Friend of the Earth initiates petition to encourage the pet industry not to import endangered birds
Friend of the Earth, the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that promotes sustainable agriculture and farming methods, has initiated an online petition seeking to curb the illegal worldwide trade in wild parrots, which are popular as pets. The petition requests that the pet industry be transparent about the origins of the wild parrots they sell. The industry is, in some cases inadvertently, contributing to the near extinction of some parrot species.
“We love parrots because they’re so smart and can imitate a human voice,” said Paolo Bray, Director of Friend of the Earth. “What most parrot buyers don’t know, unfortunately, is that the pleasure of owning a parrot comes at a high ecological price. There are ways to bring parrots to market as pets without endangering them or their habitats. Our petition is demanding transparency in this regard.” The petition is addressed to the major companies in the pet industry.
Many factors contribute to the declining population of the 398 species of parrots in the world. Human activity is one of the most significant, however. Parrots are intentionally targeted for hunting, trapping and trading. Many wild parrots do not survive the journey from capture to market.
According to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 214 parrot species are decliningin numbers. Among all the species, 9.1% and 4.1% of the parrot species are categorized as endangered and critically endangered respectively while 14.2% are considered vulnerable. Over four percent of parrots have already gone extinct in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean.
The petition is available at Change.org.
