According to the 2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 94 of the world’s parrot species are considered to be threatened with extinction, largely because of habitat loss and excessive capture for trade. There are more than 25 parrot species listed on the U.S. Endangered Species Act, including the Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata), the glaucous macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus) from Latin America, the orange-bellied parakeet (Neophema chrysogaster) from Australia, and the thick-billed parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) from the United States and Mexico.

Is the trade in parrots regulated?

Almost all of the world’s parrot species are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, an international treaty with over 160 member nations. Over 40 species are listed in CITES Appendix I, prohibiting all commercial international trade in those species. With the exception of three species, nearly all other parrots are listed in Appendix II of CITES, which regulates commercial trade through a permit system. CITES does not regulate trade in the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) and the cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus), which are native to Australia. The rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri), native to West Africa, is listed by Ghana in CITES Appendix III, which also affords for regulation of trade through permits and certificates.