[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 15, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-14504] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: June 15, 1994] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA) of 1992; Petition for a Moratorium on Imports of Wild Birds From Guyana Into the United States AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of petition receipt. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the receipt of a petition to impose a moratorium on the imports of wild birds from Guyana into the United States under the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992. The petition has been found to present sufficient information indicating that imposing a moratorium on the imports of wild birds from Guyana may be warranted under the WBCA, and that the trade in wild birds from Guyana may be detrimental to species' survival. Through the issuance of this notice, the Service requests additional data, comments, and suggestions from the public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested party concerning trade in, and the status of, wild bird species in Guyana. DATES: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will consider comments and information received by September 13, 1994 in making a final decision on this petition. ADDRESSES: Comments and information should be sent to: Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, c/o Mr. Marshall P. Jones, Chief, Office of Management Authority, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Room 420 C, Arlington VA 22203. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Susan S. Lieberman, Office of Management Authority, at the above address, telephone (703) 358-2093. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 23, 1992, the Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA) was signed into law. The purposes of the WBCA include promoting the conservation of exotic birds by: ensuring that all imports into the United States of species of exotic birds are biologically sustainable and not detrimental to the species; ensuring that imported birds are not subject to inhumane treatment; and assisting wild bird conservation and management programs in countries of origin. Pursuant to Section 108(a)(2)(B), ``Moratoria for species not covered by Convention'' of the WBCA, the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) is authorized to establish a moratorium on the importation of all species of exotic birds from a particular country, if the Secretary determines that: 1. The country has not developed and implemented a management program for exotic birds in trade generally, that ensures both the conservation and the humane treatment of exotic birds during capture, transport, and maintenance; and 2. The moratorium or quota is necessary for the conservation of the species or is otherwise consistent with the purpose of the WBCA. This notice is based on various documents, including published and unpublished studies, and agency documents. These documents are on file in the Service's Office of Management Authority, and are available on request. On August 30, 1993, the Animal Welfare Institute, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Environmental Investigation Agency submitted a petition (AWI petition) to the Department of the Interior requesting that the Secretary impose a moratorium on the import of wild exotic birds from Guyana under the WBCA. Guyana is slightly smaller in size than the state of Idaho, measuring 214,970 km\2\ and 63% of this acreage is forest habitat. Its rainforests contain much biodiversity and an abundance of wildlife, although the number of bird species found in Guyana is presently unknown (WCMC 1992). Guyana has been one of the major exporters of neotropical birds (Mulliken et al. 1992). The majority of birds exported from Guyana have been psittacines, including Amazon parrots, macaws, and a variety of conures and parakeets. Between 1983 and 1989, 172,557 specimens of 31 species of wild-caught psittacines were exported from Guyana (Edwards 1992). Due to mortalities in capture, holding, and transport, far more were removed from the wild during the same period. The European Community (EC) banned imports from Guyana in 1986 and in response, Guyana imposed a nine-month suspension of exports in 1986- 87. Guyana reopened bird exports in 1987 and instituted an export quota system, although that quota system was not based on scientific analyses. The number of birds exported in 1988 was 19,641 and in 1989 was 15,325 (Edwards 1992). In May of 1993, Guyana temporarily suspended the export of wildlife, including birds until further notice. That trade suspension is still in effect. The capture and trade of wild birds in Guyana is regulated by the Wildlife Services Division, Department of Crops and Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture, which serves as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Management Authority for Guyana. Within this Division, the day-to-day administration is the responsibility of the Assistant Chief Crops and Livestock Officer who serves as head of the Wildlife Services Division. The National Research Council of Guyana is the designated CITES Scientific Authority, although it has been inactive and has made no recommendations in the establishment of wildlife trade quotas (Edwards 1992). The Service is not aware of any scientific research having been carried out by or in conjunction with the National Research Council of Guyana. The Wild Birds Protection Act of 1919, as amended in 1969, is the only Guyana law specific to wildlife (Edwards 1992). In 1977, Guyana became a signatory to CITES, and the Wildlife Services Division presently operates under an `Administrative Agreement' with the Senior Minister of Agriculture to implement CITES. Actions taken by the Division, including the issuance or termination of export licenses, assignment of quotas, and establishment of export levies are all undertaken within the framework of this Administrative Agreement (Edwards 1992). Information available to the Service does not indicate that Guyana has comprehensive CITES-implementing legislation. The export of wild birds from Guyana is regulated by a system of quotas. This system was established in 1987 in response to the 1986 EC ban on wildlife imports from Guyana. The EC initiated that ban on the grounds that Guyana lacked a proper management program for psittacine exports. The EC lifted the import ban following implementation of the 1987 quota system. The Wildlife Services Division of Guyana assigns quotas for each species at levels below those which they believe may threaten wild populations (Edwards 1992). Following the assignment of species' quotas, the Wildlife Services Division establishes individual quotas for each exporter. In the absence of any population surveys or scientific data, export quotas are calculated on the basis of exporters' previous trade levels (Edwards 1992). The Division has reduced or eliminated the quota for certain species upon advice from the CITES Secretariat. The species quotas have remained unchanged since 1990. The government of Guyana has not undertaken any field surveys of wild bird species in trade (Edwards 1992) nor is the Service aware of any demographic studies of wild bird populations being undertaken. In the absence of such studies, there is insufficient scientific information on which to base the sustainable management of wild bird populations in Guyana and to determine that such trade is not detrimental to the species. Lastly, export quotas that do not incorporate capture quotas make no provision for mortalities during capture, transport, and maintenance, with further potential detriment to species in the wild. The AWI petition claimed that export quotas for macaws and Amazon parrots were exceedingly high in the absence of scientific information. These are K-selected species which are long-lived, have delayed sexual maturity, and exhibit low reproductive rates in the wild. Guyana is South and Central America's largest exporter of macaws and export quotas for 1991 included 6,000 macaws of the following species: Blue and Gold macaw (Ara ararauna), Green-winged macaw (Ara chloroptera), Red-bellied macaw (Ara manilata), and Red-shouldered macaw (Ara nobilis). In addition to psittacine exports, Guyana has been one of the largest exporters of toucans to the United States. Very little scientific information exists on the status of wild populations of toucans, and the Service is not aware of any scientific assessment of the sustainable utilization of toucans. No records on the domestic trade in Guyana of wild birds are available (Edwards 1992) and this trade is neither monitored nor regulated. Many species of macaws and toucans are used in subsistence hunting by Amerindians. The effects of the domestic trade and subsistence use on wild bird populations remain unknown. The AWI petition provided information on the alleged illegal trade in psittacines from Venezuela to Guyana. Desenne and Strahl (1991) reviewed the current status of psittacine populations in Venezuela and concluded that the smuggling of birds illegally taken in Venezuela and exported from Guyana was a conservation threat to wild parrot populations in Venezuela, particularly those in the Orinoco Delta region. In October of 1991, the Sociedad Conservacionista Audubon de Venezuela (Venezuela Audubon Conservation Society) expressed its concern to the CITES Secretariat on the illegal trade in birds from Venezuela and cited recent law enforcement seizures of illegal birds by the Venezuelan Fish and Wildlife Service and National Guard in the Orinoco Delta. There appear to be no measures to ensure the humane treatment of wild birds during capture, transport and maintenance in Guyana, in spite of relevant CITES requirements. The AWI petition provided unpublished data extracted from analyses of U.S. Department of Agriculture Quarantine Forms which show that transport mortality for Guyanese birds is relatively high. After a review of the petition and other information available to it, the Service concludes that imposing a moratorium on the imports of wild birds from Guyana may be warranted under the WBCA, and that the trade in wild birds from Guyana may be detrimental to species' survival. The information available indicates that Guyana has been unable to implement a management program for wild birds in trade that ensures both the conservation of the species and the humane treatment of birds during capture, trade and maintenance. On November 16, 1993, the Service published a final rule (in 50 CFR Part 15) in the Federal Register (58 FR 60524), that established the prohibitions and requirements of the WBCA, and permit issuance procedures for four types of permits established by the WBCA. No CITES- listed birds can be imported into the United States, including from Guyana, unless they are accompanied by an import permit issued by the Office of Management Authority of the Service, or are on an approved list. The approved list has not yet been finalized. It will contain exclusively captive-bred species (wherein all birds in trade are bred in captivity), approved breeding facilities, and species with approved management plans for wild caught birds. The Service's proposed regulations for implementing these approvals were published in the Federal Register, March 17, 1994 (59 FR 12784), and included criteria for the approval of scientifically-based sustainable use management plans, as required by the WBCA. The Service will consider all comments and information received by May 16, 1994 in formulating a final decision for these approvals, except for scientifically-based sustainable use management plans for which the Service will consider comments and information received by June 15, 1994 in formulating a final decision. Therefore, although the importation of CITES-listed exotic bird species from Guyana is currently prohibited, non-CITES-listed birds can be imported into the United States from Guyana. If, at the close of the comment period, information received in response to this notice and other information available in the administrative record supports action under Sec. 108 of the WBCA, the Service may grant the petition and propose a suspension in trade in all wild exotic birds from Guyana. Public Comments Solicited The Service intends that any final decision resulting from its evaluation of this petition will be as accurate and as effective as possible. Therefore, any comments or data from the public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific or conservation communities, trade organizations, or any other interested party concerning any aspect of the wild bird trade in Guyana are hereby solicited. The Service is particularly interested in receiving information on the status and any population data on the psittacines of Guyana, including the Ara and Amazona species. References Cited Desenne, P. and S. Strahl. 1991. Trade and the conservation status of the family Psittacidae in Venezuela. Bird Conservation International, 1:153-269. Edwards, S. R. 1992. Wild bird trade: perceptions and management in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. In J. B. Thomsen, S. R. Edwards, and T. A. Mulliken (eds.) Perceptions, Conservation and Management of Wild Birds in Trade. Pp. 93-116. Traffic International. Mulliken, T. A., S. R. Broad, and J. B. Thomsen. 1992. The Wild Bird Trade--an Overview. In J. B. Thomsen, S. R. Edwards, and T. A. Mulliken (eds.) Perceptions, Conservation and Management of Wild Birds in Trade. Pp. 1-42. Traffic International. Cambridge, UK. World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC). 1992. Global biodiversity: status of the earth's living resources. Chapman and Hall, New York. Dated: June 1, 1994. Bruce Blanchard, Deputy Director. [FR Doc. 94-14504 Filed 6-14-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-55-P