Ask CITES to end the trade in Wild African Grey Parrots!

African Grey Parrots are on the brink of extinction in the wild.

In just a few weeks, representatives for CITES will meet in Johannesburg, South Africa to determine the fate of several iconic African species, including the African Grey Parrot. Once common throughout Africa, it is estimated that over 3 million Greys have been snatched from the wild in an attempt to sell them in the (currently) legal parrot trade. In Ghana alone, a recent study estimated that the Grey population has dropped as much as 90-99%. Elsewhere, in the Congo Basin, ever declining Grey numbers are forcing trappers into more remote areas.

Despite the catastrophic population losses, much of this trade remains legal.

The fate of the Greys, and how they can, and can’t, be traded around the world, will be decided in just a few short weeks at the 17th Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP17). The World Parrot Trust (who will be in attendance at the meeting) has created a petition to ask CITES to “Move the Grey Parrot to Appendix I and end the trade in wild birds of this Globally Threatened Species for good.” Here at Care2, we would like to add our voices to those at the WPT and ask that CITES do the right thing and end the trade in African Greys.

If you would like to see an end to the horrific wild bird trade, please take a moment to sign this petition and the official World Parrot Trust petition. Add your voice to the thousands that are asking for wild African Greys to be saved before it is too late!

Find the World Parrot Trust petition here and website here

Picture from pixabay.com