1) Take images. If the shopowner objects, act ignorant and say at first you think they are pretty/cute and keep on until you have enough images, making sure to get images that include enough to prove the location of the place, and concentrating on species of special conservation concern. Get images of the outside of the shop too, if you can.

2) Get in contact the same day with the local branch of the Wild Bird Society (address: Wild Bird Society of Japan, 1/F Odakyu Nishi Shinjuku Building, 1-47-1 Hatsudai Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-061, Japan; Email: hogo@wbsj.org ; Web: WBSJ) and pass on full details of the shop and the species concerned.

3) If your language skills are up to it, also go to the local police station and inform them of the birds; of the fact that you will be contacting others about them; and make clear to them that you have photographic evidence. If your language skills are up to it and you have the time, encourage a police officer to go with you to the shop.

4) If it seems appropriate, ask the police and the WBSJ to mail you to keep you informed of progress in releasing the birds and prosecuting the shop owner.

5) If 2, 3 or 4 above are not feasible for whatever reason, and you have some language skill, tell the shopkeeper as you leave that these are illegally-held species and that you will be informing the authorities - and that you have images as evidence. Then send images and information (address and location) to the WBSJ at your earliest convenience. They can then decide if they have the resources to involve the police.

Generally thepolice are helpful, but they usually lack the identification skills and often appreciate confirmation of identification and the law relating to wild birds by local organisations specialising in conservation (more than by a visiting foreign birdwatcher).

Additionally, when local people hold wild birds in cages, and after taking images, ask the so-called owner of the birds whether they would prefer to release the birds immediately or whether they would prefer you to get the police to do so. This often works as a good incentive for them to release them.

The same goes for illegally erected nets. Anyone catching wild birds knows it is illegal. If you find what appear to be illegal nets, refrain from removing or destroying them, but take photographic evidence to the police. If you find evidence of nets or illegally caught birds, approach the police with the evidence and get the local bird society chapter involved where at all possible. Don't attempt to dismantle and destroy them yourself.

This trade in wildlife is second only to drug trafficking and involves much the same kind of people - best not to mix with them personally. Definitely take pictures to the police and urge them to act, or to the newspapers, but be careful about getting involved or being seen to be involved personally. Birdlife is precious - so is yours! Although the actions of bird trappers and the trade in the birds is likely illegal, people engaged regularly in illegal activities have a very different slant on life from the rest of us; they may not even consider life very valuable. Push the responsible authorities to take the necessary action; if they won't, take the pictures to a local newspaper and urge them to run a story - better still, write it yourself. Newspapers provide an excellent means of splashing a topic in the faces of the public; try local radio stations too.

There is one further dimension that might not seem relevant now (esp. to birders in Japan and Taiwan where there is no bird flu), but which might become increasingly so in the future. Caged birds in some regions (Hong Kong, Viet Nam, southern China) have shown a high prevalence of HPAI H5N1 infection, as conditions of caged birds and caged bird markets encourage disease development/spread. This should act as a deterrent to so-called owners of such wild birds, but it also adds an extra dimension, in that the release of birds, themselves imported or mixing with imported birds, has the potential to threaten infection of local disease-free wild birds. It is therefore appropriate to recommend testing and to hold threatened species in quarantine before returning them to the wild.

The size and money involved in illegal trade in wild species is now considered to be second only to that of the illegal drug trade. The link between wild species trade and the spread of disease (e.g. SARS, H5N1) has encouraged authorities in many countries to view such illegal trade with increasing seriousness - and to act. They need birder's support to find and report cases of illegal trade.

This advice is a composite of opinions from

Nial Moores, Birds Korea

Mark Brazil