Trade in African Grey Parrots for Belief-Based Use: Insights From West Africa's Largest Traditional Medicine Market
Over 1.2 million wild-sourced African Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) have reportedly been traded internationally since the 1970s, the majority of which were taken from the wild with serious implications for conservation, animal welfare, and biosecurity. While international trade has mostly been...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.612355/full |
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| author | Délagnon Assou Délagnon Assou Angie Elwin John Norrey Emma Coulthard David Megson Delphine Ronfot Mark Auliya Mark Auliya Gabriel H. Segniagbeto Gabriel H. Segniagbeto Rowan O. Martin Rowan O. Martin Neil D'Cruze Neil D'Cruze |
| author_facet | Délagnon Assou Délagnon Assou Angie Elwin John Norrey Emma Coulthard David Megson Delphine Ronfot Mark Auliya Mark Auliya Gabriel H. Segniagbeto Gabriel H. Segniagbeto Rowan O. Martin Rowan O. Martin Neil D'Cruze Neil D'Cruze |
| author_sort | Délagnon Assou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Over 1.2 million wild-sourced African Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) have reportedly been traded internationally since the 1970s, the majority of which were taken from the wild with serious implications for conservation, animal welfare, and biosecurity. While international trade has mostly been for the pet trade, in some West African countries, Grey parrots are also consumed for belief-based use. However, to date there has been little research into the scale and scope of this trade and its drivers. Here, we explore multiple facets of the trade in Grey parrots for belief-based use through interviews with five vendors at the largest “fetish” market of West Africa in Togo. We focus on understanding the purpose of medicinal and spiritual use of Grey parrots, and the socio-economic dimensions of this trade. Parrot heads were the most valuable and most frequently traded body part over the last year (2017), sold primarily for the medicinal purpose of helping to “improve memory.” Feathers were the most common transaction for spiritual use, largely purchased for “attracting clients”, “love”, and to “help with divorce”. Whole parrots and parrot heads had also been traded for spiritual use, mainly for “good luck” and “protection from witchcraft”. Our findings suggest ~900 Grey parrots were traded over the past 10 years in the market. Most vendors perceived an increase in the rarity of Grey parrot body parts over the past 5 years, which may reflect increased restrictions on international trade and/or the deteriorating state of wild populations. Although the sale of feathers collected from beneath roosting sites does not negatively impact wild populations, the relatively low value of these parts compared with other parrot derivatives and live parrots, suggests there may be minimal opportunity to leverage market mechanisms to protect wild populations through sustainable use. We identify a need for further investigations to examine the complex relationship between capture to supply the international pet market, a process in which many parrots die, and the local trade in belief-based use of derivatives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T06:08:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a79661fdd7594152820327457d790a58 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T06:08:22Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-a79661fdd7594152820327457d790a582022-12-21T18:36:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2021-02-01910.3389/fevo.2021.612355612355Trade in African Grey Parrots for Belief-Based Use: Insights From West Africa's Largest Traditional Medicine MarketDélagnon Assou0Délagnon Assou1Angie Elwin2John Norrey3Emma Coulthard4David Megson5Delphine Ronfot6Mark Auliya7Mark Auliya8Gabriel H. Segniagbeto9Gabriel H. Segniagbeto10Rowan O. Martin11Rowan O. Martin12Neil D'Cruze13Neil D'Cruze14Laboratory of Ecology and Ecotoxicology, Department of Zoology and Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Lomé, TogoTogolese Society for Nature Conservation (AGBO-ZEGUE NGO), Lomé, TogoWorld Animal Protection, London, United KingdomDepartment of Natural Science, Ecology and Environment Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United KingdomDepartment of Natural Science, Ecology and Environment Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United KingdomDepartment of Natural Science, Ecology and Environment Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United KingdomDepartment Herpetology, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, GermanyDepartment Herpetology, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, GermanyDepartment of Conservation Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH–UFZ, Leipzig, GermanyLaboratory of Ecology and Ecotoxicology, Department of Zoology and Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Lomé, TogoTogolese Society for Nature Conservation (AGBO-ZEGUE NGO), Lomé, TogoWorld Parrot Trust, Hayle, United KingdomFitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaWorld Animal Protection, London, United KingdomWildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Abingdon, United KingdomOver 1.2 million wild-sourced African Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) have reportedly been traded internationally since the 1970s, the majority of which were taken from the wild with serious implications for conservation, animal welfare, and biosecurity. While international trade has mostly been for the pet trade, in some West African countries, Grey parrots are also consumed for belief-based use. However, to date there has been little research into the scale and scope of this trade and its drivers. Here, we explore multiple facets of the trade in Grey parrots for belief-based use through interviews with five vendors at the largest “fetish” market of West Africa in Togo. We focus on understanding the purpose of medicinal and spiritual use of Grey parrots, and the socio-economic dimensions of this trade. Parrot heads were the most valuable and most frequently traded body part over the last year (2017), sold primarily for the medicinal purpose of helping to “improve memory.” Feathers were the most common transaction for spiritual use, largely purchased for “attracting clients”, “love”, and to “help with divorce”. Whole parrots and parrot heads had also been traded for spiritual use, mainly for “good luck” and “protection from witchcraft”. Our findings suggest ~900 Grey parrots were traded over the past 10 years in the market. Most vendors perceived an increase in the rarity of Grey parrot body parts over the past 5 years, which may reflect increased restrictions on international trade and/or the deteriorating state of wild populations. Although the sale of feathers collected from beneath roosting sites does not negatively impact wild populations, the relatively low value of these parts compared with other parrot derivatives and live parrots, suggests there may be minimal opportunity to leverage market mechanisms to protect wild populations through sustainable use. We identify a need for further investigations to examine the complex relationship between capture to supply the international pet market, a process in which many parrots die, and the local trade in belief-based use of derivatives.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.612355/fullanimal welfarebelief-based useconservationPsittacus erithacuswildlife trade |
| spellingShingle | Délagnon Assou Délagnon Assou Angie Elwin John Norrey Emma Coulthard David Megson Delphine Ronfot Mark Auliya Mark Auliya Gabriel H. Segniagbeto Gabriel H. Segniagbeto Rowan O. Martin Rowan O. Martin Neil D'Cruze Neil D'Cruze Trade in African Grey Parrots for Belief-Based Use: Insights From West Africa's Largest Traditional Medicine Market Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution animal welfare belief-based use conservation Psittacus erithacus wildlife trade |
| title | Trade in African Grey Parrots for Belief-Based Use: Insights From West Africa's Largest Traditional Medicine Market |
| title_full | Trade in African Grey Parrots for Belief-Based Use: Insights From West Africa's Largest Traditional Medicine Market |
| title_fullStr | Trade in African Grey Parrots for Belief-Based Use: Insights From West Africa's Largest Traditional Medicine Market |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trade in African Grey Parrots for Belief-Based Use: Insights From West Africa's Largest Traditional Medicine Market |
| title_short | Trade in African Grey Parrots for Belief-Based Use: Insights From West Africa's Largest Traditional Medicine Market |
| title_sort | trade in african grey parrots for belief based use insights from west africa s largest traditional medicine market |
| topic | animal welfare belief-based use conservation Psittacus erithacus wildlife trade |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.612355/full |
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