Submitted Electronically via eRulemaking Portal

The Blue-throated Macaw is protected by CITES and a host of other laws. It is doomed in the wild primarily because of habitat destruction and extreme poverty within its range, which results in natives utilizing the available resources in order to make a living. Listing it on the ESA is not going to provide any protection that it does not already have. On the contrary, an ESA listing will undermine efforts to increase the captive population. This species breeds well and its numbers are increasing but an ESA listing will deter many from acquiring the birds because they would not want to bother with needless red tape.