The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Office of Law Enforcement recently emphasized that it is illegal to procure or possess hummingbirds alive or dead in light of a growing interest in chuparosa, a Mexican love charm made from the protected bird’s dried body.
The concern stems from shipments seized by wildlife inspectors several years ago that contained dried hummingbirds packaged for sale, a Jan. 10 FWS press release said. Since then, investigators have apprehended chuparosa importers in New Mexico, Texas and Minnesota.
“If you [love] hummingbirds, help keep them wild. At least 20 species have been identified in the ‘chuparosa’ market: hummingbirds are collected from the wild & their parts used as love charms sold in the U.S. & Mexico,” FWS posted on its Twitter page Jan.10.
While exact figures on the impact of chuparosa on the hummingbird population are unknown, FWS believes the charm’s growing popularity poses “an additional threat to these small birds that already battle the effects of climate change and habitat destruction,” the release said.
Agents have so far recovered over 900 hummingbird specimens during their operations, the release said. The sale and procurement of over a dozen hummingbird species is illegal under the U.S. under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protects numerous migratory birds in North America.
“In addition to the harm suffered by the individual animals, illegal importation of wildlife into the U.S. also risks the spread of zoonotic diseases to endemic wildlife and human populations,” the release said.
Hummingbirds, weighing between 2 to 20 grams each, are the smallest bird species in the world, the release said. The birds are exclusive to the Americas and “make long migratory flights each year, sometimes thousands of miles, to overwinter in the tropics of North and Central America.” Some Latin American communities believe they possess magical powers.
