Songbird Trapping and Trade Welfare

Illegal songbird trapping for food and the cagebird trade causes enormous welfare harm to millions of wild birds annually across the Mediterranean, Asia, and Latin America.

Key Facts

Millions of songbirds are trapped annually in Mediterranean countries during migration
Trapping methods include glue sticks, mist nets, and decoy birds causing significant injury
Trapped birds experience intense stress and high mortality during capture and transport
Enforcement of trapping bans is inconsistent despite legal protections in many countries
Consumer demand for wild-caught birds as pets or food drives ongoing trapping pressure

Welfare Considerations

Illegal songbird trapping causes acute suffering through injury during capture, stress from confinement, and high post-capture mortality. Birds caught on glue sticks sustain feather and skin damage that is often fatal. The scale of trapping in Mediterranean migration corridors represents a massive annual welfare event affecting millions of individuals of hundreds of species. Strengthened enforcement, consumer education, and local community engagement have shown promising results in reducing trapping.

What You Can Do

Never buy wild-caught songbirds — choose captive-bred only if keeping cage birds
Support organizations monitoring and reporting illegal trapping in migration corridors
Advocate for stronger enforcement of wild bird trapping bans
Donate to organizations working on songbird conservation in the Mediterranean
Report suspected illegal trapping to wildlife authorities