Songbird species across the globe suffer from excessive collection for trade. This trade can operate outside regulation and can lead to significant declines in wild populations. Songbirds such as finches are popular pets because of their singing ability, cultural value, and in some cases the social status that owning them can offer. The European goldfinch Carduelis carduelis, serin Serinus serinus and common linnet Linaria cannabina range across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and East Asia and, although they are categorized as Least Concern by IUCN, they are affected by a range of factors that influence their conservation. The wild populations of serins and linnets are decreasing and, although the European goldfinch is increasing in numbers in some parts of its range, the population in North Africa is experiencing a drastic range reduction. Between 1990 and 2016 the species’ distribution declined by 57% in the region as a result of the songbird trade (Khelifa et al., 2017, Scientific Reports, 7, 1092). From November 2017 to February 2018 we monitored Algeria's most popular classified advertisement website, and from August 2018 to December 2018 we visited 27 cities in Algeria. We searched the markets and pet shops for wild animals in trade. The European goldfinch and serin are included on the list of protected species, prohibiting all trade.
The three species of finch were the most commonly observed birds in markets and pet shops. European goldfinches were offered for sale in 25 of the 27 cities we visited, serins in 13 and common linnets in 11. We observed 3,197 European goldfinches, 295 serins and 162 linnets. In the online trade we found at least 5,480 goldfinches for sale in 394 advertisements. Serins and linnets were not traded online in significant numbers, with only two and one individuals observed, respectively. Despite the illegal nature of these sales, they are conducted openly, and no attempt was made to conceal the birds. Prices for a European goldfinch were USD 18–209, for a serin USD 2–15 and for a common linnet USD 4–13. A small number of birds were reported to be captive bred (5% in online sales), but the vast majority were said to have been taken from the wild. Vendors in every city in which there was significant trade of goldfinches reported that the majority of birds were sourced in Morocco and smuggled across the border.
Pet shops tended to have a small number of birds, averaging five goldfinches per shop. More were sold at the weekly markets (on average 160 goldfinches) that take place on a Friday or Saturday. Large-scale vendors, who store birds in a warehouse and bring them in boxes to the weekly markets, stated that they tend to bring only sufficient birds to sell each week, whereas small-scale vendors return with caged birds on multiple weeks, seeking a good price for a bird of high quality. Based on repeat surveys in a single market in Guelma, we found a minimum of 78% turnover within 2 weeks. Extrapolating from this, there could be over 30,000 goldfinches, 7,000 serins and 4,500 linnets sold per year in the 21 weekly markets we visited. The birds sold in the hundreds of pet shops around the country, the weekly markets we did not visit, and those sold online would add substantially to this number.
Vendors reported that goldfinches are becoming increasingly difficult to source from the wild but that there is no lessening of demand. Already, the pressure has shifted from the Algerian to Moroccan populations because of the difficulty in securing sufficient numbers of birds. The illegal songbird trade in Algeria is threatening wild populations of European goldfinches across North Africa and potentially threatening other species of finch. We therefore recommend that the Algerian government enforce its wildlife trade laws to ensure the conservation of these, and other, species.
