I am a big fan of the work being done to protect wild parrots from the anachronistic and indefensible wild bird trade (and, incidentally, to improve the lot of those birds already ‘owned’ and often living in entirely unsuitable conditions in domestic environments) by the World Parrot Trust. If you’ve not seen this petition yet – and, yes, a hundred petition requests a day come onto the computer screen of most caring people – please do have a look. The WPT are in a strong position to influence the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) trade body and get the LEGAL trade of African Greys halted. These are highly intelligent birds that make strong family bonds and fly miles every day – there are huge numbers in captivity and more being bred all the time: there is simply no excuse whatsoever for taking more from the wild and putting them into a cage…
Update #1: Tell CITES to suspend trade in African Grey Parrots! (URGENT)
Thank you for being one of over 12,000 caring parrot enthusiasts who have signed the petition to encourage CITES to ‘Suspend the Trade in African Grey Parrots’!
A list of signatures gathered from several sources will be presented to CITES Secretary General Mr. John E. Scanlon during the CITES meeting currently underway (July 23-27, 2012). It is our greatest hope that it will be enough to send the message to the CITES Standing Committee that they should take the necessary actions to ensure the wild parrots of the world are protected.
We have extended the petition deadline to collect as many signatures as possible, and continue sending CITES a strong message.
You can continue to help by recruiting your friends and family to sign the petition here:
Our sincerest thanks to everyone for your support!
Jamie Gilardi, Ph.D
Executive Director
World Parrot Trust
