Wildlife sinks: Quantifying the impact of illegal bird trade in street markets in Brazil

Illegal wildlife trade is a widespread activity with direct impacts on biodiversity and street markets are frequently pointed out as hotspots in the wildlife trade route. However, due to its illegal character, it is difficult to accurately estimate how many individuals and how much money are handled by traders. Precise data on the number of individuals and species involved, and the drivers behind the illegal wildlife trade are essential for fighting it. We use the example of the metropolitan area of Recife, in northeastern Brazil, a well-known route of illegal wildlife in the country, to access the extent and impact street markets may have on biodiversity. We present quantitative and qualitative information on the illegal trade of wild birds in eight street markets in the area, indicating which species are preferred and why, estimating the number of animals and the volume of money involved, and quantifying the impact that the removal of those animals may have. We observed a high and diversified species offer, biased towards adult male songbirds, with birds of 15 families and 55 species on sale. Birds are kept in poor conditions and some individuals are sold for as little as US$ 1.00. However, we projected that up to 50,000 wild birds may be sold annually in the markets surveyed, including possibly 16,800 individuals of Sporophila nigricollis (the yellow-bellied seedeater), the most frequently observed species. The activity is profitable and may deal with significant amounts of money (up to nearly US$ 630,000.00/year). The numbers involved indicate that street markets are significant wildlife sinks, with a large and frequently ignored impact that must be taken into account in the control and conservation of the biodiversity, not just in Brazil but elsewhere. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.