14 DAY TRIAL // Just recently, CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) was asked by representatives of the World Parrot Trust to take immediate measures and help put an end to trading activities involving African Grey Parrots.
Although one might not recognize them by this name, African Grey Parrots are worldwide famous for their talking abilities.
Thus, they are some of the most intelligent bird species presently living on the planet, and some go as far as to compare their verbal skills and cognitive functions to those of children.
It is precisely because they are so gifted that these parrots are now in danger of becoming extinct.
To be more precise: as many people reached the conclusion that it would be kind of cool to own an African Grey Parrot, a lot of these birds were taken from their natural habitats and made to live amongst humans.
The Environmental News Network informs us that throughout the past twenty years 500,000 African Grey Parrot have legally entered international trading activities.
As CITES is meeting this week in Geneva to discuss future conservation projects for various endangered species, the World Parrot Trust considered that this was the perfect opportunity to present their case.
According to the same source, they demanded that said birds are to no longer be exported from Cameroon and Congo, in order to allow for their population to recover in a natural manner.
Speaking on behalf of the aforementioned organization, Tony Jupiter made a case of how, “It is vital that these marvelous and intelligent birds gain the protection they need. Government representatives meeting in Geneva this week need to take up this issue with the urgency it demands and end this unsustainable trade.”
In case one was wondering, it seems that the World Parrot Trust does not stand alone in this campaign.
Quite the contrary: nearly 36,000 people from 130 different countries have agreed to sign a petition saying that they fully support and agree with the complaints raised by this organization.