THE ILLEGAL PARROT TRADE IN MEXICO --- A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT This is the final, unpublished, English manuscript version of this report. A fully illustrated Spanish version has been printed separately under the title: Tráfico Ilegal de Pericos en México - Una Evaluación Detallada. Both versions are available online at: www.defenders.org/mexicanparrot . Principal Investigators: Juan Carlos Cantú Guzmán, Director of Programs Defenders of Wildlife, México Office María Elena Sánchez Saldaña, President Teyeliz, A.C. Manuel Grosselet Ornithologist Jesús Silva Gamez Veterinarian © January 2007 Defenders of Wildlife, México Office Teyeliz, A.C. Bosques de Cerezos 112 Ahuehuetes Sur 811 Bosques de las Lomas Bosques de las Lomas México, D.F. 11700 México, D.F. 11700 Headquarters Office Defenders of Wildlife 1130 17th St. NW Washington, DC 20036 USA Tel: 1.202.682.9400 www.defenders.org Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. Teyeliz is a non profit organization whose mission is the conservation of Mexican biodiversity and the combat of illegal trade in wild species. Partial funding provided by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of International Conservation, under Agreement No. 98210-5-G096. The views contained in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or those of the Government of Mexico. Cover photo: Pericos asegurados, Profepa Guerrero 2005 2 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 7 1 - Introduction 9 2 - Mexican Parrot Species 12 3 - Parrot Trappers 15 4 - Capture Methods 22 5 – Normativity 24 6 - Trapping Authorizations 26 7 - Illegal Trade 34 8 - Trade Routes 40 9 – Seizures 45 10 – Mortality 60 11 - Rescue Centers 63 12 - Captive Breeding 66 13 - Pet Shops, Internet Sales, and Shows 69 14 - Prices of Mexican Parrots 71 15 – Imports 79 16 – Exports 88 17 – Discussion 89 18 - Conclusions and Recommendations 94 APPENDICES Acknowledgments 97 Bibliography 98 Alternatives for Sustainable Use of Mexican Parrots 105 Species scientific and common names 108 List of acronyms 109 Pet shops and bird breeders consulted for prices on the internet 110 Trappers and Profepa’s inspectors questionnaires 111 Parrot seizure graphs by species 112 4 LIST OF TABLES, GRAPHS AND FIGURES Page Tables Table 2.1 - Threats affecting Mexican species of parrots (according to Macias et al 2000) 12 Table 2.2 - Parrot population decrease according to trappers 13 Table 2.3 - Population decreases of Mexican parrot species 13 Table 3.1 - Registered bird trapper and salesmen unions 15 Table 3.2 - Comparison of bird trade union membership 16 Table 3.3 - Registered bird trappers and bird salesmen 16 Table 3.4 - Annual capture by typical trappers of various species 19 Table 6.1 - Parrot species authorized to be captured per season, 1979-2005 26 Table 6.2 - Number of years legally trapped, 1979-2005 27 Table 6.3 - Threat status for Mexican parrots, 1991-2006 28 Table 6.4 - Capture authorizations, 1998-2002 30 Table 6.5 - UMAs authorized or rejected for capture of parrots, 2000-2005 32 Table 7.1 - Estimate of parrots captured annually by state 35 Table 7.2 - Estimate of parrots captured annually by species 35 Table 7.3 - Comparison of Profepa’s seizures of authorized and non-authorized species 38 Table 9.1 - Parrot seizures by SEDUE, 1987-1992 45 Table 9.2 - Comparison of seizures by Profepa and SEDUE 48 Table 9.3 - Mexican and exotic specimens seized by Profepa by state, 1995-2005 48 Table 9.4 - Profepa’s seizure effectiveness, 1995-2005 50 Table 9.5 - Total parrots seized by PGR, 2001-2006 51 Table 9.6 - PGR parrot seizures by state, 2001-2006 51 Table 9.7 - Persons sentenced for illegal trade of birds, 1990-2006 51 Table 9.8 - Seized Mexican specimens per species by Profepa, 1995-2005 52 Table 9.9 - Seized species by PGR, 2001-2006 53 Table 9.10 - Estimated past annual smuggling of Mexican parrots into the USA 56 Table 9.11 - Percentage of Mexican wild-captured parrots smuggled into the USA 57 Table 9.12 - USA seizures by species, 1992-2005 58 Table 10.1 - Typical mortality of 100 wild-caught parrots during stages of illegal trade 60 Table 11.1 - Quantity of parrots admitted into government rescue centers, 1995-2005 63 Table 12.1 - Number of captive bred parrots authorized for sale, 2002-2005 66 Table 12.2 - Captive bred species authorized for sale per year, 2002-2005 67 Table 14.1 - Average USA prices of parrots, 1996-2006 71 Table 14.2 - USA bird breeders with Mexican parrots listed on the internet 72 Table 14.3 - USA prices by gender 73 Table 14.4 - USA prices of wild and captive bred pairs 73 Table 14.5 - Retail parrot prices in Mexico, 2005–2006 74 Table 14.6 - Price variation depending on distance 75 Table 14.7 - Observed and expected wild parrot prices, 1995–2006 76 Table 14.8 - Price comparison of wild-caught parrots with captive bred and imported 77 pet store prices Table 15.1 - Mexican species listed in Appendix I of CITES 79 Table 15.2 - Top 24 exotic species imported by Mexico, 1995-2005 80 Table 15.3 – Source codes of CITES Appendix I and II psittacines imported to 82 Mexico, 1995-2004 5 Page Tables (continued) Table 15.4 – Source codes of CITES Appendix I parrot species imported under purpose code (T) Commercial Trade, 1995-2005 83 Table 15.5 - Mexican native parrots imported legally into the USA, 1981-2004 84 Table 15.6 - USA imports of five Mexican native species before and after the 1993 ban 86 Table 15.7 - USA Imports of four Mexican species before and after listing in Appendix I of CITES 86 Table 17.1 - Examples of illegal trade and contraband in Mexico 90 Graphs Graph 3.1 - Authorized bird trappers per season 17 Graph 3.2 - Authorized bird salesmen per season 17 Graph 9.1 - Mexican psittacines seized by Profepa ,1995-2005 46 Graph 9.2 - Mexican psittacines seized by Profepa, 1997-2005 46 Graph 9.3 - Profepa Oaxaca seizures, 1997-2005 47 Graph 9.4 - Sentenced bird traffickers per year, 2001-2005 52 Graph 9.5 - Mexican parrot seizures by the USFWS, 1995-2005 56 Graph 10.1 - Average mortality in parrot seizures by Profepa 61 Graph 11.1 - Parrots admitted into rescue centers (CIVS), 1995-2005 64 Graph 11.2 - Comparison of total admissions vs seizures from states of Tabasco, Jalisco, Tamaulipas, DF and EdoMex 65 Graph 12.1 - Captive bred specimens authorized, 2002-2005 68 Graph 13.1 - Registry of persons that commercialize wildlife, 1998-2004 69 Graph 15.1 - Imports of parrots by Mexico 79 Graph 15.2 - Imports of parrots for commercial purposes 81 Graph 16.1 - Exports of Mexican species, 1995-2004 88 Figures Figure 8.1 - International trafficking routes 42 Figure 8.2 - Trafficking routes in Chiapas 43 Figure 8.3 - Trafficking routes in Nayarit 44 6 THE ILLEGAL PARROT TRADE IN MEXICO --- A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT Executive Summary Mexico has 22 species of parrots (psittacines) of which six are endemic. Wild parrots are widespread across the country and have a strong connection with Mexican culture. All species except two are officially listed as at risk; 6 species are classified as endangered, 10 as threatened, and 4 as under special protection. The foremost threats psittacines face in Mexico are loss of habitat and illegal trapping for the pet trade. While some research has been done in the past regarding parrot trafficking, the fundamental questions of the volume of illegal trapping, how and where it is carried out, how trapping affects particular species and how the illegal trade relates to the legal trade were poorly understood. This assessment provides, for the first time, comprehensive answers to these and related questions, as well as detailed historical information on the regulatory programs applied to parrot trapping, the enforcement of those programs, seizures by enforcement officials, mortality rates of captured parrots, and prices in the legal and illegal trades, including historical trends. Based on interviews with trappers and representatives of their unions, and analysis of other data, an estimated range of 65,000 to 78,500 parrots are captured each year. The overall mortality rate for trapped parrots exceeds 75% before reaching a purchaser, which translates to about 50,000 to 60,000 dead birds annually, making this trade terribly inhumane and wasteful. The rate of parrot seizures by the environmental police, Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente (Profepa), was assessed. The seizures by Profepa represent an average of only about 2% of the annual illegal trade. Seizure rates appear to be mostly correlated with the level of enforcement effort. It is apparent that Profepa and other agencies currently lack adequate personnel and budgets to police the trade. Through analysis of seizure data obtained from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the assessment determined that only a small percentage of the annual illegal capture is being smuggled out of the country; about 86% to 96% of all trapped Mexican parrots stay in the internal trade. This is a shift from the 1970s and 1980s when the lucrative and huge USA market was considered to drive the trafficking. Now, Mexico must solve the problem internally. This assessment finds that fewer than 150 registered trappers have focused on parrots exclusively. No parrot trapping had been authorized by wildlife officials between 2003 and late 2006. Prior to 2003, the trapping regulations had many drawbacks. Officials were unable to control the number of specimens taken, the time period or the place of capture.