BIG LAKE RANCH, British Columbia— A new study has uncovered an international trafficking route moving threatened birds-of-paradise from Indonesia through Thailand to India. The brightly-colored birds are being trafficked to meet demand for exotic pets.

“The fact that traffickers can move these birds through international airports is deeply alarming,” said the study’s lead author, Chris R. Shepherd, Ph.D., conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This should be a wake-up call for authorities to strengthen enforcement and investigate the networks behind this trade. They’ve got to do more to protect these remarkable birds and prevent their extinction.”

The study, published today in the Journal of Asian Ornithology, said rising demand in India for these threatened birds is placing additional pressure on species already at risk of extinction due to hunting and habitat loss.

At least 38 birds-of-paradise were seized in eight separate cases. The shipments included 10 different bird-of-paradise species. All bird-of-paradise species are protected by law in their range countries and regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora to which Indonesia, India and Thailand are all party.

Six of the seizures also contained other protected wildlife, including 25 endemic maleo birds (Macrocephalon maleo) assessed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The study’s authors urge relevant government agencies in India, Indonesia and Thailand to strengthen cross-border communication, coordination and enforcement to combat wildlife trafficking more effectively. They also call on airlines to take proactive steps to ensure they are not transporting trafficked wildlife.

“Wildlife traffickers rely heavily on commercial airlines to move animals across international borders,” said Shepherd. “Greater vigilance and scrutiny are essential, and so is ensuring the integrity and accountability of the systems responsible for preventing this trade. Without effective oversight, traffickers will continue to exploit weaknesses in the system and the networks that enable them.”