Parrot Poaching in the Amazon

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Scott PlatshonOctober 11, 2010Human Biology 17C

Parrot Poaching in the Amazon

Abstract

This paper will first explore the extent to which poaching of neotropical parrots is

contributing toward their endangerment. Most of the data used for this section is

taken from a study done on Margarita Island, off the Northern coast of Venezuela,

about 100 miles from Caracas. Second, this paper aims to address the

interconnectedness of parrot poaching, utilizing analysis of data before and after the

1992 Wild Bird Conservation Act, passed in the United States Congress. Third, this

paper will illuminate the difficulties in enforcing laws that prevent poachers from

harvesting the chicks from their nests. To conclude, a solution will be proposed that

has the potential to contribute to a greater chance at success of slowing the

poaching of neotropical parrots.

Introduction

The harvesting of neotropical parrot eggs and chicks is illegal in every country in

South America. However, an estimated 240,000 parrots are harvested yearly from

this region alone. Due to an incredible demand for these birds as pets and trained

show animals, the average price brought in by a single parrot is $818. The spread

ranges from $150 to upwards to $4,000. From these estimates, the illegal parrot

trade is about a 200 million dollar industry (Low 2005, 135).



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under. Other factors contributing to price include brightness of colors and rareness

of birds. (Snyder 2000, 24)

Figure One: Mean Retail Price of Select Amazonian ParrotsSource: Wright 2001, 716

Alternative to Drug Trafficking

Drugs are the largest industry in the world, despite being an illegal one. While

measures to prevent drug production and trafficking are far from perfect, they can

cause significant risk to those involved of jail time and dirty business including

murder and blackmail. Animal poaching is also an illegal industry, but law agencies

are allocated significantly less resources for enforcement. Many people in desperate

situations resort to animal poaching. For those with little experience, neotropical

parrot harvesting is perhaps the easiest entry point for poaching. The harvesting of

these animals does not require any tracking or hunting knowledge. In reality, to



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care for a parrot egg a great deal of knowledge is necessary. Due to a great

inexperience by the poachers and general lack of concern, the World Wildlife Fund

estimates that eight out of ten parrots die in transport due to horrible conditions

when smuggling them into various countries.

Difficulties of Repopulation

The neotropical parrot must be considered a top priority for environmentalists

concerned with biodiversity. The parrot, once it’s population dips below a critical

point, will be very difficult to repopulate due to monogamous behavior and

extremely low reproduction rates. A breeding pair will have roughly 1 or 2

fledglings per year under protected conditions (no poaching or nest harvesting).

Even if three or four birds are born, the parents will choose two to feed and nurture,

and let the remaining offspring die. This behavior is not perfectly understood yet,

but many believe that it is to ensure survival of at least some offspring.

Figure Two: Fledglings per Breeding Pair Source: Sanz 2006, 178‐192. http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1650/0010‐

5422%282006%29108%5B0178%3ARPAPOT%5D2.0.CO%3B2?journalCode=cond



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A key point illuminated in this data as well is the fledglings per breeding pair of the

A. Brasilensis, also known as the red‐tailed Amazon parrot. This parrot’s

reproductive success was measured both in unprotected and protected regions. The

first number, 2.19 represents a huge success with over two offspring surviving each

year. However, 0.03 fledglings survived with poaching pressures. This illuminates a

solution that will be discussed later in greater detail, but this data points to nest

protection as a potential very effective solution. While this may be expensive and

takes a great deal of organization and planning, with the collaboration of

conservation groups and local governments this could be implemented successfully.

Spix’s Macaw

The Spix’s Macaw, native to Brazil, has been poached to a critical level and is a prime

example of the difficulties of repopulation. There have been no sightings in the wild

since 2000, and the bird is presumed to now be extinct in the wild. While there is no

official data, poachers have rumored to brag about receiving upwards of $100,000

for a single Spix’s macaw. There are

currently 73 Spix’s Macaws in captivity and

conservation efforts are underway.

Cost of Reintroduction

The most cost effective and safest facilities

for the rehabilitation and repopulation of

parrots are in their native country. This

Source:Caughley1995, 300



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limits the numbers of variables that change, including climate, food, disease. Local

facilities also reduce travel, which can sometimes be very tricky with wild birds.

The stress of acclimating to a new location is also very taxing on these parrots.

However, it is often difficult to establish and get the funding for a local facility.

World Wildlife Fund estimates the operation costs can exceed half a million dollars

yearly. Complicating the issue further is that to limit exposure to other diseases,

ideally these facilities would only house one species of parrot, or at least have them

contained in separate regions. Continuity of staff is very important, which requires

relative stability and educated workers that can sometimes prove difficult within

these neotropical regions. However, there are advantages with respect to staff if the

facility is kept local. Employing ex‐poachers has a double‐pronged positive effect; it

removes the problem from continuing illegal activity and creates a staff with great

expertise to work toward conservation.

Factors Influencing Poaching Rates

Areas under armed protection from nest poachers showed incredibly successful

results. According to a study (below), the percentage of nests poached in

unprotected areas (represented by black bars) exceeded 80% for some species. The

most significant result of this study is indicated by the white bars, which showing

percentage of nests poached under protection. For the A. virdigenalis, or the Red‐

Crowned Amazon Parrot, a bird currently listed by the IUCN as a threatened species,

poaching rates dropped under 2%. This is a difference of 84% from the unprotected

area.



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Figure Four: Percentage of nests poached in unprotected (black) and protected

(white) areas.

The Red‐Crowned population has fallen below 2,000 birds, mostly credited with the

illegal export across the US‐Mexico border for pets. These birds are very popular

pets because they are very talkative and have an uncanny ability to mimic sounds

and voices.

Figure Five: Percentage Nests Poached. A case study from Santa Margarita Island Source: Sanz 2006, 178‐192 http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1650/0010‐

5422%282006%29108%5B0178%3ARPAPOT%5D2.0.CO%3B2?journalCode=cond

Source: Sanz 2006, 178‐192 http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1650/0010‐5422%282006%29108%5B0178%3ARPAPOT%5D2.0.CO%3B2?journalCode=cond



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The Complexities of Conservation – Applied to Neotropical Parrots

A major theme of this class was in the interconnectedness of conservation. Finance,

politics, non‐governmental organizations, corruption, economics all play major

parts in the path towards a successful environmental movement. A prime example

of this was brought to my attention in one particular case study. This study will

again take place on Santa Margarita Island off the northern coast of Venezuela.

My goal was to analyze the global ramifications of the 1992 Wild Bird Conservation

Act passed by the United States congress. My hypothesis was that, as the United

States was the largest importer of illegally trafficked neotropical parrots, poaching

levels would fall due to simple supply/demand curve.

My hypothesis proved to be incorrect, as the overall trend was a steady increase

from 1989 – 2000, with spikes (A&B) in 1992 and 1994. After more research to

understand the trends illuminated in this graph, I began to gain a greater

understanding of the complexity of this issue. To explain the spikes in ’92 and ’94,

the study reported that in these years one of the guards paid to protect the area

began illegally nest poaching and selling the birds. Corruption and unreliable staff

played a significant role in this study, making the data collected from these years

inapplicable.

However, the more concerning data was the exponential increase in percentage of

nests poached from 1996‐2000, well after the act passed back in the US Congress.

This rise can be explained through economics. The poverty rate reached all time

highs in 1994 in Venezuela, peaking at nearly 50%. As the situation grew more

desperate, people turned to poaching as a last resort means of income. While



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demand had fallen in the United States, local economic conditions had caused the

continual rise of nest poaching.

Myth: Poaching Helps Support Local Communities

A justification for poaching often mentioned in the defense of poachers is that

harvesting these eggs for resale helps the poor local communities. However,

according to the figure below, a vast majority of the profit is from the huge

mark ups during the export out of the country. The ‘middle‐man’ is experiencing

nearly all the benefits from the sale, and he is typically wealthy and well connected.

Nest poaching does not significantly support the local communities.

Eco-Tourism as a Solution

Eco‐tourism has been proposed as a solution to decreasing the rates of nest

poaching. When National Geographic featured a macaw clay lick on the cover of the

magazine, a mass growth in awareness of the incredible biodiversity group place

was formed (National Geographic 1994, Volume 185). These birds are some of the

Source:Dickson 2005,185



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most charismatic and colorful animals in nature, creating a huge economic potential

in the eco‐tourism industry.

A few concerns do exist with this solution. A key component of this idea is

education of local populations; both to create a group that can serve as

knowledgeable leaders of tours and to convince current poachers that the birds are

worth more to them alive than dead.

A second concern is ensuring that the programs of eco‐tourism are implemented

correctly. More specifically, this means including the natives in the decision making

process. Perhaps the greatest model in the world to date is the clay lick we visited

in the Madre de Dios/Tambopata region. If the wealth, however, is simply exported

out of the country to ‘global north’ companies, the pressures to continue poaching

on the locals will be unabated.

Conclusion

The situation for the conservation and protection of neotropical parrots is urgent.

Reintroducing these birds to the wild once the population has dipped below a

certain threshold will hold an untold number of obstacles. The evidence for this

statement comes from the low rates of offspring produced each year, and rapidly

increasing habitat loss makes reintroduction into the wild even more challenging.

However, the studies included in this paper have shown a common hopeful theme.

Protection of nests is significantly effective; in one study, reducing poaching rates by

nearly 75%. Nest poaching is pushing this species to the brink of extinction because

of the dire economic situation the local people are in and it serves as an easy



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alternative to drug trafficking. Introducing educational programs, eco‐tourism, and

greater enforcement within these neotropical areas has the potential to turn the

trend around within a few years and take pressure of the populations of these

magnificent species.



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Works Cited

Caughley, Graeme. Conservation Biology in Theory and Practice. Wiley Publishing.First Ed., 1995.

Dickson, Barney. Biodiversity and the Precautionary Principle. Earthscan, UK, 2005.

Low, Rosemary. Amazon Parrots, Aviculture, Trade and Conservation. Insignis

Publications, 2005.

Miller, George. Essentials of Ecology. Brooks Cole Publishing, 5th Ed. 2008.

National Geographic, Volume 185. 1994.

Sanz, Virginia. Reproductive Parameters and Productivity of the Yellow-Shouldered

Parrot on Margarita Island, Venezuela: a Long-Term Study. Cooper Ornithological

Society, Caracas, 2006.

Synder, Noel. Parrots: status survey and conservation action plan 2000-2004. Island

Press, 2000.

Wright, Timothy. Nest Poaching in Neotropical Parrots. Department of Biology,

University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 2001.

Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992. http://wildlifelaw.unm.edu/fedbook/wildbird.html



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Blue and Yellow Macaws

Scott with a Scarlet Macaw



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Scarlet Macaws arriving at the Macaw Clay Lick in Tambopata, Peru

The incredible colors of a Scarlet Macaw



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Scott with a Scarlet Macaw at the Tambopata Research Center

Thanks to Dan Schwartz for his photography

Parrot Poaching in the Amazon

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