’ native birds.

Permits
The Secretary of the Interior can issue permits through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to allow transportation of an exotic bird if he determines that it is not detrimental to the survival of the species. Permits from the USFWS are required for any species of exotic bird that is not already regulated by CITES. Reason for permits include scientific research, zoo breeding and display programs, cooperative breeding programs that promote conservation of the species, and pet importation. A person can only import their exotic pet if they are returning to the United States after being absent for a period longer than one year. Permits are not required if the species is on an approved list of captive-bred birds. You can find a PDF of approved captive-bred birds on the USFWS website under the Federal Register Notices. Also if the USFWS has approved the captive breeding facility or the species management plan you do not need a permit. Permit applications and disclaimers can be found on the USFWS website under Permit Applications.

Pet Trade
Exotic wildlife trafficking is a worldwide business that is worth between $10-20 billion annually. The United States is considered one of the world’s largest importers of exotic birds. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Pet Demographics Survey of 2007 estimated over 4.4 million U.S. households owned a pet bird. Although it is estimated that the number of birds captured from the wild for pet trade is in the millions, export trade numbers typically underestimate the number of birds extracted from the wild for two main reasons. First, only legal trade can be accounted for since we do not know how many birds are traded illegally. Second, legal trade statistics do not include the pre-export mortality which is estimated to be about 60% of all wild caught birds.

The Wild Bird Conservation Act was not created to discourage owning an exotic bird, it was created to benefit the species in the wild and encourage an industry for legally supplying pet trade. Unfortunately when trade is legalized it typically leads to a demand for the item, which in this case is the bird, and where there is a demand there will be a black market. According to the United States Department of State, in the United States the illegal trade of wildlife is only second to that of drugs and arms.

Nest Poaching
As pointed out in the paper “Nest Poaching in Neotropical Parrots” written by Wright et al. (2001), parrots are highly threatened and 46 of 145 species (which is about 31%) are at risk of extinction. This is mainly due to habitat loss and public demand for pets. The effectiveness of the WBCA was determined by looking at 10 species that had data from both before and after the passage of the act in 1992. The WBCA showed a 10% decrease in poaching activities; from 36% to 26%. Wright et al. (2001) also found that the poaching mortality was much greater than the natural mortality in most parrot species. In the four Amazona species, A. vinacea, A. kawalli, A. ochrocephala, and A. auropalliata in Guatamala, the poaching levels exceeded 70%. There are three main factors that contribute to poaching levels.

Factors Influencing Poaching

Wright et al (2001) notes three major factors that influence poaching rates. The act of poaching is primarily driven by market demand and the money that comes with it since much of the area surrounding the bird habitat is inhabited by a rural poverty stricken community. It was found that parrot species valued over $500 exhibit higher poaching rates than those valued under $500. This is thought to be caused by the large profit from importing the more expensive parrots. A second factor that influences poaching rates is the presence of international controls. They also found a positive correlation between legal and illegal pet trade, and the presences of international control are effective in reducing poaching in illegal trade. Active protection is also an important factor. Although it is expensive and difficult to actively protect a large area of land, active protection will decrease poaching rates.