HCM City (VNS/VNA)–Vietnam’s sizeable trade in wild birds is going unchecked and could harm wildpopulations if not managed, a new study by wildlife trade monitoring networkTRAFFIC warns.

Some 8,047 birds belonging to 115 species were offered for sale in thecountry’s largest cities, Hanoi and HCM City.

Of the thousands of birds observed recently, over 99 percent were of speciesnative to Vietnam, while regulations governing the trade exist for only 771 (10percent) of the total: indeed, nine of the 10 most abundant species recordedduring the survey were not subject to any trade controls under Vietnameselegislation.

“The survey findings are consistent with a thriving demand for native birdswithin Vietnam,” Kanitha Krishnasamy, acting regional director for TRAFFIC inSoutheast Asia, said.

“However, as trade in most of the species seen is not regulated by law, itmeans large numbers of birds are being extracted with no oversight ofsustainability or how severely it will impact wild populations.”

She said the survey showed a rise in the number of species and individuals forsale since previous studies in 1991, 1998, 2001, and 2008, adding that thenumbers, the array of species and large number of immature birds for sale wereall a sign of the need for improved monitoring of the trade includingregulation of offtake and oversight of any ranching or captive breeding operations.

Scaly-breasted munias (21 percent) and red-whiskered bulbuls (15 percent) weremost abundant in the survey, together adding up to around 3,000 individuals.Both are legally tradeable. The latter, popular in the cage-bird trade, wasalso one of the most abundant species previously recorded by TRAFFIC in theSingapore and Bangkok bird markets.

The report recommends improved monitoring and regulation of the harvest andtrade of wild caught bird species to ensure they do not negatively affect wildpopulations.

The authors specifically call for Vietnam’s current legislation to includerange-restricted endemic birds and species assessed as globally threatened inthe IUCN Red List.

“TRAFFIC stands ready to support Vietnamese authorities in any effort to reviewand strengthen current regulations,” Madelon Willemsen, head of TRAFFIC’s Vietnamoffice, said.

“We will continue to provide information on the levels of bird trade in Vietnam.This critical knowledge will help to identify the need and urgency to adjustpolicies and regulations so that the country meets its internationalcommitments on conserving biodiversity.”

The “Caged in the city: an inventory of birds for sale in Hanoi and HCM City, Vietnam”report marks TRAFFIC’s sixth inventory of notable bird markets in the region,the others being Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, collectively recording60,000 birds being traded.-VNA