Understanding Singapore’s Dynamic Parrot Trade Ecosystem

Understanding Singapore’s Dynamic Parrot Trade Ecosystem

Oryx – The International Journal of Conservation

The research article, “Understanding Singapore’s Dynamic Parrot Trade Ecosystem” for Oryx is about the live bird trade in Singapore. The study by Nature Society (Singapore), BirdLife International, Mandai Nature and Lancaster Environment Centre takes a novel approach to examining Singapore’s parrot trade by viewing it as an ecosystem of stakeholders in society. Tim Plowden contributed by researching and profiling Singapore’s parrot hobbyist groups by conducting a review of online hobbyist groups. He also redesigned the trade ecosystem diagram.

Tim engaged with some of the more prominent hobbyist groups in Singapore and arranged to take photos at one of the group’s gatherings for publication in the research article and associated blog post.

Singapore is prominent in the global trade of pet birds, primarily parrots. This includes its role as a key international transit hub, and also its growing domestic market, including for threatened species. There is a need to understand the trade beyond volumes and flows, including consumer knowledge, preferences and behaviours, and interactions with vendors, hobbyist groups and supporting industries. We used three methods to examine this: (1) a questionnaire with stakeholders (including parrot owners, hobbyist group members, breeders and supporting industry professionals), about the motivations for parrot ownership and interest in sustainable trade, (2) semi-structured interviews with key informants about trade dynamics, and (3) a review of online hobbyist groups. Our approach presents the wildlife trade as a complex social phenomenon, with multiple physical and online channels, regulatory challenges, social networks, and evolving consumer preferences. We also document the pivotal role of hobbyist groups and their untapped potential to leverage these networks to improve sustainable trade.