The Cook Report - Pity Polly/Exotic Bird Smuggling S06E01 (1992)

A whistleblower working for the RSPB prompted this programme about the cruel and hugely profitable wild bird trade. He had previously worked for a large and now defunct company called Safari Select, the owner of which had 13 convictions for cruelty and forging import documents. It is legal to sell captive bred birds, but that’s not what Safari Select did. They sold wild caught birds which is definitely illegal, but claimed they’d been bred in captivity.
Exotic birds bought for pence from native hunters in developing countries were sold on in the UK for thousands of pounds each, a quarter of a million of them every year. Sadly, some 80 percent of them died in transit - further accelerating the demand and putting some species at risk of extinction. The Cook team followed the wild bird trade around the world - to Indonesia, Singapore and Zimbabwe, exposing the trade for exactly what it was. Safari Select closed down. Partly as a result of the programme, the trade in all wild-caught birds - not just endangered ones - was banned throughout the EU in 2007.

[@kanepillers8981]

Humans can be so bloody selfish. Let these beautiful birds fly free. Thanks to the uploader for these fantastic episodes.

[@quikie1984]

Love the uploads, thanks alot ! 1 request, please move your logo to the corner 😁

[@rogercookreports]

There's a reason for that, not an aesthetic choice.

[@SophieCrane-o7v]

Even though this is quite A Hard episode to watch for some, I Found the Moment of Roger's Cockatoo trying to escape from it's Box somewhat Hilarious!🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@michaelcheevers68]

This trade makes me sick 😫

[@mistofoles]

I like this show, and I know it happened, but I really don't want to see the birds being hurt/in distress.

[@lastp6905]

Like how he’s driving a Nissan Bluebird…

[@jamesmitchell8922]

The parrot is like us humans.

[@lynussss]

Gettin our wings clipped and captive in our homes i agree

[@nickfleming3495]

Can't see subtitles

[@repentbeforeitstoolate..8239]

There on mine.

[@lynussss]

Shoulda called the episode stuffin the turkey

[@andrewattenboroughtwothumb4697]

I remember reading about exotic birds and animals from South America illegally trading them and now some are extinct in the wild

[@d121n9]

Do you have the France to UK Alcohol bootlegging one?

[@rogercookreports]

Not at this time and can't remember that episode myself.

[@richardlock5839]

Humans are sometimes not very nice

[@mkl0707]

Is there one on Nottingham

[@rogercookreports]

The Ava vs Ativan is set there.

[@mkl0707]

@@rogercookreports i can remember a Nottingham 1 where they met in a hotel to arrange a hitman

[@rogercookreports]

@@mkl0707 The show moved studios to Nottingham in 1995 I think. So a lot of the content would have been from there I imagine. I do have the hitman episode, so look out for it.

[@rogercookreports]

Roger Cook has an excellent autobiography with a lot of detail on the shows, so worth a look if you are interested.

[@mkl0707]

@@rogercookreports thank you so much for these...what a great reporter he was...we need more of people like him around

[@fredflintstoner596]

NORWEGIAN BLUES SLEEP ALOT !

[@Craig-xr1bw]

Tidy Land Rover that

[@richardgray131185]

This made me so angry I get to skip to the end at around 0:30 seconds in!

[@drips1030]

Sick 🤬

[@daleybwalsall]

Upload the satanism episode.

[@rogercookreports]

No

[@daleybwalsall]

@@rogercookreports why not ?

[@viper174471]

Its been uploaded on KZbin,by anther channel!

[@daleybwalsall]

@@viper174471 I know its not the point. I thought this was a proper channel uploading everything obviously not.

[@rogercookreports]

@@daleybwalsall 1. I don't have the episode in its entirety and 2. The subject matter attracts some, how should I say it, negative attention. Not really keen for the channel to attract comments on SRA.

[@georgemoore8364]

I'd like to talk to you about your bird dealing activities.. ..