Have you ever heard of the Spix macaw, the one in the movie "Rio"? Contrary to what the movie shows, this bird is not native to the Atlantic Forest, but endemic to the backlands of Bahia. In other words, it is found nowhere else in the world. More precisely, was.
The Spix macaw is considered an extinct species in the wild, whose last individual, a male monitored by Dr. Yara Barros, disappeared in August 2000. The species was not completely lost thanks to the efforts of Maria Lolita Bampi, at the time head of the Wildlife Department (DEVIS) at the then IBAMA. She set up an international committee and structured a captivity program, which began - amazingly - with just 15 animals. This also included a scramble to find "hidden" macaws around the world and, in the process, amnesty for owners who wanted to join the program.
The captive population grew largely due to Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation, an institution in Qatar that was maintained by Shaikh Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani. With the sheikh's death in 2014, the birds passed to the responsibility of the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP), a German non-governmental organization that has a controversial history, to say the least, of involvement in animal trafficking. The most worrying thing is that this NGO is now responsible for 90% of the world's Spix macaw population.
In 2018, the Brazilian government signed an agreement with the ACTP to make it possible, in theory, to reintroduce the species to the Bahian hinterland. This process was and has been heavily criticized by experts, because several basic aspects of the Spix macaw's biology and conservation were ignored. But the controversy doesn't stop there. A few days ago, the world conservation community was shaken by the news of the trade of 26 Spix macaws and 4 Leopard Macaws, another endangered species endemic to Brazil, from ACTP to an Indian zoo. The justification for this trade is that the sale of these animals would bring in funds for their conservation.
It is worth remembering that the trade in endangered species is a prohibited practice and is condemned by ethical, serious and responsible zoos, such as those that are members of the North American and European Associations of Zoos and Aquariums. NGOs, such as the National Network against Wildlife Trafficking (RENCTAS), and bird conservation institutions around the world, such as the Parrot Conservation Alliance, have united in a manifesto against the ACTP trade. The Brazilian federal government also does not recognize this transaction and has already said it will request the repatriation of the animals.
We at Ecopark, as a wildlife institution with ethical principles, committed to biodiversity conservation and with the mission of fostering a connection with nature, also publicly repudiate the trade in Spix macaws and other endangered species. We believe and defend that these species should be managed in captivity in order to maintain healthy populations and guarantee their long-term future, where we can share a better world for all forms of life.
