Parrot - Relationship With Humans - Threats and Conservation

Threats and Conservation

Many parrot species are in decline and several are extinct. Of the 350 or so living species, 130 are listed as near threatened or worse by the IUCN of which 16 are currently considered Critically Endangered. There are several reasons for the decline of so many species, the principal threats being habitat loss and degradation, hunting and, for certain species, the wild-bird trade. Parrots are persecuted because, in some areas, they are (or have been) hunted for food and feathers, and as agricultural pests. For a time, Argentina offered a bounty on Monk Parakeets (an agricultural pest), resulting in hundreds of thousands of birds being killed, though apparently this did not greatly affect the overall population.

Capture for the pet trade is a threat to many of the rarer or slower to breed parrots. Habitat loss or degradation, most often for agriculture, is a threat to many species. Parrots, being cavity nesters, are vulnerable to the loss of nesting sites and to competition with introduced species for those sites. The loss of old trees is a particular problem in some areas, particularly in Australia where trees suitable for nesting need to be centuries old. Many parrots occur only on islands and are vulnerable to introduced species such as rats and cats, as they lack the appropriate anti-predator behaviours needed to deal with mammalian predators. Controlling such predators can help in maintaining or increasing the numbers of endangered species. Insular species, which have small populations in restricted habitat, are also vulnerable to unpredictable events such as hurricanes and volcanic eruptions.

There are many active conservation groups whose goal is the conservation of wild parrot populations. One of the largest is the World Parrot Trust, an international organisation. The group gives assistance to worthwhile projects as well as producing a magazine and raising funds through donations and memberships, often from pet parrot owners. They state they have helped conservation work in 22 countries. On a smaller scale local parrot clubs will raise money to donate to a conservation cause. Zoo and wildlife centres usually provide public education, to change habits that cause damage to wild populations. Recent conservation measures to conserve the habitats of some of the high-profile charismatic parrot species has also protected many of the less charismatic species living in the ecosystem. A popular attraction that many zoos employ is a feeding station for lories and lorikeets, where visitors feed small parrots with cups of liquid food. This is usually done in association with educational signs and lectures.

Several projects aimed specifically at parrot conservation have met with success. Translocation of vulnerable Kakapo, followed by intensive management and supplementary feeding, has increased the population from 50 individuals to 123. In New Caledonia the Ouvea Parakeet was threatened by trapping for the pet trade and loss of habitat. Community based conservation, which eliminated the threat of poaching, has allowed the population to increase from around 600 birds in 1993 to over 2000 birds in 2009.

At present the IUCN recognises 19 species of parrot as extinct since 1600 (the date used to denote modern extinctions). This does not include species like the New Caledonian Lorikeet which has not been officially seen for 100 years yet is still listed as critically endangered.

Trade, export and import of all wild-caught parrots is regulated and only permitted under special licensed circumstances in countries party to CITES, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species, that came into force in 1975 to regulate the international trade of all endangered wild caught animal and plant species. In 1975, 24 parrot species were included on Appendix I of CITES, thus prohibiting commercial international trade in these birds. Since that initial listing, continuing threats from international trade led CITES to add an additional 32 parrot varieties to Appendix I. All the other parrot species are protected on Appendix II of CITES. In addition, individual countries may have laws to regulate trade in certain species.