Despite international trade restrictions, wild bird capture continues illegally for the cage bird trade, causing severe welfare harm to millions of birds.
Wild birds captured for the cage trade experience acute fear and physical injury during capture. Transport in crowded, dark conditions causes mortality from stress and suffocation. Survivors arrive infected and debilitated. Kept alone in small cages, these wild-caught birds never adapt to captivity and show persistent stress behaviors. Their strong migratory and ranging drives cannot be expressed. The entire trade from capture to cage purchase involves continuous welfare harm to each individual bird.