Flying into extinction: Understanding the role of Singapore’s international parrot trade in growing domestic demand

Abstract

SummarySouth-East Asia’s bird trade is of global conservation concern as it has massively depleted wild populations of many species. Parrots (Order Psittaciformes) are especially vulnerable because they are the most heavily traded group of birds globally under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) appendices. Singapore’s involvement in the global pet bird trade as a transhipment hub is well documented, particularly for parrots. Yet, much less is known about the links between its domestic and international trade. We attempt to quantify this relationship by comparing bird trade data on the CITES database with past market surveys of pet shops, complemented with semi-structured interviews with 30 parrot owners in Singapore. We report a decline in total imports and exports of CITES-listed birds in Singapore from 2005 to 2016, consistent with global trends after the European Union trade ban on wild bird imports. However, parrots continue to make up the majority of total imports; and there was a yearly increase in the percentage of parrot imports out of total imports. In addition, we report a difference in imports and exports of 54,207 CITES I, II and III listed birds into Singapore i.e. birds imported but not re-exported. A substantial proportion of these birds were possibly channelled into the domestic pet trade or used as breeding stock. Interviews with parrot owners confirmed the growing demand and popularity of parrots and particularly of larger species. We conclude that the domestic demand for parrots may have been previously underestimated, and make recommendations to manage Singapore’s international and domestic pet bird trade such as implementing a licensing and records system to track the movement of birds.

The dynamics of songbird ownership and community interconnectedness in Singapore

“…Conversely, owning birds is considered a status symbol in Indonesia, due to cultural norms and traditions associated with bird-keeping (Jepson and Ladle 2005, Jepson et al 2011) and particularly among competition contestants and breeders in Indonesia who tend to own more valuable species (Marshall et al 2020b). In contrast, parrot ownership is deemed to be a form of status symbol for owners in Singapore as it is being portrayed as a fashionable hobby (Aloysius et al 2019, Jain et al 2021). This suggests that multiple factors such as culture, fashion and monetary rewards can influence community response towards a group of species (parrots or songbirds) for them to be regarded as status symbols.…”

“…1b). There exists a highly active pet bird industry in Singapore, previously underestimated (Aloysius et al 2019), and comparable to markets in Indonesian cities. At least 14,000 birds were recorded in 28 local bird shops during a market survey conducted in 2015 (Eaton et al 2017).…”

“…At least 14,000 birds were recorded in 28 local bird shops during a market survey conducted in 2015 (Eaton et al 2017). While studies have highlighted Singapore’s role as a key transit hub (Shepherd et al 2012, Poole and Shepherd 2016, UNODC 2016, Aloysius et al 2019) and its fairly active domestic bird market (Eaton et al 2017), research that focuses on the consumers is sparse.…”

Wildlife trade shifts from brick-and-mortar markets to virtual marketplaces: A case study of birds of prey trade in Thailand

“…There is a growing body of literature that addresses the need for monitoring online platforms for wildlife trade. A multifaceted approach in monitoring, capacity development Q25 , and encouraging change in consumer behavior are key starting points (Aloysius et al 2019). Through tracking of trade volumes and prices, online trade data can also be used to develop a better understanding of markets, which can in turn be used to predict trends and set priorities for conservation (Harris et al 2015).…”

Exploring the Effects of Geopolitical Shifts on Global Wildlife Trade

“…The aim and effectiveness of such policies depend on a variety of factors, including whether traded products are sold in a supply or demand dominated market situation or whether products tend to be income elastic or not (box 1;McNelly 2001). Wildlife trade is an important source of income for several cash-poor biodiversity-rich economies (Rijsoort 2000) exporting wildlife products and rising consumer income can drive increased demand for some products, as is currently the case for Southeast Asia (TRAFFIC 2008, Aloysius et al 2020. However, concern about the spread of zoonotic diseases or pressure by citizens concerned by the toll of wildlife trade on biodiversity has resulted in many countries adopting trade barriers to partially or totally ban the import or export of wild specimens (table 1).…”