Conservation of Red Siskins – A Casualty of the Pet Trade
Once widespread in northern Venezuela, the striking red siskin has been pushed to the brink of extinction by illegal wildlife trade and habitat loss. We're supporting our Venezuelan partner Provita and the Smithsonian Institution on a multifaceted recovery effort to help restore this species in the wild.
The red siskin (Spinus cucullatus) is a beautiful tropical finch, with males having a dazzling red and black color pattern. Sadly, these tiny birds have been nearly eliminated throughout their range, which was formerly concentrated in northern Venezuela. Red siskin declines were caused by historic and ongoing over-exploitation for the illegal pet trade (poaching), including for cross-breeding captive siskins with canaries to create the ‘red canary’ form. Conversion of its tropical dry forest habitat to agriculture and urbanization has also driven the red siskin close to extinction. In Venezuela its distribution and population are estimated to have declined by over 80% in recent years.
Red siskins exemplify the cross-cutting threats of illegal wildlife trade (worth over $10 billion a year, trailing only drugs, counterfeit products, and human trafficking in terms of illegal trade) and habitat loss, but there are clear actions we can all take to reduce these threats. This includes choosing only domesticated animals as pets, rather than wild animals; and choosing to purchase bird-friendly chocolate and coffee, which are grown on multi-use lands that maintain native habitat and vegetation that wild animals such as red siskins need for food and nesting.
The project that Zoo New England is supporting, with our Venezuelan partner Provita and the Smithsonian Institution, has a suite of actions aimed at mitigating threats to the red siskin. These include:
- Captive breeding of birds that have been rescued from the illegal pet trade (for eventual reintroduction into the wild);
- Supporting anti-trafficking efforts to minimize illegal take of red siskins from the wild;
- Slowing habitat loss by helping coffee producers and their communities achieve USDA organic and Smithsonian Bird-Friendly® agroforestry certification to increase habitat and build environmental, economic and social sustainability;
- Conservation outreach locally and internationally to rally people around protecting and recovering red siskins.
ZNE also holds a breeding pair of red siskins as part of the creation of an assurance population among AZA-accredited zoos here in the US.
