Bird breeders seek bulbul delisting to boost economy

Thailand’s association of red-whiskered bulbul breeders is urging the government to delist the bird from its table of protected species, claiming the breeding market once created a billion baht in revenue for the economy.

The association’s president, Suratep Boonyavatvanit, said there were over a million breeders and 2 million red-whiskered bulbuls in the market five years ago. But since the bird was listed as a protected species, requiring special authorisation to breed them for commercial purposes, those numbers dwindled, he said.

Mr Suratep said 50% of those…