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 TradeWild Pets and Laboratory Animals: Birds: Page 2 More than 40 species of birds have become endangered by the pet and aviculture trade, and many more have declined to threatened status. The spectacular, large pink Salmon-crested or Moluccan Cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis) of Indonesia is endemic to the island of Seram and its satellite islands in the Moluccan Islands. In the 1980s, international exploitation began with thousands exported yearly, the majority to the United States. Although once considered abundant in its restricted range, the overall population could not withstand such high rates of capture. The Indonesian government placed an export quota of 5,000 in 1988, and 3,000 in 1989. These high quotas were not based on scientific surveys of the birds’ populations. In 1989, U.S. imports alone totaled 5,252 Salmon-crested Cockatoos, exceeding the export quota by 2,252 birds, a clear indication that the Indonesian government had not controlled this trade. Between 1980 and 1990, when U.S. imports finally ended, 43,083 of these beautiful parrots had been imported, threatening this species with extinction; thousands had died in capture, transport and quarantine. World trade in the 1980s may have totaled as many as 100,000 birds. In 1989, the Salmon-crested Cockatoo was finally listed on CITES Appendix I, banning international commercial trade. Threatened Birds of the World, compiled by BirdLife International, classifies this species as Vulnerable and in a decline that is expected to continue (BI 2000).
During the 1990s, Salmon-crested Cockatoo populations did not recover as a result of the new protection accorded, but surveys found that this species had disappeared from several islands within its range and had become confined to Seram, where it declined 20 to 40 percent during the 1990s (BI 2000). In spite of the CITES Appendix I listing and an Indonesian export ban, Salmon-crested Cockatoos continued to be illegally captured on Seram. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) filmed the capture of these cockatoos on their roosting trees at night in the early 1990s. When caught by the feet, these birds shrieked in terror. This film, entitled “Bird Traffic” (see Video Section), chronicles this poaching and subsequent smuggling out of Indonesia. The RSPB researchers found that local villagers within the range of this cockatoo had not been informed by the government of the species' rarity and legal protection, with the result that villagers willingly captured them when logging company employees placed orders. Outside Manusela National Park, these cockatoos are extremely rare, and their rainforest habitats are being destroyed by logging (BI 2000). Captive birds now far outnumber wild populations. Salmon-crested Cockatoos are no longer imported into the United States or Europe but are still sold in Asian markets. Should this beautiful cockatoo become extinct in the wild, the U.S. market will have to bear much of the blame, having been responsible for depleting a once common species. Wild-caught specimens of these magnificent birds are still seen in U.S. pet stores, exhibiting extremely neurotic behavior reflecting their inability to adapt to living in a tiny cage. They bob in circles while shrieking loudly, or shift rapidly from one foot to another, continuing this behavior for long periods.
Equally high quotas for other species of Indonesia's beautiful parrots and lories ended in endangering many species. By the end of the 1980s, five species of large Asian cockatoos, Salmon-crested, White (Cacatua alba), Goffin's (Cacatua goffini), Yellow-crested (Cacatua sulphurea), and Philippine (or Red-vented) Cockatoos (Cacatua haematuropygia), had become threatened with extinction as a direct result of massive, uncontrolled capture for the pet trade (Collar et al. 1994). Only the Goffin's, Salmon-crested and Red-vented Cockatoos are listed on Appendix I of CITES. The Yellow-crested Cockatoo, endemic to a small range in East Timor, Sulawesi and nearby islands, is now Critically Endangered, in imminent danger of extinction (BI 2000). As noted in Threatened Birds of the World (BI 2000), "Its precipitous decline is almost entirely attributable to unsustainable exploitation for internal and international trade." Logging, pesticide use and persecution have also played roles. This white cockatoo with yellow crest was imported into the United States in very large numbers for the cage bird trade during the 1980s. Although a program to recover its populations and preserve them in the national parks and reserves where they occur has been adopted, CITES Appendix I listing would provide additional protection. In parts of Indonesia, ecotourism based on bird watching is being developed. This country has an enormous variety of beautiful, dramatic and colorful parrots and other endemic birds.
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