Give it to me but be nice

Excerpts of illegal bird trade taken from the WNET station.

The images of striking blue and gold macaws soaring or birds snuggling in a tree are powerful. People see these magnificent birds in the wild, and they want to own one.
Birds are the third most popular pets in the world, but unfortunately, this overwhelming desire has led to the demise of many parrot species, as buyers purchase wild-caught birds instead of those that are captive-bred.

Even with regulations in place -- the Endangered Species Act, the Wild Bird Conservation Act, and a ban under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) -- millions of wild birds find themselves stuffed in boxes or bags headed for the black market. Yellow-headed Amazons, for example, sell for $800 to $1500 each in the United States. Most die in transit, but those who make it are sure never to return to their natural habitat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has captured 38 wild bird smugglers over the past three years. One of these bandits, Tony Silva, was a renowned parrot expert who had been outspoken about bird conservation. In November 1996, Silva pleaded guilty to smuggling nearly $1.4 million worth of endangered parrots, including hyacinth macaws, into the United States from South America. Hyacinth macaws fetch up to $12,000 each, partially because only 2,000-5,000 remain in the wild. Silva is spending seven years in prison for cashing in on birds he described as "worth their weight in gold."

More recently, a Florida federal judge fined Adolph Pare $300,000 and sentenced him to a year in prison for illegally importing more than 4,000 African Grey parrots from Zaire and Senegal into the United States.

You hit 3 of them in my area. TARA is the one that I'm in contact with currently. I don't think The Oasis and Feathered Nest do much in the way of adoptions, they are more of a life-time care facility for unwanted birds.

This link lists several bird rescue agencues. Just do a page search for your state:

www.toolady.com/links/birdrescueandadoption.html

I agree that as custodians of a five billion year old planet, we're probably not as generationally copped-on as we should be, but mutations are a necessary part of natural life and without them evolution would not occur! Not all mutations = evil people.

Did anyone hear the stories from Germany and Denmark in June this year about exploding toads (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7654561/?GT1=6428)?

It's a good thing that someone worked out what the crows were actually doing before theories about alien interference, untenable mutations and other sundry nutteries abounded!

Lidia

Well i know wild birds are endangered. It may be banned to import birds from other countries in the western countries but in here its a no problem. the majority of the birds are wild. SO how can we help to stop this.