In Sabah, Sarawak and many other places today, the traditional way of harvesting has disappeared. The old ways left the swiftlets the chance to survive, but today's harvest continues uninterrupted all year, and has caused a marked decline in the birds 'numbers.
如今在沙巴、沙勞越和許多地方，傳統的採收法則已毀掉；過去的採收，還為金絲燕留一線生機，但今天採收燕窩，卻整年不停，明顯地使金絲燕的族群減少。