Quote:
Originally Posted by lene1949
Why not mention the site, so people can get some honest feedback...?
I'm a member of a parrot site, and there are many illegal importers of parrots, and some people think they get a good deal... But these sites are mentioned on the forum.. If you find a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo for sale in America, you can be sure it's been illegally imported.
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But, Sulphur Cresteds are fairly common in American aviculture. Their parents or grandparents *may* have been illegally imported, but many if not most were legally aquired (note there is a difference between "legally" and "humanely" or "environmentally wisely") before the various exportation and trade restrictions took effect. Australia exported its wildlife for some decades before it shut the door, and the US had process for legal quarantine and import. Wild caught birds can no longer be traded, but captive-bred ones can.
USDA is actually pretty darn tight at enforcing bird importation laws, particularly with the whole Avian Influenza thing. There are some other avian diseases that can be transmitted to poultry, so enforcement is a higher financial priority with birds than it is for, say, lizards. The vast majority of Sulphur Cresteds and other exotic birds on the market here really are legal captive-breds.
Interestingly, some species like Rose Breasted/Galah 'toos are pretty rare here, because for whatever reason there weren't many of them imported before the crackdown (despite the teeming thousands that apparently plague farmers in parts of Australia), therefore there aren't many breeding pairs to generate chicks to put on the market. Moluccans, which are highly endangered in the wild, are much more common and are relatively inexpensive. Heck, you can get 'em free from rescue groups once their previous owner discovers they don't like living with a three year old child that carries an air horn and a pair of pliers with them at all times.