Agents squawk about parrot smuggling
Federal customs agents seized 10 exotic birds that a driver allegedly tried to smuggle into the U.S. last week by hiding them in containers covered by heaps of clothing.
The driver, identified only as a 60-year-old man, kept a pair each of Amazon parrots, parakeets, finches, Monk parakeets and chickens in cages and cardboard boxes inside a sport utility vehicle, authorities said. He was caught as he was passing through the Mariposa Port of Entry on July 2, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection fined the man $300 for an agriculture violation. U.S. Fish & Wildlife fined the man $1,025 because he attempted to smuggle protected or endangered species.
Not only does smuggling endanger the birds, but it also poses a major threat to human health, said Brian D. Levin, Tucson public affairs liaison from Customs and Border Protection.
Exotic Newcastle disease and avian flu are the top health concerns when birds are illegally transported, Levin said.
“Birds are smuggled more than anything else,” Levin said.
Officials have also found Gila monsters and turtles.
Only specific ports and officials are permitted to handle incoming birds, and the Nogales port is not one of them, Levin said.
Since Oct. 1, 2006, the beginning of the fiscal year, Customs and Border Protection officials have found 58 birds being smuggled through the Nogales port.