About 40 protected bird species — like the colorful indigo bunting — are routinely being trapped in Florida and smuggled into the illegal pet trade. Authorities say some are even caught to be used in songbird 'competitions.' (wlrn)
An interview with Dina Fine Maron, a wildlife trade investigative reporter at National Geographic.
The songbirds can be sold"for hundreds of dollars" according to Dina Fine Maron, a wildlife trade investigative reporter at National Geographic. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that 40 protected bird species in Florida are routinely trapped, mostly songbirds like indigo buntings. In February state wildlife officials drafted a rule to protect Florida's native songbirds from illegal capture.
MARON: One of the things that really surprised me and made me realize the scale of it was when I started learning about the songbird competition angle. This is the idea that you would catch a young songbird, usually a male because the coloring is brighter, and put two together and they might naturally respond to each other ... get territorial and start to sing. That can really make a lot of money.
Another gentleman described in court documents how he would hang these illegal giant nets across a field. It's called a mist net. It's difficult to see, it's sort of like a spider web, and then he would get a truck and it would be loud and he'd drive the truck towards the net and the birds would come out frightened by the noise and they'd all get caught in the net. He'd catch dozens and dozens of these birds by using this method.
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