The new animal protection law does not allow the virtual sale and purchase of birds, with the exception of some birds of prey. But also parrots, cockatoos, sparrows, canaries and goldfinches They are sold on the Internet. Animal shelters warn: This uncontrolled sale is a drain for exotic birds and invasive species They can cause problems in our environment.
This is the case, for example, with the Argentine parrot. It is known for its conspicuousness, its shrill sound and for occupying foreign territories. David de la Bodega, head of the legal program at SEOBIRDLIFE, has assured that “a species that has increased in recent years and this represents a displacement of native species such as sparrows or titmice with which they compete for food.
The first came to Spain as pets. It is estimated that more than 40,000 people populate our cities today. Nura El Khoury Vidarte, from the Biodiversity Department of the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, has assured that “they arrived mainly because they are very pretty, and above all they were released because they are very noisy.”
We find them for sale on the Internet along with other invasive species such as macaws or macaws some gray parrots can live to be 80 years old. They’re funny when they start talking, but many people end up letting them go because they think they’re doing them a favor.
A report prepared by Spanish researchers at the CSIC counted more than 12,000 online bird sale advertisements, both on social networks and websites. However, SEOBIRDLIFE warns: “Internet trading is prohibited by the Animal Welfare Act, so we should not buy wild species.” Purchasing wild songbirds is also prohibited.widely marketed online to avoid hunting them in the natural environment.
The aim is to protect the local fauna. In order to prevent the example of parrots from being repeated in other species, for example the Orpheus Bulbul or the Canadian barnacle, which has been widely marketed because it is very suitable for parks and gardens; or the Egyptian goose, a new resident of the Manzanares River in Madrid.