NEWS BIRD Wild bird trade ban China (UK)

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The Times, London December 22, 2007

 

Songbirds fly free as China turns its back on 2,000 years of history

Jane Macartney in Beijing

 

For 2,000 years the song thrush has brought music

to the ears of millions of Chinese. Now the

ancient tradition of buying, caging and keeping

wild song birds looks destined to die out.

 

A new law banning the trade in seven species of

wild birds takes effect on January 1. The aim is

to try to save China's dwindling numbers of

birds. It will also undermine the bustling local

markets that are a familiar sight across Chinese

cities and towns.

 

The change in rules signals the likely demise of

an integral aspect of Chinese life that dates

back to the Han dynasty. Anyone who already has a

bird will be allowed to keep it.

 

But among the seven birds that will be banned

from sale is the huamei - or song thrush - which

has long been the species of choice for

bird-keeping enthusiasts. Those buying or selling

the birds will face a fine of up to ten times the

price of the bird. It is the first time that

Beijing environment officials have changed the

list of protected species since 1989.

 

The customers of the trade are Beijing's more

elderly residents. Early in the morning in the

capital's parks and alleys, grey-haired men

gather around a cluster of bird cages to chat and

compare avian tales. They stroll up, gently

swinging as many as two cages in each hand. They

say that the movement forces the birds to cling

on to their perches and thus get their daily

exercise.

 

These old men with their pet birds are a

quintessential feature of Beijing. Entire markets

have grown up selling bird paraphernalia - bamboo

and wooden cages and tiny porcelain water cups.

Antique porcelain cups can fetch a fortune among

serious collectors.

 

At the Hongyan market in the suburbs of Beijing,

parakeets and larks, mynah birds and thrushes

huddle in their cages in the watery winter

sunshine.

 

At one small store dozens upon dozens of song

thrushes dart back and forth in a mountain of

individual cages.

 

Their young owner shrugs his shoulders at the

impending ban. " What will I do then? I'll find

some other business. But I can sell you a bird

really cheap now. " He is offering his birds for

sale at 60 yuan (£4) each. He refuses to reveal

whether this is a discount from his usual price.

 

He says he is perfectly confident that he will be

able to sell off his entire stock before the ban

takes effect.

 

Another bird seller is more defiant. He is

cleaning out a cage filled with tiny chattering

green-feathered birds and refuses to give his

name.

 

" I just set up my shop a month ago. But what can

you do about the Communist Party? They decide to

do something and what rights do we common people

have? "

 

He offers a hill mynah bird for 1,600 yuan and a

less valuable ordinary mynah bird for 600 yuan.

" I'm not worried about the ban. Of course I'll

still be able to carry on my business. How will

they stop me? "

 

The custom of keeping birds dates back as early

as the Han dynasty (206BC-AD220), when governors

kept their feathered pets in private gardens. In

the Tang dynasty (618-907) the wealthy and the

scholars began to collect exotic birds brought

into China as tribute. And in the Song dynasty

(960-1270) the the practice of catching wild

birds such as larks and orioles to keep in

captivity was introduced.

 

The Manchu invaders who set up the Qing dynasty

(1644-1911) popularised the hobby. Nobles idled

away their days in Beijing collecting and

comparing their ornamental birds. That was when

the huamei, which means painted brow - for the

white circle around the bird's eyes - gained such

popularity.

 

One elderly fancier at Hongyan market confessed

to mixed feelings about the impending ban. " It

will be the end of a very old tradition in

Beijing. But I think it's wrong to keep birds in

cages. "

 

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Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

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Fax: 360-579-2575

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Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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