Understanding Singapore's dynamic parrot trade ecosystem
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Understanding Singapore's dynamic parrot
trade ecosystem
ANUJ JAIN, SCOTT LI MENG ALOYSIUS, HEATHER LIM, TIM PLOWDEN
D I N G L I Y O N G , J E S S I C A G R A C E L E E and J A C O B P H E L P S
Abstract Singapore is prominent in the global trade of pet Keywords Behaviour change, bird trade, demand reduc-
birds, primarily parrots. This includes its role as a key inter- tion, parrot, pet, Singapore, sustainable trade, wildlife trade
national transit hub, and also its growing domestic market,
Supplementary material for this article is available at
including for threatened species. There is a need to un-
doi.org/./S
derstand the trade beyond volumes and flows, including
consumer knowledge, preferences and behaviours, and in-
teractions with vendors, hobbyist groups and supporting
industries. We used three methods to examine this: () a Introduction
questionnaire with stakeholders (including parrot owners,
hobbyist group members, breeders and supporting industry
professionals), about the motivations for parrot ownership
and interest in sustainable trade, () semi-structured inter-
P arrots (Psittaciformes), including macaws, cockatoos,
parakeets and lorikeets, are one of the most commonly
traded groups in the global pet bird trade (Bush et al.,
views with key informants about trade dynamics, and () a ). Although much of this trade is legal and based on
review of online hobbyist groups. Based on our findings, we captive-bred and/or legally harvested wild animals, a con-
provide an initial mapping of the country’s parrot trade siderable part of the trade is also illegal and unsustainable
ecosystem. Fifty-one per cent of respondents claimed to (Pires, ; Olah et al., ). Illegal trade has caused declines
be a member of a parrot hobbyist group and % agreed of many parrot species and populations globally; % of par-
their participation in such groups had encouraged them to rot species are categorized as globally threatened, with hunt-
purchase more parrots. The majority (%) of parrot owners ing and trapping the most important threat after habitat loss
reported a preference for captive-bred rather than wild- (Olah et al., ). One well-known example of a species se-
caught parrots, and % were concerned about the illegal verely affected by trapping is Spix’s macaw Cyanopsitta spixii,
hunting of parrots for commercial trade. Most were willing which became extinct in the wild largely as a result of poach-
to pay more (%) and wait longer (%) to procure a sus- ing for the pet trade (Butchart et al., ).
tainably sourced parrot. Our approach presents the wildlife Singapore is a global trade hub for birds originating from
trade as a complex social phenomenon, with multiple physical South-east Asia, Africa and Europe, for both domestic trade
and online channels, regulatory challenges, social networks, and commercial re-export to East Asia and the Middle East
and evolving consumer preferences. We also document the (TRAFFIC, ; UNODC, ; Aloysius et al., ). This
pivotal role of hobbyist groups and their untapped potential includes a large component of legal trade. Singapore was
to leverage these networks to improve sustainable trade. ranked th in the volume of legal CITES-listed parrot
imports during – (UNODC, ), and nine of
the top CITES-listed traded bird species in Singapore
during – were parrots (Aloysius et al., ).
However, the country has also been recurrently implicated
ANUJ JAIN*† (Corresponding author, orcid.org/0000-0001-9837-4163), SCOTT in the illegal wildlife trade (Nijman, ; Minin et al., ),
LI MENG ALOYSIUS*‡, HEATHER LIM§ and DING LI YONG† ( orcid.org/0000-0003- including of threatened parrot species such as the yellow-
3115-6916) BirdLife International (Asia), 354 Tanglin Road, Singapore 247672,
Singapore. E-mail anuj.jain@birdlife.org
crested cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea and African grey parrot
Psittacus erithacus (Shepherd et al., ; Poole & Shepherd,
TIM PLOWDEN Nature Society (Singapore), Singapore
; UNODC, ; Aloysius et al., ), despite the
JESSICA GRACE LEE Mandai Nature, Singapore
Singapore CITES Authority, now part of the Singapore
JACOB PHELPS ( orcid.org/0000-0001-6489-1103) Lancaster Environment
Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
National Parks Board, having tightened enforcement of
laws against the illegal wildlife trade since (Channel
*Contributed equally to this work.
†Also at: Nature Society (Singapore), Singapore News Asia, ; Tan, ).
‡Also at: Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore is also a globally significant consumer market
Singapore for parrots, with an estimated ,–, parrot owners
§Also at: Department of Politics, Philosophy and Economics, Yale-National
University of Singapore College, Singapore (A. Jain, unpubl. data). There are reports of growing domes-
Received May . Revision requested June . tic demand since (Chan, ; Aloysius et al., ),
Accepted October . including an estimated % annual increase in parrot sales
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use,
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605320001246
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2 A. Jain et al.
during – (Vasko, ). This is consistent with an identify native parrot species, and to provide the IUCN
increase in the number of Singaporean parrot owners in Red List conservation status of the parrot species they
their s (Aloysius et al., ), contrary to the common per- owned. Respondents were marked correct for these ques-
ception that bird-keeping is a hobby of older men (Baker, tions if they could identify at least one native parrot and/
). A number of parrot hobbyist groups have emerged or provide the correct Red List status for all the parrots
across the country since , with growing membership they kept. Overall, each respondent was given a score of ,
and public free-fly events (owners demonstrating the ability or depending on the number of correct answers.
of their trained pet parrots to return after a period of free Questionnaire results were analysed using descriptive
flight) that may be drawing wider public attention to parrot statistics. Generalized linear models (GLM) with a Poisson
ownership (Osada, ; Aloysius et al., ; Jin, ). distribution were used, in R .. (R Core Team, ), to
Given Singapore’s role in both the legal and illegal inter- test the association between respondent demographics and
national trade, and evidence of a large and constantly evolv- views about parrot conservation (Supplementary Table ).
ing domestic market for pet animals, there is a need to The Shapiro–Wilk test was used to check for normality of
understand the underlying trade dynamics. Whereas pre- variables. Spearman’s test was used to examine for potential
vious studies have focused on market surveys and trade correlation between variables, as they were non-parametric.
volumes, we consider the network of domestic stakeholders No correlations were observed among the dependent
that are shaping trade, including the knowledge, preferences variables. Education and income levels were correlated
and behaviours of individual pet owners, and their dynamic and therefore only education was used as an independent
interactions with traders and hobbyist communities. This variable.
frames wildlife trade as a broader social phenomenon, a sys-
tem of parallel legal and illegal trade channels, shifting trade
trends, regulatory challenges, complex social networks and Key informant interviews
evolving consumer preferences. In particular, we consider
We conducted semi-structured key informant interviews
the apparent influence of pet hobbyist groups in driving
during February–August , with participants selected
consumer demand. This suggests a need to actively engage
from the questionnaire respondents. In these interviews
these communities to guide the implementation of behav-
we gathered an in-depth qualitative understanding of ques-
iour change interventions, in addition to individual consu-
tionnaire responses, asking interviewees to elaborate on
mers (Gallagher, ; Sivapriyan, ; Zheng & Leung,
their choices (Supplementary Material ), and obtained a
) who are typically segmented according to their moti-
broad understanding of the dynamics of Singapore’s parrot
vations and preferences (Hinsley et al., ; Theng et al.,
trade. Data were analysed using qualitative coding for
; Doughty et al., ; Thomas-Walters et al., ).
themes and sub-themes (Corbin & Strauss, ). Every
theme and sub-theme was analysed and illustrative quotes
Methods were retained for each (Supplementary Table ). This also
served to inform sampling, with saturation achieved when
Questionnaire no new sub-themes appeared after coding (Guest et al.,
; Newing, ). We also used the interviews and ques-
We conducted a questionnaire survey with parrot
tionnaires to identify the key stakeholder groups involved in
owners and other stakeholders (including hobbyist group
Singapore’s trade.
members, traders, breeders and supporting industry pro-
fessionals) in Singapore during February–August . This
included respondents (.%) who were approached op- Review of Singapore’s parrot hobbyist groups
portunistically at pet stops, and respondents (.%) who
answered an online version circulated on bird forums and We reviewed Singapore’s parrot hobbyist groups on
parrot-themed Facebook groups (Supplementary Table ) or Facebook in April , classifying them into five categories
shared via chain referral sampling (Newing, ). (hobbyist, lost and found, for sale, free-flying, or interest in
The questionnaire comprised questions (Supplementary specific parrot groups such as cockatiels or African grey par-
Material ) structured into six themes: () reasons for keep- rots), and noting number of members, year founded, status
ing parrots, () involvement in hobbyist groups, () parrot (public/closed), and level of activity (number of posts per
breeding, () knowledge and views on conservation, () month, number of new members per month). The list of
details of parrot ownership (numbers and species), and parrot hobbyist groups was compiled based on groups
() respondent demographics. We categorized parrots mentioned by respondents (Supplementary Table ) and
kept by respondents into small (, g), medium (– referenced in local newspaper reports about the growing
g) and large (. g) size classes. The last section of popularity of parrot ownership (Seetor, ; Baker, ;
the questionnaire, on conservation, asked respondents to Vasko, ; Low, ; Chan, ; Osada, ; Woo,
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605320001246Singapore’s dynamic parrot trade ecosystem 3
). Both public and private (i.e. closed) groups were reason for buying additional parrots, especially smaller spe-
searched. We also checked all ‘suggested groups’ recom- cies such as lovebirds and budgerigars, was as a companion
mended by Facebook, which are based on factors such as re- for the parrot(s) they already kept (Table ). Two interview
cent visits by users, and popularity near the user or close to respondents indicated that it was common for parrot owners
the user’s location in Singapore. Additionally, searches were to start by keeping smaller-bodied species before upgrading
made on Facebook using the following keywords together to larger species, many of which are harder to keep but also
with ‘Singapore’: parrot labels (‘parront’, ‘fid’), hobbyist threatened and highly sought after (e.g. Endangered African
activity (‘free fly’, ‘free flight’), species groupings (‘African grey parrot, Vulnerable hyacinth macaw Anodorhynchus hya-
grey’, ‘macaw’, ‘cockatoo’, ‘amazon’, ‘parakeet’) and com- cinthinus). They expressed concern that upgrading often re-
mercial activity (‘parrots for sale’, ‘parrot grooming’, ‘parrot sulted in smaller parrots being put up for sale or adoption, or
training’). Other platforms, such as Instagram and online even released into the wild (Table ).
classified platforms, came to our attention during the course
of the research, but we did not survey them.
Awareness of, concern about and willingness to pay for
Results
conservation
The questionnaire respondents were predominantly
The majority of questionnaire respondents (%) identified
male (%), university educated (%), young (# years,
at least one native Singapore parrot but the majority (%)
%) or middle-aged (– years, %), with varying
did not know the Red List conservation status of the parrots
income levels and years of experience keeping parrots
they kept (Fig. a). The majority (%) of interviewees also
(Supplementary Table ). The interviewees had com-
lacked awareness about the impacts of trade on wild parrot
pleted the questionnaire survey prior to being interviewed
populations and the extinction risk faced by threatened
and their questionnaire responses are included in the re-
parrot species in trade. At least five interviewees reported
porting of the questionnaire survey. The interviewees in-
they were unaware of issues with illegal trade and trusted
cluded not only parrot owners, but also two local parrot
the pet shops to acquire birds from responsible sources
breeders, the founder of a parrot hobbyist group, and two
(Supplementary Table ). Several parrot owners perceived
parrot sitters, who are paid professionals that provide care
species rarity as a function of their abundance in the mar-
for a parrot when the owner is away. Half of the interview
kets rather than in the wild.
respondents were female, and most were young (#
Nevertheless, the majority (%) of questionnaire re-
years, %) or – years old (%).
spondents reported they were very concerned about the il-
legal hunting of parrots for commercial trade (Fig. b). They
Motivations for ownership estimated that an average of % of the parrots imported
into Singapore were acquired from the wild (Fig. e). The
The results from the questionnaire highlighted a range of majority (%) reported that the parrot(s) they kept were
individual motivations for and behaviours related to keep- captive-bred (Fig. c). However, the widespread lack of re-
ing parrots. Respondents owned an average of . parrots ceipts and paperwork from purchase of their parrots (%;
comprising small, medium and large species (Table , Table ) suggests the parrot trade is predominantly based on
Supplementary Table ). The main reported motivation trust and consumers may not have information to verify the
was ‘companionship’ (%; Fig. b) and the most important origins of the birds they are buying. Most respondents (%)
factor that enabled owners to keep parrots was ‘experience/ reported a preference for purchasing captive-bred parrots
knowledge to care for parrots’ (%; Supplementary (Fig. d), with % reportedly willing to pay more for a sus-
Table ). The top three most important considerations tainably sourced parrot (Fig. f). Of these, % were willing
when purchasing a parrot were intelligence, trainability to pay more than % of the original cost price of a parrot
and lifespan (Fig. c), and % of questionnaire respondents (Fig. f), and most (%) were willing to wait a longer time
were concerned with the rarity of their parrot, and % were to acquire a sustainably sourced parrot (Fig. g).
only –% likely to keep their parrot if it was no longer The level of conservation awareness of respondents was
considered rare (Fig. d). not associated with their level of education or years of
A further motivation for parrot ownership was the pur- experience keeping parrots (Supplementary Table ). How-
chase of additional parrots as companion birds and the so- ever, their willingness to procure a sustainably sourced pet
called upgrading to larger and exotic species. The majority parrot was strongly associated with their level of education
of questionnaire respondents (%) were satisfied with the (GLM coefficient = ., P , ., n = ) and conserva-
number of parrots they owned but % wanted more tion awareness (GLM coefficient = ., P , ., n = ;
(Fig. e,f). The interviews revealed that the predominant Supplementary Table ).
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S00306053200012464 A. Jain et al.
TABLE 1 Key themes and illustrative quotes from the key informant interviews about the parrot trade ecosystem in Singapore
(Supplementary Table ).
Key themes & sub-themes Illustrative quotes
Experiences with pet shops
Introduction to parrots When I went to the pet shop I had no intention to keep the parrot (but) the longer I was there,
I knew I would come out with something.
I went to the bird shop to buy bird food, I actually had zero intention of getting a bird but I then
saw one that looked so cute & so tame.
Distribution to unlicensed pet shops Quite often, some of the licensed bird shops will purchase more birds & then sell these birds to
other shops that do not have the licenses to import these parrots. Although technically [they]
cannot, they sell it this way to earn money.
Supply from private breeders
Preference for private breeders I know of many that put their heart into it & provide so much love for their parrots.
Some home breeders are responsible & continue to provide advice along the way when needed,
making sure that healthy weaned birds go back to a new & safe home.
Private breeders as main suppliers Most people I know buy from local breeders, but they are quite silent about it because they
are afraid of people finding out.
Local breeders are one of the main sources of parrots in Singapore, people like to buy from
them because they take care of the parrots better.
Private breeders leverage online The home breeder publicized the budgie on Facebook.
platforms I bought my first lovebird from Gumtree.
Hobbyist groups
Facebook group communities Through the powerful social media many are introduced & made aware of parrots’ capabilities.
Many interesting stories from parrot owners, some even post videos online to tell their stories.
There is greater awareness on parrots because of the Facebook groups created; more parrot
owners can get together, it is like a community where people learn from one another.
Private breeders leverage hobbyist Since I read a lot about parrots, I was able to contact the main distributor of a particular brand
networks of parrot food & started the first online shop selling this unique brand 2 years ago.
Hobbyist group events Many people start to join the Facebook group, there is a community to free-fly your parrots &
talk about your parrots.
Past 3–4 years, there are more Facebook groups, there is a community, every week they have
free-flight events so everyone gathers.
Public interest for hobbyist events Non-parrot owners will get to see the parrots & start getting interested in keeping parrots.
Hobbyist group participation I saw a Hagoromo budgie on the hobbyist Facebook group for the first time; found it really
drives demand beautiful & was keen on getting one after that.
During the parrot hobbyist group events, many people will display their birds. Through that,
I saw how smart the African grey was & wanted it.
Parrot poisoning We like to influence other people to own parrots—we call it parrot poisoning—we share our
passion about owning parrots with others.
We have this term in the parrot community called poisoning—after getting one parrot, we just
want more & more.
There is this idea of evangelizing & getting people to have a bird. They play up the positive
aspects of the birds & not the negatives, like the cost.
Share with others their passion of owning parrots. . .it is fun because parrots have unique
personalities & are intelligent beings.
Parrot purchases
Additional purchases I bought another lovebird to keep it company.
I wanted to find a male companion for my first female bird.
Upgrading parrots Some people think they want to start off with small parrots to train their ability to care
for parrots then upgrade to bigger parrots after a while & keep on buying bigger parrots.
I think this is very wrong.
Hobbyist groups respondents reported that at least six of the hobbyist groups
organize regular (often weekly) meetings in which members
The majority of questionnaire respondents (%) identified socialize and engage in activities such as grooming, free-
as a member of at least one parrot hobbyist group (Table ; flying of their parrots and bonding over their shared inter-
Supplementary Table ), of which % attended in-person est. These activities often draw public attention that indi-
meetings once per week or more (Table ). The interview rectly stimulates interest for parrots (Table ).
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605320001246Singapore’s dynamic parrot trade ecosystem 5
FIG. 1 Motivations for parrot ownership: (a) top five factors
influencing how respondents were introduced to parrot keeping,
FIG. 2 Respondents’ knowledge and views about conservation:
(b) top five motivations for purchasing parrots, (c) top five
(a) awareness of native species and IUCN Red List status of
considerations when purchasing a parrot, (d) likelihood of
parrots owned (respondents were marked correct if they could
keeping common parrots, (e) whether satisfied with the number
identify at least one native parrot and/or provide the correct Red
of parrots owned, and (f) how many additional parrots
List status for all the parrots they kept), (b) concern about illegal
intending to purchase (only answered by respondents who were
poaching of birds from the wild, (c) reported source of parrot(s)
not pleased with the number of parrots owned). Numbers of
owned, (d) preference for the source of parrots, (e) perception of
respondents for each question are given in parentheses.
the per cent of parrots imported in Singapore that are acquired
from the wild, (f) willingness to pay extra for parrots from a
Our review on Facebook identified online hobbyist sustainable source, and (g) willingness to wait to procure a
parrot groups in Singapore, all founded since , and sustainably sourced pet parrot. Numbers of respondents
established since (Supplementary Table ). Ten of the for each question are given in parentheses.
groups specialized in specific parrot groups: lovebirds
(Agapornis sp.), cockatiels (Nymphicus sp.), conures, amazons from a community (Table ). This included face-to-face en-
(Amazona sp.), cockatoos (Cacatuidae), rose-ringed parakeets gagement via gatherings and free-flying events, and online
Psittacula krameri, and African grey parrots. The cumulative interaction to exchange information such as recommenda-
membership across groups was , members, although tions for parrot products (e.g. toys, food, cages) and services
some may be members of multiple groups. The oldest group (e.g. vets, grooming, parrot sitting).
was also the largest, with , members. Sixteen of the
groups were closed. The larger groups grew by . new Online trade
members and had . posts per month during the period
of our review (Supplementary Table ). These figures suggest The questionnaire respondents reported that % of parrots
that online hobbyist groups are active and growing. were purchased online (Table ), but this is probably an
Among hobbyist group members, the majority (%) underestimate of the actual prevalence of online sales be-
agreed their membership had fuelled their desire to pur- cause some private breeders and pet shops also operate
chase more parrots, in part because they had support online. Additionally, interview respondents indicated that
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S00306053200012466 A. Jain et al.
a significant proportion of parrot sales came from advertise- pet shops. Such events suggest high interconnectivity be-
ments posted on popular classified sites such as chaosads- tween pet shops and hobbyist groups.
singapore.com, locanto.sg and chutku.sg and social media The ecosystem metaphor also reflects the dynamics
platforms including Facebook, Carousel and Instagram. among hobbyists, and key informants explained that
Five of the parrot hobbyist groups mentioned by re- many of the consumer motivations and behaviours we
spondents permitted online sales (Supplementary Table ), observed were probably shaped by interactions within
alongside facilitating adoptions and requests for assistance their community (Fig. , Table ). For example, several inter-
for locating lost parrots (Table ). At least pet shops view respondents reported they actively encouraged friends
had Facebook pages, with five shops having a similar num- and family to keep parrots, a local term known as ‘poison-
ber of likes and followers as the most popular hobbyist ing’ among parrot owners (Table ), which three intervie-
groups (Supplementary Table ). wees reported was a driver for the increase in interest and
demand (Table , Supplementary Table ).
Private breeders
Discussion
The questionnaire responses indicated the importance of
private breeders. Thirty per cent of respondents purchased Trade dynamics as an ecosystem
their parrots from private breeders (Table ), who often
Our map of Singapore’s parrot trade ecosystem highlights
leveraged online networks to recommend or sell parrot-
key stakeholders and their interactions, with a focus on
related products and to increase their customer base
domestic consumers. This differs from trade studies,
(Table ). Twenty of questionnaire respondents (%)
which typically only highlight trade volumes, trends and
reported involvement in home breeding, of which %
routes. The ecosystem metaphor provides an understanding
reported selling parrots and % bred to give away to
of changing trade relationships among stakeholders. Such
relatives or friends. The interview respondents also iden-
relationships are important because existing research on
tified private breeders, who were perceived to take better
consumer demand for wildlife has highlighted the influence
care of parrots and were cheaper than bird shops, as one of
of communities on trade dynamics. For example, Saiga ante-
the main suppliers of parrots in Singapore (Table ). Six in-
lope horn consumption among younger Singaporeans is
terviewees indicated that private breeders tended to breed
encouraged by the older generation (Theng et al., ); de-
and supply smaller and more common types of parrots
mand for elephant ivory products in China and Viet Nam is
such as lovebirds, whereas pet shops tended to specialize
fuelled by influencers and key opinion leaders such as celeb-
in larger, exotic species (Supplementary Table ).
rities (Greenfield & Veríssimo, ); rhinoceros horn con-
sumption in Viet Nam is considered a symbol of power and
Singapore’s parrot trade ecosystem wealth, and driven by peer pressure amongst the wealthy
class to show business success and high social standing
Our findings indicate significant physical and virtual, social (Save The Rhino, ); and songbird keeping in
and commercial interconnectivity among the stakeholders Indonesia is heavily influenced by the singing competition
engaged during this research. This involves parrot owners, community (Marshall et al., ) and ecosystem dynamics
pet shops, private breeders, hobbyist groups, breeding cen- (Kristianto & Jepson, ). Similarly, parrot hobbyist
tres that deal in high volumes of international import and groups influence the broader domestic consumer demand
export of parrots, and a range of supporting industries, in- and trends for parrots in Singapore.
cluding parrot merchandize retailers, grooming services, There is scope for adopting an ecosystem approach in
parrot sitters and free-flying facilities (Fig. ). These form other wildlife trade contexts, not only to identify and map
a dynamic, national and international ecosystem of trade key stakeholders but also to uncover the specialist consumer
that is creating and shaping Singapore’s evolving trade in communities that may be driving consumer demand. This
parrots (Fig. ). can contextualize individual consumers as embedded and
Pet shops, private breeders and hobbyist groups are of influenced by a larger community within the trade system
particular importance in shaping the domestic ecosystem, and community, often based on shared interests. Hobbyist
often with interactions mediated via a range of online plat- groups and societies such as those we have described con-
forms (Fig. , Table ). For example, our review of online tinue to gain global popularity as an indirect stage for pro-
parrot hobbyist groups revealed that popular hobbyist moting the sale of exotic pets (Nekaris et al., ; Siriwat
groups recommend Facebook pages of pet shops on their & Nijman, ). Engaging these communities to assess
own Facebook pages. We observed at least two pet shops preferences, levels of awareness and support for conserva-
collaborating with hobbyist groups to host regular gather- tion can help in the design of conservation interventions.
ings for parrot owners to display their parrots outside the Moreover, these communities could potentially become
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605320001246Singapore’s dynamic parrot trade ecosystem 7
FIG. 3 Overview of Singapore’s parrot trade ecosystem, including key international and domestic stakeholders, with arrows indicating
interactions that include trade and flow of information, constructed from details provided by the questionnaire respondents
(including parrot owners, hobbyist group members, traders, breeders and supporting industry professionals). These interactions
happen through both virtual and physical media.
key partners in shaping and delivering measurable conser- et al., ). Developed cities are usually centres of demand
vation interventions, to shape new social norms and change for exotic pets because of greater affluence, connectivity to
behaviour (Martin et al., ). A similar approach of tar- international travel and transport of goods, and access to
geted advocacy and awareness raising to address the shark media, information and social trends (Ding et al., ;
fin trade amongst key stakeholders in the value chain (com- Devulapalli, ; Dutton et al., ). We recommend pro-
munity members, airlines that ship shark fins and the hotel moting captive-bred over wild-caught parrots, taking a con-
industry that serves fins at wedding banquets) has reduced servative approach against promoting sustainably harvested
use of shark fins in weddings in Singapore (WWF, ), wild parrots because of known issues with corruption, false
and major airlines have banned shark fins from their cargos paperwork and the misrepresentation of quotas from some
(Tan, ). source countries that supply wild parrots in the region (e.g.
Solomon Islands; Shepherd et al., ).
Potential for sustainable parrot trade Our finding that many consumers purchased birds from
small-scale private breeders, and many preferred these
Respondents were generally supportive of sustainable trade; breeders over alternative sources, indicates an avenue for
they were concerned about illegal hunting of parrots, and unregulated and potentially illegal trade. Some private
reported they were willing to incur higher costs and wait breeders in Singapore have been fined for operating without
longer to procure a more sustainable pet, even though a licence (The Straits Times, ). Breeding birds privately
most lacked an understanding of key conservation issues. could also contribute to the spread of zoonotic diseases if the
This is aligned with findings from other studies that showed breeding facilities do not have the appropriate health and
respondents’ willingness to pay for conservation is corre- safety infrastructures for both the birds and owners. Our ques-
lated with their familiarity and perceived affection towards tionnaire surveys and interviews indicated that the majority
certain species (Martin-Lopez et al., ). Consumer will- of birds were purchased without receipts, which is consistent
ingness to procure sustainably sourced pets suggests an with informal sector trade. Trade is also harder to police and
opportunity to promote legal and sustainable trade in devel- regulate when it is online (ACRES, ; Yin et al., ).
oped cities such as Singapore, where higher education and There is a need to engage parrot retailers (private breeders
awareness levels can result in greater consumer support and pet shops) and hobbyist groups to promote stronger con-
for sustainable practices (GEM report, ; Moorhouse servation, particularly as the sector grows. This includes
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S00306053200012468 A. Jain et al.
TABLE 2 Details of parrot ownership, purchasing and hobbyist
group membership from the questionnaire survey respondents
(n indicates the number of survey respondents who answered a
particular question).
Characteristic Details
Parrot ownership
Bird size (n = 91) Number of parrots owned
(mean per respondent,
percentage of total by
all respondents)
Small (, 200 g) 2.8 (41)
Medium (200–400 g) 2.1 (30)
Large (. 400 g) 2.3 (29)
Mean (irrespective of size) 4.1 PLATE 1 A parrot hobbyist group gathering in west Singapore
Purchase details on January , displaying colour morphs of rose-ringed
Place of purchase (n = 84) Number of respondents (%) parakeets Psittacula krameri (in the foreground) and lovebirds
Pet shops 29 (35) Agapornis sp., budgerigars Melopsittacus undulatus, macaws
Private breeders 25 (30) Ara sp., amazons Amazona sp. and grey parrots Psittacus sp.
Online (including hobbyist 12 (14) (in the background). Photo: Tim Plowden.
group websites)
Adoption/rehoming 7 (8)
Others (including commercial 11 (13) domestic parrot ownership, especially for rare and high-risk
breeding farms in Singapore) species, similar to systems used in the EU and Australia
Received receipt upon purchase Number of respondents (%) (DBCA, ; Pellett & Cope, ; Aloysius et al., ).
(n = 143) Genetic paternity testing could be used to differentiate
Yes 25 (17) captive-bred from wild-caught parrots and to ensure that par-
No 118 (83) rots in trade are at least F descendants from wild birds
Hobbyist group membership
(Coetzer et al., ). New licensing conditions could be estab-
Member of online hobbyist Number of respondents (%)
group (n = 142)
lished and enforced for parrots, similar to that for dogs, cats
Yes 73 (51) and rabbits in Singapore (AVS CAW, ), which would dis-
No 69 (49) courage impulsive purchase, manage potential health and dis-
Hobby group in-person Number of respondents (%) ease issues and pet abandonment, which can negatively affect
meeting frequency (n = 69) local ecosystems (Aloysius et al., ). Given the large num-
$ 1 per week 26 (38) bers of parrots in trade, regulators could also consider placing
1 per 1–6 months 22 (32) restrictions on the import and export of wild-caught species of
, 1 per 6 months 21 (30)
concern. Together, these measures would ensure a domestic
Has being part of a parrot Number of respondents (%)
hobbyist community market of responsible suppliers and consumers committed to
encouraged you to want to sustainable trade of captive-bred parrots, supported by appro-
own more parrots? (n = 76) priate regulations and tracking systems to help reduce illegal
Yes 49 (64) and unsustainable trade.
No 27 (36)
The role of hobbyist groups in shaping trade and
conservation
establishing guidelines that encourage or mandate retailers to
issue receipts and providing customers with information, Formal social networks play key roles in facilitating trade and
such as about the source of their animal, health certificates shaping consumer demand. Most efforts to reduce wildlife
and, potentially, details of their IUCN and CITES status. demand in Asia have focused on enforcement and punish-
This would facilitate trade monitoring and the accountability ment for non-compliance with regulations. However, some
of both buyers and sellers (the majority of our respondents recent efforts target the individual consumer through conser-
were not aware of the trade implications or conservation sta- vation campaigns and programmes (Veríssimo & Wan, ),
tus of the parrots they kept, but were concerned about the and our findings suggest a potential for this type of targeted
illegal trade). Hobbyist groups could help to emphasize the community-level intervention.
threats faced by parrots rather than advertise their rarity. We also found that hobbyist group members have
One way to regulate the complex parrot trade would be heterogeneous preferences, with the majority preferring
the development of a national licensing and bird-ringing or captive-bred birds but a few preferring wild-caught ones.
microchip system linked to a centralized registry, to track Such trends have also been shown for orchids (Hinsley
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605320001246Singapore’s dynamic parrot trade ecosystem 9
et al., ), and reptiles and amphibians (Natusch & Lyons, and offline, to shape consumer preferences for conservation
). Long-term, cross-cultural preferences have been ob- gains. These dynamic, growing communities seem to be not
served for the most attractive parrot species in Mexico and only driving trade, but shaping consumer preferences and
USA (Tella & Hiraldo, ). This suggests a need to exam- facilitating trade, but have not yet been leveraged to engage
ine such heterogeneity within and across hobbyist groups meaningfully with conservation issues. This may be true for
and to design targeted conservation interventions for differ- many other taxa affected by wildlife trade that have dedi-
ent types of hobbyists. cated communities of enthusiasts, such as beetles, orna-
Social networks also have the potential to serve as conduits mental plants (orchids, pitcher plants), songbirds, reptiles,
for promoting conservation and good husbandry practices amphibians and fish. Viewing trade and consumption as
through virtual (Facebook groups) and physical (meetings an ecosystem involving community interactions suggests
and free-flying sessions) community events. These could in- new opportunities for conservation. The goal is not to halt
clude outreach and behaviour change campaigns, associated trade but rather to empower communities to become advo-
with conservation messages that engage children (Damerell cates for responsible and sustainable trade.
et al., ), information about mortality rates in the supply
chain, and information about ecological impacts of unsus- Acknowledgements We thank the questionnaire and interview re-
tainable harvesting on wild populations. These groups could spondents for participating in this research; parrot hobbyist groups for
allowing us to join their events; and colleagues from the Nature Society
also serve as platforms for recommending sustainable sourc- (Singapore) and BirdLife International for constructive comments
ing options, including accredited vendors, for establishing during the research design and implementation. This research
codes of conduct for members, and social sanctions for received no specific grant from any funding agency, or commercial
rule-breaking. We believe that many parrot owners in or not-for-profit sectors.
Singapore would be receptive to such messages, as most of
our questionnaire respondents were concerned about but un- Author contributions Design of questionnaire, interview and meth-
ods: AJ, SLMA, HL, JGL; fieldwork: SLMA, HL, AJ; online surveys: TP;
aware of the conservation issues faced by parrots in trade, and data analysis, writing: all authors.
were reportedly influenced by their peers in hobbyist groups.
Conflicts of interest None.
Limitations
Ethical standards All questionnaires and interviews conformed with
We acknowledge that because the majority of our question- the British Sociological Association guidelines. The objectives and impli-
naire surveys were conducted online, our sample may be cations of the research were explained to the participants, who provided
freely given and informed consent for their participation. Most of the ques-
biased towards younger and more educated respondents, tionnaire surveys were collected online, with the option for respondents
who are more likely to be engaged in online forums. This to remain anonymous. Interviews were conducted in person or over the
may also explain why the respondents’ education levels were phone, one-on-one, in a quiet setting, and interviews were recorded
much higher than the Singapore average (Supplementary after seeking the interviewee’s consent, and deleted following data analysis.
Table ). As we asked respondents about sensitive topics This research abided by the Oryx guidelines on ethical standards.
such as the source of their parrots and preference for source
(captive-bred, wild-caught or hybrids), some may not have References
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