In the afternoon of April 24th, volunteers of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) arrived in Cangzhou City, Hebei Province for the second-return visit to the bird market in a local agricultural products market called Jicang. According to volunteers, the bird market used to have illegal wild bird trades before it was banned last year by local government after volunteers tipping off.
At about 8 am on April 25th, volunteers were shocked by what they saw when reaching to the Jicang Agricultural Products Markets. Birdcages have arranged in a long line in front of the market. A continuous stream of consumers came to stalls. The difference is that peddlers used to sell birds in the market. But now they all move to the entrance of the market. Volunteers roughly calculate that over 1,000 birds were sold on the day when they had the field visit, with various species being involved in, including lark, Chinese Hwame, titmouse, yellow-bellied tit, grosbeak, Fischer's lovebird, and so on, of which Fischer’s lovebird is ranked as Near Threatened (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Volunteers took videos to the illegal bird market and even had a dispute with sellers. The oral dispute escalated into physical fights as peddlers tried to snatch the volunteer's phone. Then volunteers called the police, and policemen arrived at the spot soon. Given that the incident is involved in wildlife trade, the policemen can only stop the two sides and avoid body conflicts. Later, volunteers called the local forestry authority, but its officers didn't make it to the market. The staff of local market supervision administration also arrived after receiving the call from volunteers and cooperated with volunteers on obtaining evidence.
Due to the intervention of the enforcement department, peddlers hurried to pack and leave, and some of the then released birds immediately. Volunteers tell us that only dozens of birds were confiscated by the government. Moreover, law-enforcement officers had to transfer the confiscated birds to the police station for further treatment because they lack professional transfer vehicles.
Volunteers were surrounded by peddlers and even couldn't make a move to leave. The enforcement officer had to escort them out of the market. Later, volunteers decided to take these birds to a private rescue station ran by Professor Meng.
On April 28th, the Research Office received a call from the local relevant department who promises they will cooperate with CBCGDF on the investigation of the illegal birds’ trade.
(Photo credit: CBCGDF volunteers)
(Photo credit: CBCGDF)
Original Chinese article:
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/9P7_l0so8AkjIJYLTwckGg
By / Wang Yanqing Modified / Maggie