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tv   Our World  BBC News  July 14, 2018 9:30pm-10:01pm BST

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the headlines there has been a second day of protest against president trump's visit to britain where the us leader is one of the gulf resorts he owns in scotland. large crowds have been marching through the streets of edinburgh. 12 boys rescued from a flooded cave come 12 boys rescued from a flooded cave co m e flex 12 boys rescued from a flooded cave come flex are expected to be released from hospital next thursday. thailand's health minister said they were in good spirits and their health had improved. there have been celebrations on the streets of the ethopian capital as a visit by the eritrean president cemented. angelique kerber has won the women's final at wimbledon, beating serena williams 6—3, 6—3. at 10.00 at10.00 we at 10.00 we will have a full
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round—up of the day's news. but first, our world examined the songbird trade in indonesia. birdsong. the lush tropical forests of java. as civilisation encroaches, only pockets remain. and they are falling silent. songbirds are disappearing from the wild. trapped from the forest, sold as singing pets and status symbols. i am victoria gill and i am injakarta to investigate the insatiable demand for songbirds that's now driving an extinction crisis. people will always want to buy songbirds. we really are firefighting, we are saving the last of the last.
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this bird may be the only one of its kind left on the planet. this bird in here could be the last of this kind of bird? yep. birdsong. java, the largest and most crowded island in indonesia. home to more than 140 million people. cities, towns and villages seem to squeeze into every available space. there is very little pristine forest left here, but just a few square kilometrescan be home to hundreds of animals and birds. some are found only on this island.
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and some are critically endangered. but it is many of java's songbirds that have now slipped under the conservation radar to the very brink of extinction. a recent global conservation review revealed that 19 species are now trapped in such high numbers that they are in danger of dying out. human activity is driving species towards extinction around the world. but here, where bustling megacities reach into tropical rainforest, it's a microcosm of that global crisis. so how has the trade in trapped songbirds reached such a tipping point? and can anything be done to save them?
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uwas is our guide on the steep slopes of mt malabar. he knows this forest inside out — it is where he made his living hunting and trapping. this isjust showing me how you make a bird trap out ofjust sticks from the trees around us and a piece of string. what was the trapping for, where would those birds go? uwas is no longer in the bird trapping business. he has been able to convert his knowledge of this forest into conservation work. but many people still
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take birds from here. networks of trappers operate across this country, clearing the forests of birds. we're surrounded by trees. it looks like very good bird habitat, but actually there is very little birdsong. it is strangely quiet here. but there's one place you are guaranteed to find thousands of songbirds. loud birdsong and commotion. this is pramuka market. it is the largest wildlife market in asia, possibly in the world. and it is crammed to the gills with caged birds. there can be more than 16,000 birds for sale here in a single day, more than 200 different species. there are three markets like this just in jakarta,
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so that gives you some idea of the scale of this market and this trade. loud birdsong and commotion. just the auditory assault on the senses is incredible. it is a very noisy place, and it is quite unpleasant, the smell is really quite acrid and overwhelming. for all it might seem to me like a strange, packed place with a strong smell, this is a centre of commerce and community here injakarta. in a growing economy, more and more people are spending their disposable income on the status symbol that is a valuable feathered pet. what are the ranges of prices? that is between about 20 and several thousand us dollars for a songbird.
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while some birds fetched very high prices, many cost less than a dollar. they are more expensive to feed than they are to buy. people take dozens at a time, they are treated like disposable objects. this one here, this is a sunda bulbul, it lives up in the mountains of sumatra. andrew owen has been working in bird conservation for more than three decades. he and his colleagues from zoos and wildlife conservation organisations around the world visit the market as often as they can to study it. they are looking for protected birds being sold illegally, but the market can also
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show them which species are most at risk, what is most popular, or an increase in price that might suggest a bird is becoming more rare. that bird there is a straw—headed bulbul, which is one of the birds of extreme concern for us, and it has been wiped out across almost all of its range, it is extinct injava, it has been listed as endangered and the next step may be it has to go to critically endangered. researchers monitoring the trade found that most birds here are caught from the wild, and protected species are sold in markets. so why do so many people here want to own songbirds? driving around, you certainly see evidence of the demand. birdcages hang outside shops and houses. but this goes well beyond the desire for a companion in a cage.
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how many do you have in your house? you lose count? maybe five here. five birds. we have come to visit heri pranoto, a leader of a bird breeding association called the pbi. he also organises events where competitors pit their singing birds against each other. birdsong. what is the prize money? the prize is 5 million, until maybe 1 billion. 1 billion rupiah? us$100,000 for the main prize. yes. wow. this is for the champion of champions. one of your birds is five times national champion? national champion. valuable bird! (laughs). while the big money is saved for the national
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championships, you can find smaller events across the country, every single weekend. we have heard a lot about bird singing competitions, and the absolute obsession in this country, and we have managed to arrange to go to one at bekasi, which is about two hours from here, which i think in this traffic means it's about three miles away, so we'll see if we ever make it. birdsong. chanting. the bird breeders association club have given me a t—shirt, and it is the official club dress, so i have to wear it during the competition. i am a guestjudge today, which should be interesting. birdsong. apparently the judges have to make
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a decision based on the bird's tone, volume and performance. we'll see how that goes in the cacophony of birdsong that is about to commence. for a first—timer like me, this is a strange thing to witness, let alone tojudge. when caged male birds look around and see one another, they instinctively compete, singing to claim their territory. the judges signal their choice of winner with a flag. this is serious business. tony sumampau is an influential friend of the bird breeders association. a wealthy zoo owner who is well—known in bird breeding circles. he wants to help transform the bird trade. and a bird?
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right. so to be a true man, you need a house, a wife, horses, a weapon, and a bird. then you are a realjavanese. then you are a real javanese man, 0k. congratulations! all the birds in this competition are bred in captivity. this association has banned wild caught birds from its events. there is a small breeding centre at this venue. five times a day? yes, five times a day. since i am a guestjudge, tony arranges for me to have a tour. apparently i can feed one of the baby lovebirds. is that tasty? all the birds here are all captive bred ? yeah.
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that is what you encourage? right, right. because if you breed them in captivity for competition, then you can save the birds in the wild? a good parent! there is no doubt that everyone here loves songbirds. the prizewinners are in impeccable condition and undoubtedly give an impressive performance. thank you, thank you. but does this love of birds, the desire so many people have to own one, mean that the future for the rarest, most beautiful singers is inside a cage? the critically endangered javan green magpie.
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perfectly camouflaged against tropical vegetation. but these birds have spent their lives in captivity. up in the rural hills of west java is the cikananga conservation breeding centre. while the mountain forests used to be home to thousands of these birds, almost all of the tiny remaining population is now housed here. for andrew owen, this place is the focal point of his work on the songbird crisis. this one is a young javan green magpie that is bred here. this is one of the rarest birds on the planet? how many are left in the wild? there are 60 in the breeding programme, so 60 on the planet, that we know of, and maybe a handful in the wild. that makes this centre
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the unlikely international hub for a conservation mission. we have three magpies to examine. one needs chipping, all three of them sexing. this team, made up of senior zoologists, is from chester zoo in the uk. this one is 8970... ajuvenile bird has been caught for a vital health check. he could be 1/60th of the entire world population. so the chester vets educate the keepers in carrying out thorough assessments. these can be surprisingly risky. that's a privilege, to be bitten by a critically endangered species. i'm not going anywhere
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near it with my fingers. every bird has a tiny identification microchip implanted under its skin. blood samples will also reveal which males and females are most genetically compatible. every future chick is precious. biological matchmaking is vital. for some, though, there might not even be the chance of breeding in captivity. what's in here? in here we have a laughing thrush which is only found on the island of java. and this particular bird is a subspecies that is only found on one mountain. this bird may be the only one of its kind left on the planet. this bird in here could be the last of its kind in the world? yeah. we know of no others. of this species, the subspecies. is it already too late for this bird, then? we hope not.
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we have plans to carry out surveys on the mountain to see if we can find more, and if we can, it will be an enormous relief. we really don't know at this stage. this may be the last bird. so what is this bird called? this bird is called azah, which in indonesian means "the lonely one." with its bars, locks and fences, the centre almost looks like a prison. but security for all of the critically endangered species here is a priority. all the birds here are incredibly valuable. so we have had an experience of the birds being stolen here in the past, during ramadan in 2014. 150, 140 birds were stolen. theyjust came in, took all the birds in one night. they took a lot of them, which has really impacted our breeding programme, because a lot of the best couples were in these blocks that were targeted. that must have an heartbreaking
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for the staff here, to lose so many birds. yes, they remember it as this awful time, coming in work finding the cages ripped open. if they got stolen again, that's probably it. it's difficult to comprehend that a break—in at this one remote centre could mean the extinction of a species. these birds, the rarest of the rare, will remain here under lock and key. but is there anywhere left injava where they can fly freely and safely? a stone's throw from the chaos of the city is the taman safari park. this is a jungle fairground, an eclectic home to creatures from all over the world. with its roots in the circus, it boasts animal shows and close encounters which have brought criticism from animal rights campaigners.
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but there is a particular focus here on rural birds, and that's driven by its owner. amazing. this is the surroundings of our park. 100 hectares of land. so this is your land? yes. after bringing me into the world of the singing competitions, tony shows me around his park. he is using profits from the attractions to fund an emergency response to his country's songbird conservation crisis. instead of battling the bird trade, tony is taking a market friendly approach. he is working with bird owners and persuading them to lend their rare birds to special breeding programmes.
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the aim is to use these pets to breed more songbirds to meet the high demand. flooding the market with the captive bred birds, actually encouraging their trade, might seem unorthodox. but he says it's working. and he's now going one step further. hidden away from selfie snapping visitors is a very special bird breeding programme. this is the aviary? how many in here? 11. black winged mynahs, another indonesian songbird
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teetering on the brink of extension. just 50 are estimated to remain in the wild. these birds were born and bred here. now they are being set free. oh, wow. so far, 15 birds have been released into what is a uniquely safe forest haven. we're still within the taman safari park, not far from where the black winged mynahs have been released from the aviary. one of them has actually made a nest, and apparently there are some chicks in there. so it is making a small comeback here at taman. it's a snapshot of success, of what these forests should look and sound like. but if wild songbirds are going to return to more than just small patches of private land, the widescale trapping
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has to stop. so is that realistic, and can it happen in time? in this villagejust minutes from cika nanga, there are signs that a real shift is under way. this is the elementary school marching band. they are practising for a big parade. this celebration of indonesia's independence, learning about multicultural history, is part of school life. but today the children are having a lesson that is brand—new to the curriculum. lessons about the environment for these children, learning about the wildlife that is, or should be, on their doorstep,
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is notjust a novelty. conservationists say it's vital. this is absolutely a crisis. but something we have seen while we have been here is a passion for songbirds — in some cases, an obsession with songbirds. and if that can be channelled, especially with the next generation, into admiring them and protecting them in the wild, then maybe some of these very threatened birds do have a future here. if we do nothing these species are all going to go extinct within the next decade, no doubt about that. we are doing everything we possibly can to ensure that these birds are back in the wild,
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with safe and sustainable populations, for future generations. well, the summer of 2018 will certainly go down in history as being a particularly hot and dry summer across many parts of the country, and some of us in fact have seen barely any rain over the past six weeks or so. this is the picture from one of our weather watchers near wrexham, where you can see certainly the grass is looking very parched there. now things are about to change somewhat. all courtesy of an ex—hurricane. you can see it here in the western atlantic, tropical storm chris. it has been weakening and it has been heading northwards close to nova scotia and newfoundland and up towards iceland too. now this ex—hurricane is going to be influencing our weather through the course of this weekend, and into next week as well, because it is going to be drawing in ahead of it the south—westerly
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winds, so just a fairly weak cold front, just trailing behind that ex—tropical storm. but ahead of it there is that warm air spilling towards the uk. further north—west, not too far away you can see the blue colours. this is cooler air that will sweep across the country as we head through the course of next week. but through the day on sunday, another dry, hot day for england and wales, eastern scotland, keeping the sunny spells. towards the north—west we have got more cloud on that trailing cold front, producing a few splashes of rain for northern ireland, western scotland, with the isle of man too. so temperatures here cooler than recent days, 20 degrees or so, but towards the south—east, 29, possibly 30 celsius on sunday. now by the time we get to monday we still have that warm tropical humid air in place across southern and eastern parts of england, but the cold front is working its way a bit further east, and it will bring with it some fairly heavy showers across parts of northern england and wales,
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down to the south—west. could be the odd rumble of thunder on these sharp showers. for some places this could be the first significant rainfall we've seen in quite a few week, as that cold front works eastwards it will turn fresher too. now through the day on tuesday, the warm air that has been in place starts to drift further eastwards across scandinavia, so we have had a blocking pattern across the uk that has been stopping weather fronts moving in across us, but it looks like this blocking pattern will move further eastwards, so the jet stream pushing to the north across scandinavia, a trough in thatjet stream heading towards the uk, which will start to drive some more unsettled weather our way on into the middle of the week. so tuesday, a westerly airflow, again things are looking mostly dry but there is a few showers to be seen i think tuesday afternoon, bubbling up with the daytime heating. now temperatures not as hot as they have been over the weekend. around about 16 to perhaps 25 degrees or so. a very similar day into wednesday, so no great change, again we have the air coming in from the west, bringing with it one or two showers,
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variable amount of cloud but there will be warm sunshine breaking through, not as hot, not as humid as it has been, with those temperatures typically in the low to mid 20s. a bit cooler across the north of scotland. and then, things start to subtly change towards the end of the week. there will be more cloud working in from the west and thursday looks at this stage to be a mostly dry day but during the afternoon, with the daytime heating again we will start to see some scatter showers building, and those temperatures pretty average really for this time of year, between 18 to 25 celsius, for most of us on thursday. looking ahead for friday and into next weekend, there is going to be a higher chance of chance, so things turning more unsettled more widely, with that heavy rain comes the chance of seeing localised flooding and the temperatures certainly won't be quite as hot as they have been recently. that's it for now. bye.
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