Companion Animals

Pet Trade Bird Welfare and Wild Capture

Millions of wild birds are captured for the pet trade annually, with extremely high mortality from capture stress, transport, and inadequate captive conditions.

Key Facts

An estimated 1-2 million wild birds enter the legal international trade annually
Mortality rates of captured wild birds can exceed 60% before reaching retail
CITES Appendix I and II list over 1000 bird species with trade restrictions
EU banned wild bird imports in 2005 following Newcastle disease outbreak
Illegal bird trade continues despite legal restrictions, particularly for parrots and songbirds

Welfare Considerations

Wild-caught birds suffer profoundly at every stage of the trade chain — traumatic capture, cramped transport containers, noise and darkness, novel environments, and isolation from conspecifics. The high mortality rate reflects the severity of welfare insult involved. Even birds that survive to reach buyers are often poorly adapted to captivity and suffer from unmet behavioral and social needs.

What You Can Do

Never purchase wild-caught birds
Always request proof of captive-bred origin
Adopt birds from rescue organizations when possible
Engage retailers on wild-caught bird sourcing policies
Report suspected illegal bird trade to CITES authorities