Polly Wants Protection
Courthouse News Service – Friday, 17 July 2009
Courthouse News Service is a news wire for lawyers. It is made up of a network of correspondents who provide daily comprehensive reports on new appellate rulings, new legislation and new civil cases from the federal and state courts with the most prolific and weighty litigation.
WASHINGTON (CN) – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has initiated a status review of 12 parrot species to see if they warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act. Acting on a 2008 petition from Friends of Animals, the agency found that the petition contained sufficient data to warrant the full review.
The 12 parrot species are: crimson shining parrot, great green macaw, grey-cheeked parakeet, hyacinth macaw, military macaw, Philippine cockatoo, red-crowned parrot, scarlet macaw, thick-billed parrot, white cockatoo, yellow-billed parrot, and the yellow-crested cockatoo.
The species face significant threats from degradation of habitat, capture for the international pet trade and low reproduction rates. In 1990 nearly 150,000 parrots were imported into the United States. After Congress passed the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 which restricted trade in birds considered endangered by other countries, the number of parrots imported fell to just 17,000 per year.