Study reveals effects of ‘poorly run wildlife trade’ on Singapore’s bird species
Seven in 10 birds for sale in Singapore are species not native and nearly all aren’t protected by international regulations
By Kenneth Cheng
Seven in 10 birds offered for sale in shops in Singapore are species not native or previously native to Singapore, raising concerns over the dangers of a poorly run trade and overharvesting, a study has found.
Conducted by wildlife-trade monitoring network Traffic, the study’s release coincides with the Asian Songbird Trade Crisis Summit, which began on Sunday and ends on Tuesday at Jurong Bird Park.
Experts from across the globe are drawing up and implementing a plan of action to avert a crisis confronting the region’s songbirds, which are being threatened by trade.
The study — an overview of the bird species in Singapore’s pet shops — showed that 46 per cent of the 14,085 birds from more than 100 species it documented over four days were Oriental White-eyes, or Zosterops palpebrosus. This was a once-native species wiped out predominantly through bird trapping.
Ms Kanitha Krishnasamy, a co-author of the study, said the presence of nearly 6,500 such birds in the Singaporean market was a “poignant reminder of the dangers of persistent overharvesting and (a) poorly managed trade”.
The Oriental White-eye was among the species cited as of “immediate concern from bird trapping in Asia” at the first summit in 2015.