據英國衛報報導，WWF食品政策經理威廉姆森（Duncan Williamson）在倫敦的滅絕和畜牧（Extinction and Livestock）研討會上表示：「我們英國人對於吃昆蟲接受度不高，但我們可以用昆蟲餵養牲畜。在可預見的將來，動物飼料需求將會提高，而藻類和昆蟲可在目前的畜牧系統中作為替代品。」
會議組織者之一、世界關懷農業組織（Compassion in World Farming, CIWF）主管林柏瑞（Philip Lymbery）曾呼籲訂定聯合國糧食和農業公約。「我們希望這次會議成為全球對話的起點。科學家們警告，我們正經歷恐龍以來最大規模的滅絕，而目前的生物多樣性喪失，絕大部分是我們生產食物的方式所造成。」
諸如巴厘島Myna和Javan Green Magpie之類的鳥類正在瀕臨滅絕的邊緣，而白色朗姆酒Shama曾經廣泛普遍，但由於在該地區的市場受到高度追捧而下降。
沉默森林運動計劃建立一個由24個精心設計的鳥舍組成的新設施，以及北蘇門答臘省的相關配套基礎設施。這些鳥類將開發和維護蘇門答臘Laughingthrush（Garrulax bicolor）和Nias Hill Myna（Gracula robusta）的養殖人口，並對其他蘇門答臘受威脅的物種進行種植和繁殖。他們將製定發布和發布後珍稀鳥類監測和管理戰略。
現在，歐洲動物園和水族館協會（European Association of Zoos and Aquaria）與TRAFFIC、國際鳥盟（BirdLife International）和世界自然保育聯盟（IUCN）亞洲鳴鳥貿易專家小組合作推展「寂靜森林」（Silent Forest）運動，盼讓大眾瞭解東南亞鳴鳥的破壞性影響，為野外保育專案籌措資金，扭轉鳴鳥數量下降的趨勢，拯救亞洲鳴鳥免於滅絕。
The songbirds of Asia are disappearing from their native forests as increasingly wealthy Asians satisfy their desire to own a brilliantly colored singing bird.
“The Asian songbird crisis has reached a tipping point: without immediate action, it is almost certain their voices will be silenced forever in the forest,” warned Kanitha Krishnasamy, acting Southeast Asia regional director of the wildlife monitoring nonprofit TRAFFIC.
Now, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, together with TRAFFIC, BirdLife International and the IUCN Asian Songbird Trade Specialist Group, are collaborating to save Asian songbird species from extinction.
Entitled Silent Forest, the campaign is expected to raise awareness of the devastating effects of the trade in songbirds across Southeast Asia.
Campaigners hope to raise funds for field conservation projects that can reverse the decline in numbers of some of the world’s most beautiful birds.
Silent Forest will run for two years and is aimed at raising €400,000 from European zoos and their visitors to help save six Critically Endangered flagship species identified by the coalition and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN.
Birds such as the Bali Myna and Javan Green Magpie are teetering on the brink of extinction, while the White-rumped Shama was formerly widespread and common but has declined because it is highly sought after in markets across the region.
The Silent Forest campaign plans to establish a new facility consisting of 24 carefully designed aviaries, and associated supporting infrastructure in North Sumatra Province. These aviaries will develop and maintain a captive population of Sumatran Laughingthrush (Garrulax bicolor) and Nias Hill Myna (Gracula robusta) and house and breed other Sumatran threatened species. They will develop strategies for release and post-release monitoring and management of the rare birds.
The project goal is to support the Indonesia songbird population in the wild against extinction by ensuring their captive-breeding following husbandry guidelines, building awareness in local government and communities about the existing and growing threats and about the importance of conservation action, and by gaining support from other stakeholders to contribute to the conservation program.
Thomas Ouhel of Liberec Zoo, who is chairing the Silent Forest Campaign, pointed to the difference that funds raised by European zoos could make. “If we can persuade traders to work with conservationists and breeders rather than pillaging the forests, there’s a real chance to save these birds by changing attitudes towards the ownership of songbirds.”
Leading biologists from the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria and elsewhere will work on scientific measures to increase protection for these avian species.
Last year’s IUCN Red List update, issued in December, delivers a chilling warning about the plight faced by some of the world’s most popular cagebirds, with many much-loved species now being trapped and traded into near-extinction in the wild.
In Asia, 19 species were uplisted to a higher threat category, including six to Critically Endangered, the last stop before extinction.
These species are Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush (Garrulax rufifrons), Javan Pied Starling (Gracupica jalla), Black-winged Myna (Acridotheres melanopterus), Grey-backed Myna (Acridotheres tricolor), Grey-rumped Myna (Acridotheres tertius) and Nias Hill Myna (Gracula robusta). All these species are in danger of disappearing within our lifetimes, warns BirdLife International.
All these species are endemic to Indonesia, and while deforestation is a factor, the main driver of their decline is the local bird trade. This is largely centered around Java, Sumatra and Borneo, where keeping songbirds is an integral part of local culture.
