Safeguarding Skies: China’s major cities unite to stop illegal bird trade
In a significant move to protect both native songbirds and international species like the African Grey Parrot, a series of high-level industry summits across China’s major hubs are driving a nationwide shift toward legal and sustainable trade in birds.
Throughout the latter half of 2025, TRAFFIC joined forces with government agencies, enforcement bodies, and the private sector in Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi’an.
A series of action-oriented workshops are helping to move bird protection from high-level policy to real-world change on the ground.
A Unified Front for Bird Conservation
The workshops were organised as a direct response to China’s nationwide three-year action plan to protect birds and dismantle illegal hunting and trafficking networks.
By bringing together market regulators, pet industry leaders, and courier companies, the events moved beyond traditional policing to address the root of the issue: industry awareness and consumer demand.
In Shanghai, the collaboration moved from the meeting room to the shop floor. In a landmark moment for industry accountability, market managers and vendors, under the direct guidance of city authorities, signed formal pledges to operate strictly within the law and refuse to sell any protected bird species.
"These meetings provide a vital platform to turn national policy into clear, actionable steps at the local level," said Ling XU, Director of TRAFFIC’s China Office.
“E
ngaging directly with the industry and guiding consumers towards legal choices are critical steps to reduce demand and keep birds in the wild."
Ling XU, Director of TRAFFIC’s China Office
The momentum peaked in Xi’an last December. Following the success of the Beijing and Shanghai sessions, the workshop took place just after Shaanxi province enacted its first dedicated local regulation on wild bird protection.
It featured specialised sessions with forestry experts, market supervisors, and customs officials, helping businesses and couriers identify birds that cannot be legally traded and strengthening links between police, customs, and market regulators to ensure traffickers have nowhere to hide.
The coordinated effort across these three major cities shows a maturing model for wildlife protection in China. By combining strict new rules with proactive industry training, the initiative is building a solid wall against wildlife crime and cultivating an industry culture where the trade of protected birds is no longer accepted or profitable.
As these workshops foster greater transparency and stricter adherence to international and national laws, the goal remains clear: a measurable shift in consumption that ensures birds remain in their natural habitats, rather than in illegal cages.
Notes:
The series of events were funded by the UK Government through the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund through the project IWT108 Demand Reduction and Behaviour Change along China’s Parrot Supply Chains.
About The Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund
Funded by the UK Government through Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.
The Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund is a UK government grants scheme that provides support to projects around the world that are tackling the illegal wildlife trade. IWT Challenge Fund
