Right now, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is considering listing four macaw species--the scarlet, great green, military, and hyacinth macaws--as officially endangered. Even though the range of these beautiful parrots is Central and South America, this matters because, as an officially endangered species, the macaw can be protected from the widespread trade in exotic animals.
The macaws need to be listed so that no macaws can be imported to the United States as souvenirs or pets. Thousands of animals die every year because they were captured by ruthless traders and sent long distances in cargo crates. Many animals so treated die terrible deaths of dehydration, starvation, or terror.
The USFWS needs to know that you think these beautiful birds need protection. Tell them you support the listing of the scarlet, great green, military, and hyacinth macaws as endangered species.
We the undersigned thank you for moving in the direction of listing the macaw as an endangered species.
The four macaws that you have proposed for listing--the great green, scarlet, military, and hyacinth macaws--need protection from a ruthless and far-ranging trade in exotic animals. It's bad enough when animals are taken out of the wild for any reason. But the trade in souvenirs and pets is particularly immoral because of the way animals are treated by their captors. Long journeys in cargo needlessly claim the lives of thousands of animals every year.
We support the listing of these birds as endangered, and we hope that listing them will stop the import of macaws into the United States for use as pets.
