Wild animals housed at the IBAMA triage center in Southern Brazil, 2005–2021: a glimpse into the endless conflicts between man and other animals.

Abstract

Spurred on by the illegal billion-dollar revenue, the capture and trade of wild fauna remain the leading illegal activities in Brazil, and elsewhere. We present and discuss insights into the wild animals housed at the Wild Animal Triage Center in Southern Brazil. Recorded data from 2005 to 2021 were used. A total of 36,950 animals were sheltered in that period, and most of them were common passerines (24,182) such as the Saffron Finch, and Red-crested Cardinal, among many others confiscated after inspections or reports. Passerines have long been the top trafficked species in Brazil and abroad, where birdkeeping has strong cultural and economic values. The totals per class were 29,784 birds (80.6%), 2,584 (7.0%) insects, 2,237 (6.1%) reptiles, and 2,170 (5.9%) mammals. Since they were mostly surrendered by the population rather than seized, most mammals, insects, and reptiles were probably unwanted guests in human spaces, tendency that illustrates the human difficulty in coexisting with wildlife. A total of 3,085 animals exhibited some threat or risk of extinction, which, as a general rule, grants them conservation priority. However, regardless of class, most animals (31,142) in this study were rated as least concern on the red lists, a trend in wildlife trafficking linked to the category criteria of being widely distributed species with abundant populations, and often, in close contact with human neighbors. Maintaining an abundance of common and nonthreatened species can be justified by the greater extent of their ecosystem services, from a local to global scale. Our results further highlight the urgent need to change our ways of interacting with wildlife, outstandingly the irresponsible ownership of animals.

Rehabilitation and release of confiscated songbirds into the wild: A pilot study

“…Controlling stock density was key, as the fourth cause of death was conspecific attacks ( Supplementary Table 5 ). Considering the great variability in the number of confiscated songbirds over time ( 11 ), and conflict dynamics, it is useful to install multiple enclosures (preferably with adjustable dimensions) interconnected by a service corridor/interchangeable area ( 56 ). Conflict dynamics may be circumvented as reallocation to a contiguous aviary may establish a new flock hierarchy.…”

“…In addition to proper settlement, the majority of released ultramarine grosbeaks mating with free-ranging females also suggests a reduced male population. This, in turn, may suggest the illegal capture of males since they are more valued in trafficking ( 7 ) and are also more easily captured, since territory defense is usually a male task ( 11 , 34 ). This situation, which may progressively affect a wider range of species worldwide, has been reported and linked to low reproductive success in the free-living populations of the endangered yellow cardinal ( Gubernatrix cristata ) ( 102 ).…”

“…The migratory double-collared seedeater ( Sporophila caerulescens ) ( 33 ), other species with lower representativeness, and those distributed at distant sites (songbirds group 2 – SBG2, n = 689) were not monitored after release ( Supplementary Table 2 ). Although they were probably captured in RS ( 11 ), the origin of the birds was uncertain since they could have been illegally captured anywhere in their distribution ranges. At CETAS, large numbers of confiscated songbirds of the same and/or different species are usually kept in dozens of contiguous cages.…”

“…Most are housed individually, but others remain in collective cages. Time in captivity can tame wild bird behavior ( 11 ). Before removing them from their cages to handle them, we observed their behaviors toward handlers to roughly classify traits into (1-tame) bird perching and feeding even when the cage was held by handlers, (2-semi-wild or undefined) bird perching and feeding when handlers remained about 5 m away from the cages, or when birds were housed in a collective cage, and (3-wild) bird fluttering, not perching or feeding when handlers remained about 5 m from the cage.…”

“…Birds, especially songbirds, are currently the most numerous species captured for live animal trafficking in Brazil ( 7 ), and elsewhere ( 6 , 8 , 9 ). While endangered songbird species are also trafficked in Brazil, most belong to common and widely distributed species with low conservation value ( 10 , 11 ). Consequently, they are often confiscated and, despite their “least concern” rating on the ICMBIO and IUCN Red Lists ( 12 , 13 ), this poses legal, ethical, and conservation challenges.…”