Tony Silva

Tony Silva (born 1960) is an American ornithologist and aviculturist that has authored several books on parrots, hundreds of articles and was former Curator of Birds at Tenerife's Loro Parque, the largest parrot park in the world. He was instrumental in efforts to save the Spix's Macaw.

In 1992, he was indicted for the impotation of parrots without proper documentation. The legal case that ensued was very controvertible, with the government's witnesses including a paid informant James Mackman and a drug dealer Mario Trabaue serving a 100 year sentence. For testifying against Silva, Mackman received almost $50,000. Trabaue was subsequently released from jail and now lives in Miami. The government itself could not point to a single bird owned by Silva and claim it had been smuggled. Silva contends that his case was contrived to justify continued funding of Fish and Wildlife Sevice. He argued that vital documents were withhed and the Court of Appeals subsequently found agreement, ordering the government to return the documents, though it was already too late for the legal proceedings.

References

Silva et al, 94 CR 760-1, US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, court proceedings, testimony and subsequent appeal

Miami Herald articles on Mario Trabaue

Silva, 1991, A Monograph of Macaws and Conures, pages 77-94 (Spix's Macaw)