By Herp News
The Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus) is an Endangered species. Traffickers hunt it on the banks of Nicaragua’s San Juan River. Captured birds are often transported for sale to San Salvador more than 1000 kilometers away. From there some birds are moved north through Mexico into the United States. Photo credit: Carlos Chávez. They call it the Central Market. It is the heart that breathes life into the Salvadoran capital, San Salvador. It is impossible not to feel lost in this huge maze of dealers where the purchase of almost anything is possible, ranging from “magic” potions to cure any ill, to broken jukeboxes, or wild animals, especially parrots that say “hello” inside their narrow cramped cages. No one has been able to stop illegal trafficking here. No one. In the last five years, the Salvadoran environmental police have moved in occasionally to inspect the Central Market. Nearly every raid results in the confiscation of a few species that are close to extinction, especially psittaciformes: parrots, parakeets and macaws. In April 2012, 58 birds were rescued; in March 2014, 32 more; in March 2015, 23. According to the estimations of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (known as MARN), more than 300 birds are confiscated every year. Some are released into the forest; some others are rehabilitated in an animal shelter in the west of El Salvador. No one knows how many birds and other animals escape the notice of police. Recently the MARN set up fences in San Salvador…
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