Abstract
Editorial Note: Starting in mid-1988, on behalf of AFA, 1 met at World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C., with members of the zoological, avian veterinary, pet and humane communities to discuss the future of the international trade in wild-caught birds. As many of AFA 's members and aviculturists are well aware, for many years, members of various communities have been extending efforts to bring all viewpoints together, TRAFFIC (USA) and World Wildlife Fund organized the Cooperative Working Group on Bird Trade (CWGBT) to consider the future of international trade in wild-caught birds. This group emphasized captive breeding by populations. The group has also expressed its desire to encourage captive breeding for the purpose of eventual replacement of wildca ught birds for the pet trade with captive-bred birds as well as for conservation and species sustaining purposes. Jn order to assist the group in determining the ultimate future of the international trade in birds, the Group needs the assistance of AFA members and aviculturists to fully understand the current status of captive breeding so as to determine and help guide its role into the twenty-first century.
Gary P. Lilienthal
Since 1988, in its effort to move the bird trade debate in a more constructive direction, the Cooperative Working Group on Bird Trade has realized that one of the major stumbling blocks in this debate has been one of perceived bias in the data and information presented by the various factions involved. With this in mind, the Working Group embarked on a major fact-finding project in order to jointly analyze the available data. The Working Group quickly realized that, while many aspects of the bird trade are fairly well documented, there are several important aspects where information is almost non-existent. One such area is quantitative information on captive breeding, and the Working Group recommended that a study into this area be given priority.
Aviculturists' growing willingness to provide this kind of information was clearly demonstrated by their positive response to a breeding questionnaire circulated at the recent AFA Convention in Phoenix, Arizona. Sponsored by the Working Group, the questionnaire was designed to gather general information regarding individual captive breeding efforts. On a broader scale, the questionnaire was intended to "test the waters" and determine if aviculturists might participate in a more comprehensive breeding survey at the national level.
Working Group representatives did not have to wait long for initial results to the informal survey. AFA members' willingness to provide information was immediately apparent; all available copies were distributed within minutes of the questionnaire's introduction at the Convention luncheon. This limited availability was not reflected by the large number of responses received, however. Close to 100 completed questionnaires were returned before the AFA meeting ended. To date, over 130 completed questionnaires have been received by World Wildlife Fund's TRAFFIC office for compilation. Questionnaire results highlighted below demonstrate aviculturists' diversity and growing professionalism, and point to their increasing willingness to share information regarding their breeding programs.
A total of approximately 18, 100 birds was included in the 135 questionnaires, with collection size ranging from 5 to 1400 individuals. While collections varied, interest in psittacines did not! Ninety-nine percent of all respondents owned at last one psittacine, with parrots and parrot-like birds accounting for threefourths (13,367 individuals) of all birds owned by questionnaire respondents.
In general, respondents seemed aware of the conservation status of the species in their collection, although there was some confusion regarding the questionnaire's use of the terms "endangered" and "threatened:' Sixty-two percent of the respondents noted their ownership of one or more species included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Others commented that they owned species proposed for Appendix I listing such as Moluccan Cockatoos.
Most respondents indicated some level of breeding success during 1988, with 1,365 of the 7,459 total offspring reported as second or F2 generation. While questions regarding breeding results were not species-specific, it is likely that these second generation offspring were primarily the more commonly-bred species such as cockatiels and lovebirds.
Over half (63%) of all breeders noted that they permanently identified offspring, most preferring to use closed-ring bands. Several of the larger breeders indicated they used transponders or tattoos to identify their birds. Aviculturists new to breeding noted their intent to band their birds' offspring when that day arrived.
Identification systems were often used in conjunction with the maintenance of detailed breeding information, with over 77 percent of respondents noting that they keep some type of breeding records. Most added that they kept information regarding number, types, sex, genealogy, and disposition of their birds in addition to medical records. Hand written accounts remained the most common method of storing this information, although several individuals indicated they plan to computerize their records.
A smaller percentage of respondents were similarly interested in providing...