This snapshot taken on 05/03/2008, shows web content selected for preservation by The National Archives. External links, forms and search boxes may not work in archived websites.
Skip to content
Darwin Initiative
Defra website
images from Darwin Projects
Promoting biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of resources

Birds are the most popular pet in Indonesian cities

Using markets to protect Indonesian songbirds

The Darwin project "A market led conservation response to the domestic bird trade in Indonesia" is focusing on the massive demand for wild-caught birds generated by the hugely popular Indonesian pastime of songbird-keeping.

We estimate that just over 1 million wild-caught song birds are currently kept in the six cities, including over 150,000 Orange-headed Ground Thrushes and 100,000 White-rumped Shama. The former species was rare in our 1999 survey, and in-depth interviews confirmed a rise in popularity of keeping native songbirds with exceptional vocal repertoires (mostly forest species). This trade may be driving rolling local extinctions of these species in forest blocks across Indonesia.

Our research suggests that simple regulatory 'law and fine' approaches are unlikely to have any meaningful conservation impact on a hobby that is so deeply embedded in urban culture, society and politics. Instead, We are looking at a strategy that involves expanding captive breeding and supporting this with a certification and verifications scheme and initiatives to change the perceived prestige rankings of non-ring versus ringed-bird classes at song-contests.

The full article is available here.