Conclusions
To enforce the highest penalties for illegal wildlife trafficking, accurate identification of CITES listed wildlife material is essential. It is apparent that species identity testing from eggs using mtDNA is a valuable tool and it is clear from the data presented here that caution needs to be exercised when making species identifications based solely on one mitochondrial locus. A focus on establishing DNA reference databases for the most commonly traded wildlife species will assist in forensic casework. The ability for DNA (mtDNA, SNP's and microsatellites) to assist in species identification and population assignment (as is currently practiced in monitoring the ivory trade) will not only help to prosecute wildlife traffickers, but may also help in the conservation of threatened and endangered species. We advocate that there is an urgent need to establish validated international databases for avian species of the parrot and cockatoo families, which are becoming increasingly threatened by illegal removal from the wild and by habitat destruction.