For decades, countless bird lovers have scoured the Yucatán Peninsula on a quest for rare species. Now it appears they all missed one—and a bright and noisy one at that. A parrot with paint-box colors and a voice like a hawk’s has been discovered in the Yucatán in Mexico, according to a new study. Christened […]
Tag: pet trade
Cheetah cubs were saved from the illegal pet trade just in time
Conservationists are applauding officials for taking swift action to rescue 10 young cheetahs from the illegal wildlife trade, who would’ve otherwise been destined to end up as pets. In all, 9 cubs and one adolescent were confiscated by the Somaliland Ministry of Environment and Rural Development (MoERD) with assistance from the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF). […]
POLL: Should the UAE’s exotic pet ban be adopted by other countries?
Cheetahs sitting in fancy cars. Tigers running on the beach. Lions playing with chew toys. It’s easy to find images on social media of pet owners in Gulf countries flaunting their exotic animals—but in the future there likely won’t be as many posted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The country has banned residents from […]
The fight to save Gibraltar’s famous macaque monkey
Conservation groups from around the world have come together to save the famous monkey from being exploited by the wildlife trade.Gibraltar’s famous ape is really a Barbary macaque, the only primate found north of the Sahara with a home range across Morocco, Algeria and Gibraltar, where it is said that Britain’s outpost will fall if […]
The grey parrot and the race against Africa’s wildlife extinction
Perry, a five-year-old African grey parrot, is for sale on a well-known pet trade website for £750. She looks in good condition with her large black bill, red tail and white mask and her owner says she can whistle the tune of Flower of Scotland, does a passable imitation of R2D2 and is “very clever […]
Bolivia’s domestic parrots seen as “crop pests”
A new shipment of illegally trafficked parrots arrives at the Los Pozos market in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. The sellers and middlemen are approached and questioned. The species, age and place of capture are noted down. This isn’t an enforcement sting, far from it; it’s research. The year was 2004, and scientists were […]
Latin American wildlife trafficking takes to the air
Each year millions of travelers stream through the gates of Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaría airport in route to one of the country’s many natural wonders. But often when tourists leave, a piece of the country’s biodiversity goes with them. Turtle shell bracelets, reptile-skin wallets, bird feathers and even live animals have all been snuck out […]
Illegal wildlife trade flourishes in Sumatra
In a chilly rain on Sunday, in a town just a few kilometers beyond the edge of a protected Sumatran rainforest, a young orangutan sat perched on a piece of plywood and grabbed the metal wires of his tiny cage. He has sat in that cage for six months and, like dozens of other species […]