In many cultures, rareness indicates value; the rarer a possession, the more value is attached to it. For finite materials – most of the world’s resources – this relationship becomes particularly problematic, and potentially devastating, for future generations, as these resources inevitably run out and become increasingly more coveted, acquired, and used. For wild animals desired as pets, the value created by rareness is deadly.
A new study published in Current Biology this month observed this exact trend occurring around the world in tropical forests where the trade of colorful songbirds (passerines) continues to increase.
When It Comes to the Trade in Live Birds, Color is King
Nearly 30 percent of all birds, or almost 3,000 species, are exploited by the international trade of live individual animals and their parts (such as bird feathers, eggs, or bills). The study’s authors discovered that the birds with rarer, diversely patterned, and brighter coloration (mostly including vibrant blue, yellow, and solid white birds) were more likely to be captured from the wild for the exotic pet trade than birds with duller or more common coloration. Troublingly, these birds are also the same species considered to be the most threatened by extinction in the wild.
The authors concluded that this relationship enables conservationists to predict the species that will next be targeted by the exotic pet trade should the current species of interest become overharvested. They found that between 95 to 478 species might be targeted in the future.
The Trade in Colorful Songbirds Has Implications for the Entire Ecosystem
The effects of this population depletion for the trade of songbirds will be observed in a striking visual manner: removing these colorful species from the tropical forests they evolved to inhabit will ultimately leave these environments with a substantially more muted color palette. Indeed, the authors confirmed that 91 percent of the most color diversity, as well as 65 percent of the most unique colors in the tropics, were present in tropical songbirds.
The study’s authors recommended that conservationists monitor the species they predicted could be targeted in the future, as both legal and illegal wildlife trade typically occurs at a faster rate than regulations can be passed.
Rarity Is Also Prized for Other Animals in the Pet Trade
Rarity perceived as enhanced value by pet owners is not isolated to only the trade of songbirds; this trend occurs across many exotic animal species, including reptiles, primates, and carnivores.
This phenomenon, dubbed the “Anthropogenic Allee Effect,” proposes that when people place a disproportionate value on rare species, this may result in a cycle whereby increased exploitation reduces the population size, consequently increasing its value and ultimately leading to its extinction in the wild.
Another paper published in 2013 examined this effect on green pythons and their exploitation in the pet trade, where the two populations that were deemed most desirable by pet collectors exhibited abnormal coloration patterns.
Animals are often extremely beautiful and wonderful to watch and observe, but we must learn to do this from afar, without disrupting the animals’ lives, curtailing their freedom, or decimating their species. And, we must work to end the narrative that animals exist for our entertainment and to be mere possessions.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Devan
