Socioeconomic Characteristics of Songbird Shop Owners in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

The songbird trade in Indonesia is a major driver of avian species loss. Songbird traders represent the link between trappers and consumers for this lucrative industry, though details on the dynamics of this relationship remain understudied. To understand why songbird shop owners entered the trade, if businesses were lucrative, and assess owner receptiveness to adopting alternative businesses, we investigated socioeconomic characteristics of 95 songbird shop owners via an interview-style survey across 13 regencies in West Kalimantan. Responses from shop owners showed a widespread lack of legal permitting for businesses and the sale of bird species. Indeed, the majority of respondents (63%) did not have the mandatory business permits, which suggests that nonwildlife regulatory laws could be leveraged to reduce the volume of the illegal songbird trade in West Kalimantan. Nearly half of all respondents (40%) noted that bird trading was not their sole income source, nor was it particularly lucrative. More than half (55%) of all bird traders interviewed expressed interest in switching to alternative businesses if given the resources and opportunity to do so. This study offers novel insights into motives of engaging in songbird trade in West Kalimantan. This study also supports the possibility of addressing the songbird trade via a combination of law enforcement and alternative business programs.