In southern Ecuador it was reported in 2000 that capture of chicks of ssp. "guayaquilensis" for national commerce continued to be a problem, at times by attempting to fell trees to get at the nest. An indication of this is the reported ownership of at least 20 pet birds of this species in Guayaquil alone in 1997. Local residents of the area around Cerro Blanco Forest report the macaws are pests on maize cultivation. They are known to have been killed as an agricultural pest in Esmeraldas Province, at least in the 1990s. They have also been killed for food.