Animal Aid

In this second part of From Rainforest to Retail - a special Animal Aid report - we look at the bird species on sale at Focus and the 'profits in exotics'.

During checks on stores in September 2001 we found that Focus stock larger parrots (eg Amazons and African Greys priced £799) in some of their stores, as well as smaller parrot species (eg parakeets and conures priced £59.99 - £99.99). Small 'caged' birds (eg lovebirds, cockateils, budgerigars and canaries priced £14.99 - £29.99) seem to be a staple in all Petworld departments, as are finches (eg mannikins, waxbills etc priced £6.99 - £7.99) and quail (priced £8.99). Once purchased, finches and quail are usually kept in outside aviaries.

In early March 2001, we commissioned Peter Robinson, consultant ornithologist and former Head of Investigations at the RSPB, to visit a random sample of Focus Do It All stores.

Table 1: Species identified at one or more stores were as follows:

Category A - wild-caught

Common Name	Scientific Name	FOCUS Name	Place of Origin
Yellow-fronted canary	Serinus mozambicus	Green-singing finch	Africa
Black-rumped waxbill	Estrilda troglodytes	Red ears	Africa
Orange-cheeked waxbill	Estrilda melpoda	Orange-cheeks	Africa
Bronze mannikin	Lonchura cucullata	Bronze-wing	Africa
Magpie mannikin	Lonchura fringilloides	Mannikins	Africa
Black-and-white mannikin	Lonchura bicolor	Mannikins, or Bronze-wings	Africa
Zebra waxbill	Amandava subflava	Zebra finches	Africa
Spotted munia	Lonchura punctulata	Spice finches	India, SE Asia & Indonesia
Monk parakeet	Myiopsitta monachus	Parakeet	South America
Blue-crowned conure	Aratinga acuticaudata	Conures	South America
Brown-throated conure	Aratinga pertinax	Conures	South America
Maroon-bellied conures	Pyrrhura frontalis	Conures	South America
Red-eared conure	Pyrrhura hoematotis	Conures	South America

Category B - either wild caught or captive-bred

Common Name	Scientific Name	FOCUS Name	Place of Origin
Cockatiel	Nymphicus hollandicus	Cockatiels	Australia
Budgerigar	Melopsittacus undulatus	Budgies	Australia
Peach-faced lovebird	Agapornis roseicollis	Peach-faced lovebirds	SW Africa
Fischer's lovebird	Agapornis fischeri	Fisher's lovebirds	Central Africa
Yellow-collared lovebird	Agapornis personatus	Masked lovebirds	East Africa
Yellow-crowned Amazon	Amazona ochrocephala	No name	South America
Zebra finches	Poephila guttata	Zebra finch	Australia

Category C - probably (but not necessarily) bred in captivity

Common Name	FOCUS Name
Hybrid or unusually-coloured lovebirds	Safari lovebirds
Chinese-painted quail	'Italian Quail' Coternix

Species found, in the view of our bird consultant, were divisible into three categories, namely;

A - those who will have been trapped from the wild in their countries of origin,
B - those who were either wild-caught or captive-bred, and
C - those who were probably (but not necessarily) bred in captivity in Britain or elsewhere.

With regards to all of the species in category A, there is no culture of breeding these commercially in Britain, Europe or elsewhere and no commercial point in doing so as long as there is a free flow of trapped birds, as currently exists.

Some species are treated in category B, as possibly captive-bred on the basis that they are known to reproduce regularly in captivity, eg budgerigar, or zebra finch. However, the fact that some individuals have bred in captivity cannot be taken as evidence that all such birds encountered in the stores originate from captive stock.

Peter Robinson said that he had no doubt that, of the 21 full species (ie not sub-species) encountered at six stores, 13 came from the wild, a further seven possibly came from the wild, leaving just one species as probably captive-bred (see Table 1).

There were 441 birds seen in total at the six stores:

342, or 77.5%, were - in the view of our bird expert - wild-caught;
92, or 20.8%, may have been wild-caught or captive-bred;
7, or 1.5%, were very probably captive.

Profits in exotics

Focus works hard to promote the sale of its live birds and gives ample emphasis to its family- values sales strategy - for instance, in the illustrated content of its give-away advisory leaflets.

'...we are not just a DIY operation anymore, we are a family orientated store catering for families' needs.'

FOCUS in correspondence 29/2/00

The sale of animals is, therefore, a marketing exercise - part of a strategy aimed at attracting a family clientele to the store and also inviting return business.

By developing the demand for exotic birds, the company is involved in a process leading to large numbers being exploited in their countries of origin. In short, if people in developed countries did not buy live birds, there would be no incentive to trap them at source.

Useful profit

Dave Taylor, livestock manager of Safari Select, Focus's sole supplier of birds, confirmed our view of the retail chain as a company which is seeking to 'get somebody on impulse' to make a bird purchase.

While the sale of the animals themselves produce a useful profit, the income from associated products is equally important, as are the return journeys where various other DIY products may be purchased.

'The food, the accessories and the product. That's where your money is. All of it. If you sell a hand-reared African Grey, you'll make £150. You'll make £150 on the cage, make another £50 on toys, blah, blah, blah.'

Phil Dobinson - bird supplier to Focus.

In part 3 of