Program: Grey Parrot Program
The Grey Parrot's (Psittacus erithacus) range extends from Ghana and southern Nigeria to southern Cameroon and most of Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its population numbers as few as 560,000.
Grey Parrots are in serious danger from illegal trafficking and extensive deforestation. They have declined or disappeared in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and other African countries. Over 1.2 million wild-caught, mainly P. erithacus, entered international trade in four decades. With a mortality rate of 40-60% during capture and transport the total number trapped could be as high as three million.
Since 2001, the WPT has worked with in-country collaborators to prevent trade in Grey Parrots by providing technical and logistical support of enforcement, confiscation and rescue efforts. This has resulted in thousands of Grey Parrots in west and central Africa being confiscated from trade. Multiple research, habitat protection, education and awareness and rescue and release projects continue.From the late 2010s on, the WPT has helped local partners to establish protected areas, carry out community education, survey populations, learn to mitigate an increasing wildfire threat, secure breeding areas and nests and support wild chicks in need of extra care.
Find out what projects the World Parrot Trust is supporting for Grey Parrot Program
