Parrots for sale: The internet's role in illicit trade

[Still Waters]

Row after row of thin barred cages hold brilliantly coloured birds whose screeches fill the air with a deafening noise.

Faiz Ahmed sits at a desk, oblivious, as he turns to a team of undercover BBC News journalists.

He's busy with his business of importing and selling birds.

On the surface, the illicit wildlife trade is as it always has been - secret shipment routes, forged customs documents, and covert warehouses.

But how we've arrived at Faiz's establishment is a sign of how drastically the illicit trade in endangered plants and animals has transformed.

He has been openly advertising the sale of endangered birds and animals across social media.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60247540

[quiXilver]

I love them too much to ever consider owning one.  Or if I did, I could never consider clipping their wings.  Imagine having a body built for flight and being denied such...

But I've had the opportunity to develop a relationship with some owned by friends.  Birds have amazing and complex characters and personalities. 

My sister had a Trace Marie.  He spoke over 150 words and could open, close, lock and unlock his cage at till. 

He utterly despised the hair dryer and would let the entire neighborhood know of his discontent.

He used to sing snippets of songs while swaying back and forth by one foot holding onto the rock on a chain hanging from the top if his cage.

"I'm junior bird man!" swing thump, swing thump.

Edited February 5, 2022 by quiXilver