LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo — Fifty African gray parrots have been released back into the wild in the Democratic Republic of Congo following their rescue from the illegal wildlife trade. Their release, in the central province of Maniema this October, came after a year spent rehabilitating at a sanctuary run by the locally based Lukuru Foundation, which has cared for and released around 400 parrots recovered from traffickers. As enforcement of a new decree published by the DRC’s environment ministry begins, the foundation’s rehabilitation centers are anticipating plenty more work to do. On July 31, 2025, the DRC published a decree prohibiting the capture, possession or commercialization of African gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus). The ban was preceded by a similar measure adopted earlier by authorities in Tshopo province, in the northern DRC, whose capital, Kisangani, serves as the main hub for the parrot trade. But a month later, captured parrots were still present in the Ngungwa and Kimwachi communities in Maniema, according to Corneille Kalume, manager of the NGO Community Action for Environmental Management (Action Communautaire pour la Gestion de l’Environnement) based in Kindu, the provincial capital. “Poachers are still capturing parrots,” Kalume told Mongabay over the phone. “It is good to have a ministerial decree banning poaching, but there needs to be action on the ground to stop people from trapping the birds.” Gray parrots seized in an antitrafficking operation at Lodja, DRC. Image courtesy of Adams Cassinga. Rehabilitation centers for seized parrots The parrot trade is violent…This article was originally published on Mongabay
