Illustrative image (Photo: https://thai.news/) Bangkok (VNA) - The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) under the Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is speeding up the registration of people breeding the red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus), a protected bird popular, with unrfegistered breeders.
Athapol Charoenshunsa, acting director-general of DNP said the red-whiskered bulbul is listed as protected wildlife species No 550 under the 2003 ministerial regulation specifying which species are protected from poaching and which can be kept without a permit.
Even though the bird is considered a protected species, many are being kept illegally by unregistered breeders, he added.
Statistics from a club of red-whiskered bulbul breeders in Thailand show that only 11,466 people have registered to date due to the strict and lengthy process of applying for a permit.
The actual number of breeders is far higher than the records show, he said.
So, the DNP has agreed to make the process less complicated and more convenient, both for breeders and pet lovers, Athapol said, stressing that the decision would help protect the red-whiskered bulbul in the wild from hunters.
The bird is about 20 centimetres in length. It has brown upper-parts and whitish underparts with buff flanks and a dark spur running onto the breast at shoulder level. It has a tall pointed black crest and a red face patch. The tail is long and brown with white terminal feather tips./.
