Using customs data to understand overlooked trade in non‐CITES birds between Africa and Asia

The international trade in live birds poses risks to animals, people, and biodiversity. To effectively mitigate these risks, decision-makers require information on the volume, dynamics, and direction of trade. Despite Africa once being the largest exporter of birds by region, very little data exist on recent trade in live birds not listed on the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). We used UN Comtrade data to explore trade in non-CITES birds from African countries to key Asian hubs for wildlife trade, Hong Kong and Singapore, from 2006 to 2020. We supplemented these data with species-specific data obtained from the Hong Kong government for 2015-2020 to further understand the taxonomic composition of recent imports. Over a million non-CITES birds were imported to Hong Kong and Singapore from 2006 to 2020. Africa accounted for an increasing proportion of these imports, with West African countries, particularly Mali, playing an increasingly important role in recent years. Import data from the Hong Kong government indicated that canaries (Crithagra spp.) dominated these imports, including species that have been heavily traded for decades and may be experiencing declines in the wild. Although Comtrade data can provide insights into international wildlife trade, particularly for species that are otherwise difficult to monitor, we propose that its usefulness could be improved by increasing the taxonomic specificity of harmonized system codes to include lower taxonomic levels. To mitigate biosecurity risks and negative impacts on wild populations associated with the large-scale trade in wild birds that we found, we propose that importing countries broaden restrictions on imports of live birds. Specifically, we recommend that importing countries restrict imports from countries unable to demonstrate the legal acquisition of birds or that do not have robust quarantine and surveillance systems for pathogens of human and animal health concern.