Available online at http://www.ifg-dg.org Int. J. Biol. Chem. Sci. 10(3): 1210-1234, June 2016 ISSN 1997-342X (Online), ISSN 1991-8631 (Print) Original Paper http://ajol.info/index.php/ijbcs http://indexmedicus.afro.who.int Challenges and conservation implications of the parrot trade in Cameroon Simon A. TAMUNGANG 1*, Moses A. OFEH 2, Martin N. TCHAMBA 3, Robert A. CHEKE 4 and Ghislain P. KOUGOUM 5 1College of Technology, University of Bamenda, PO Box 2164 Bamenda, Cameroon. 2 Department of Economics, Higher Teachers Training College, University of Bamenda, PO Box 39 Bambili, Cameroon. 3 Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences (FASA), University of Dschang, PO Box 222 Dschang, Cameroon. 4 Natural Resources Institute, the University of Greenwich at Medway, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK. 5 Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Maroua. PO Box 814 Maroua, Cameroon. * Corresponding author; E-mail:
[email protected] ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Notably, special thanks go to the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, Cameroon, for providing a research permit and funds; the Loro Parque Fundación, Spain provided funds. ABSTRACT Humans in every culture exploit wildlife resources around them to satisfy their immediate needs using many different methods. Similarly, parrots are exploited in Cameroon in various ways, for both consumptive and non-consumptive uses, by many cultures there. Trading in parrots is the biggest form of wild bird exploitation, and it is carried out by both the public and the private sectors, to satisfy both local and international demands. This paper therefore examined the challenges and conservation implications of the parrot trade in Cameroon.