With an alarming rise in the international trade of African hornbills, wild populations are plummeting. As key seed dispersers, their demise also threatens the survival of the forests they inhabit. According to recent studies, the United States is a major market for African hornbills, with more than 2,500 individuals or their parts imported into the country between 1999 and 2024. Another 500 were traded online from 2010 to 2024. Although the drivers of the trade are unknown, West and Central Africa are trade hotspots, with Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo being the main source countries. The international trade in African hornbills is currently unregulated, unlike that of their Asian counterparts. But a proposal to control this trade is on the agenda at the upcoming CITES meeting, which conservationists say is the first step to rein in unsustainable trade.