Lethal Virus Hits Remaining Wild Blue Macaws in Brazil

AFP/APP

Rio De Janeiro: Brazil’s government has confirmed that the only wild specimens of the rare Spix’s macaw — recently reintroduced to their natural habitat — have been diagnosed with an incurable and likely lethal virus, dealing a major setback to the species’ recovery efforts.

The finding threatens the long-running program to return the blue parrot, made famous by the 2011 animated film “Rio,” to the semi-arid region of northeast Brazil, 25 years after it was declared extinct in the wild.

According to Brazil’s conservation agency ICMBio, about 20 Spix’s macaws have been released since a group of birds returned from Germany in 2020, but only 11 survived. All surviving birds have tested positive for circovirus, the pathogen responsible for beak and feather disease in parrots. The virus does not affect humans.

“The disease has no cure and kills the bird in most cases,” ICMBio said.

An additional 21 macaws at a breeding center in Bahia also tested positive. The center is operated by BlueSky, a partner of the German Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP), which holds around 75 percent of the world’s registered Spix’s macaws.

Real-life conservation efforts have been marked by controversy, including disputes over management, concerns about illicit breeding practices, and sales to private collectors. Brazil cut ties with ACTP in 2024 after it sold 26 Spix’s macaws to a private zoo in India without authorization.

Brazil has repeatedly warned at CITES meetings that loopholes enabling the sale of captive-bred macaws are fueling demand and threatening the fragile species. Illegal trade and habitat destruction were major factors behind the bird’s original extinction in the wild.

ICMBio has fined the BlueSky breeding center 1.8 million reais (USD 336,000) for failing to follow biosafety standards. Inspectors reported “extremely dirty” feeders caked with faeces and staff handling birds in flip-flops, shorts, and t-shirts.

The center had earlier resisted attempts to recapture the infected wild macaws, despite a court order issued in October. This week, BlueSky said South American parrots were “more resistant” to circovirus, adding that several birds had recovered and tested negative.

The center said it has strengthened sanitary protocols, isolated healthy birds, and installed barriers to stop contact between wild and captive macaws, claiming: “No birds died, all have excellent flight capacity and are feeding well.”