The fate of the goldfinch in the Maghreb is in Morocco’s hands. This mythical bird’s distribution range dropped by 56% in North Africa between 1990 and 2016, leading to its virtual extinction in Tunisia and Algeria. Today it is mainly found in Morocco.
Industrial poaching to meet the local demand for domestication is a major factor in the bird’s decline. Urbanisation, pesticides and climate change are others. Efforts to curb goldfinch poaching have been made, but fall short – the bird continues to be highly endangered.
Prized for its colourful plumage and song since ancient times, its outstanding vocal abilities attracted Renaissance artists and Arab caliphs alike. The goldfinch imitates and improves the song of other birds. In Arabic it’s called ‘al-hasûn’, referring to the verb ‘hasan’a’ – to improve.
In the mid-20th century the bird became more popular and is now a strong socio-economic symbol. On-site investigations last May revealed that it is mainly owned by craftsmen who ‘spend their day imprisoned in their routine. In their tough life, their only companion is the goldfinch’, Rachid Belcaid from the amateur association ‘Bec Doré’ in El Jadida, Morocco, told ENACT. In Morocco there are currently more than 70 associations of goldfinch amateurs spread out across three federations, gathering tens of thousands of amateurs.
Today some of these are considered professional trainers, competing their birds at the national and international level with defined criteria and prizes. According to Belcaid, the best goldfinch is the one that ‘silences the others’ – its song being judged on for example continuity, beauty and its ability to imitate that of other noble birds such as the titmouse and lark.
Ornithologist Professor Sidi Imad Cherkaoui, chair of the Ornithological Pan-African Congress, says the species is ‘in clear decline and we see less and less goldfinches in the wild. In some areas, intensive poaching has completely decimated it’. Although no official data exists, he estimates the number of goldfinches in the Gharb-Chrada-Beni Hassen or Oriental region to have dropped by 50% to 100%.
The capture and domestication of the goldfinch is a common cultural practice, but some poachers make a living from it. Poachers met in the field were mostly middle-aged males, unemployed and poorly qualified. However they are ‘aware that the goldfinch is a protected species and that law does not allow [people] to capture it’, says a poacher in Rabat.
Capture methods have moved away from individual traps to nets attached to pieces of wood near water points, to meet transnational demand. ‘This enables [poachers] to catch up to 10 birds at the same time,’ he says. Other birds such as the greenfinch and serin are also trapped in the nets.
Goldfinches vary in value. Juvenile males living near water spots (‘wadis’) can fetch €8.5 at local city markets and €4.5 from wholesalers. Females or those living in the forest (‘khalwi’) fetch half that. Their ‘song is less noble’, he says. But ‘male or female, we sell everything [in] the end’. At the borders, a goldfinch captured in Morocco may be sold for up to €45 on the Algerian side.
The largest and most organised networks of goldfinch wholesalers are based in Kenitra (70 km north of the capital Rabat). With connections throughout the country and in Algeria, these networks have developed a system of identifying goldfinch nests with the help of young local shepherds for €25-€35.
The networks also provide poachers with motorbikes so they can travel longer distances to find the birds, as they’ve become harder to find. Once bought, the goldfinches are stocked and put in boxes before being sent to Taza, Oujda and Guercif towards the borders.
‘The big fishes of this traffic are not visible. Everything is managed by phone. Some are in charge of buying and collecting the goldfinches while others are in charge of organising supplies to Algeria. This is now a well-established practice, organised and hierarchical,’ an employee from the High Commission of Water and Forest and the Fight against Desertification told ENACT.
Since 2006 the bird has been on Morocco’s annual list of prohibited hunting species. In 2011, the authorities included it in Annex IV of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. In the same year, Law No 29-05 on the protection of flora and fauna species and the control of their trade mentioning the goldfinch was adopted.
A joint regional committee involving wildlife and law enforcement authorities and wildlife monitoring and control units have been created in the past two years.
As a result, the number of seizures of goldfinches trafficked has increased. In 2017, 2 032 were seized, 5 151 in 2018 and 5 750 in the first six months of 2019 alone. But despite it being illegal, the authorities continue to tolerate the local practice of goldfinch competitions. A draft white book organising and regulating this activity with goldfinch amateurs has been developed but has received criticism and hasn’t yet been adopted.
These efforts are commendable but fall short of solving the issue. The first step would be to conduct a comprehensive scientific study on the goldfinch population in partnership with academics and wildlife authorities. This would be to determine the actual number of the species in the wild, its local distribution and all the elements pertaining to what scientists call the ‘dynamic of the population’.
This would enable the inclusion of the goldfinch on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. The union could carry out regional consultations with goldfinch amateur federations to relaunch discussions around regulating the cultural practice of goldfinch domestication. These federations could then be part of a centralised alert system on trafficking.
A prospective study on captive breeding could be undertaken in order to feed the demand. The release procedure of goldfinches seized could also be enhanced to guarantee a better rate of survival in the wild.
Last, a regional initiative between Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia could strengthen cooperation between wildlife and law enforcement authorities on the trafficking of protected species. A common strategy could be adopted. With these efforts, this emblematic songbird could survive.
Jihane Ben Yahia, ENACT Regional Organised Crime Observatory Coordinator – North Africa and Oussama Abaouss, Consultant in environmental communication
