Report from Hong Kong and CHina

[wrench13]

Hi All. So I visited the 'bird market' here in Hong Kong today. It was kinda cold for HK and drizzley and occasionally rainy, so I am sure the number of folks just out and about with their birds was lower then usual.

So most of the shops here are selling song birds, not parrots, and unfortunately I am not a song bird type of guy, so I dont know the names of most of the birds for sale. What was for sale were all in TINY round bamboo cages. Here is a pic of a typical stall on the market street

These cages come in every size from little ones barely 7" x 7" and some are very ornate, worthy of just being art/ Heres a fancy one:

and here is a tiny square one

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Here are some pics of the song birds:

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r647/thighbiter/DSC00242_zpsxumvwhow.jpg

Continued in next post.

 

[wrench13]

And I am sorry to say that most conditions for the parrots for sale were pretty horendous. Here is a typical cage full of buddgies, and they were stacked on more cages filled with more small canary type birds:

Here is a pic of a cage full of Rosey Cockatoos

And if they were not jammed in with too many onto a cage, the cages were inceredibly small for the parrot in it, here are some more, single birds in way too small cages:

2 Ekkies in 1 tiny cage:

A B&G macaw in a cage I wouldnt keep a cockatiel in:

Some parrots were in open air stands, all with leg chains. In fact I only saw 1 bird with a harness type restraint, belonging to a nice Chinese man. All other parrots, fpr sale and private birds, had leg chains on.

Here is a BGM for sale who was a frisky guy and had a lively eye. He never did let me scratch him but I came close:

Here is a green wing macaw next to him whe was very calm and let me scratch him a bit.

Continued..

 

[plumsmum2005]

Hi and thanks for your interesting report.

Unfortunately I am sitting here a bit teary especially after seeing the Rosey's, the Ekkie's and those leg chains.

Although would they be less frightened by being together in a mini flock, albeit in very cramped conditions?

Can't believe anyone seeing this is surprised at such barbaric treatment. Thing that I can't fathom is have they no shame?

Thanks again.

Will it be okay when there is no birds left in the wild? Depressing.

 

[wrench13]

I had a really friendly white bellied caique who let me scratch and mush up in general who I might have taken home with me, if I wasnt overseas. Nice little guy and he and I really hit it off. Heres a pic of him back in his cage:

There were alot of mini macaws for sale, Hahns, Illgers and even a yellow collared, which I have never seem before:

Heres a cage full of macaws:

So the stall shops were pretty depressing. I am guessing that these are all wild caught birds. Each stall was jammed with cages and bird food, so I am guessing at night the caged birds are covered (?) and put back into the stalls and the metal doors rolled down and they are kept in there until the next day. I struck up a realtionship with a few birds, the caique, the macaw and a few cockatoos ( who were so very friendly and mush balls).

Onto the privately owned birds. Folks gather here to just BS and show off their parrots and on a nice day I understand there are dozens and dozens, but cuz it was cold ( for here) and wet not many were out. The owners were friendly and looked like they really cared for thier birds. Oddly enough , I heard a lot of them saying 'Hello' instead of the Mandarin equivalent ( NiHow). Here are pics of a few of these parrots.

One guy had 3 yellow napes who were friendly ( but not touchy types) and one double yellow head , who managed to really bite me f-ing hard enought to take meat out of my hand ( luckily I was prepared and had brought a few heavy duty band-aids) so I didnt bleed all over the place ( taking blood thinners so when I get cut, I bleed a LOT).

An interesting trip, but kinda depressing, seeing how pet parrots are sold here in Hong Kong. I wanted to fling open the cage doors on many of the multiple bird cages. I mean who keeps 4-5 grey parrots in a cage meant for 1 buddgie? I did see a few birds I had not seen before, but what I really wanted to do was take them all home, give them nice big cages and play all day with them. Oh yeah - every parrot was fed 100% on seeds, mostly sunflower seeds. I didnt see any for sale birds with anything other then seeds in their feeding cups.

I picked up a pair of beautiful ceramic feeding cups , tiny, and I will use then to give Salty special treats inside his cage. Salty doesnt know how good he has it, compared to these parrots in Hong Kong.

Well thats it for my trip to the bird market of Hong Kong. 1 more week to go and then home to hearth, family and my wonderful parrot Salty.

 

[Terry57]

This cage is almost exactly like the cage our Laughing Thrush was living in
The worst part is that people buy them in these cages and keep them in that size.
Thank you so much for all the pictures, even the ones that broke my heart with the leg chains and tiny cages. So many birds to see, especially in the rain. I wonder how many would have been there if it was sunny?

 

[happy410]

Heartbreaking

 

[RavensGryf]

A message to all: I think it's important to realize that these conditions can and do happen in MANY different regions of the world.

Let's focus on the photography and text in the farther down parts of this thread, and NOT make this into a 'complaint' and bashing thread just to say "oh how awful". Yes, we know... and sadly it happens everywhere, and there is nothing to be gained by just commenting on a negative situation.

Thanks for capturing some some of the nicer pics in your travels like the sweet U2 and M2, and the sweet Caique you wanted to bring home. ... Also I think it's more a matter of ignorance not neglect since the cages are clean.

 

[pavlovspup]

Appreciate the vicarious travel very much. I have been to a couple of Chinese pet markets, but not birds.

 

[Ebrahim4real]

Heya,

So I will be in China, Goungzgou this week. I am thinking of purchasing a blue and gold macaw. Do you know any places I can find one?. What would the price be?

 

[SailBoat]

Heya,

So I will be in China, Goungzgou this week. I am thinking of purchasing a blue and gold macaw. Do you know any places I can find one?. What would the price be?

If you are from near any Country that is using CITIES regulations for Parrots, you will not be able to export a CITIES Classified Parrot from China. In you are from any of the English speaking Nations, Eastern, and Western Europe, you will not be able to export any Parrot from China.

I am not aware of the Asia Nations regulations, but once again, if that Nation is using CITIES regulations for Parrots, you will not be able export from China.

Other than the Parrot market in Hong Kong, I have no knowledge of the Parrot sales in China.

See Original Thread by OP!

 

[Kentuckienne]

Not bashing - I love the photos - but it's a good time to point out that songbird trade is having a terrible impact in some parts of the world. In Malaysia, some forests are nearly silent because all the birds are being trapped for sale. It's a critical problem, an urgent problem, and some species are on the brink of extinction. In Europe, migrating songbirds are trapped and killed for sale to restaurants as delicacies. It's good to be informed.

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160225-pittas-java-southeast-asia-birds-smuggling-conservation-malaysia-thailand/

Indonesia's songbirds at risk as competitions drive illegal wildlife trade - RN - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

[psychocircus91]

My heart.
I agree with the ignorance factor. I think the needs of captive parrots are highly misunderstood around MOST of the world.
Seems like an interesting trip and of course an eye-opener. Thanks for sharing.

 

[wrench13]

Talk about bring a thread back ! Funny. since I will be going back in a few weeks. Maybe it will be nice out on the weekend there and I can go back to the 'bird' street.