Two Saudi Arabian princes have been caught
illegally transporting 49 rare falcons through Russia.
Rosprirodnadzor, Russia's nature
watchdog, said the falcons had been brought into the country in early November
for a bird show without the necessary paperwork under CITES, the international
treaty restricting trade in endangered wildlife.
Customs officials have been ordered to intercept
any attempt by the two men to take the birds out of the country.
One of the two princes travelling with the
falcons is reportedly Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabeer, the
undersecretary for multilateral relations of Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry.
Falcons are prized status symbols in Saudi
Arabia where they are used for hunting. Natalya Dronova of World Wildlife Fund
Russia said the 49 rare birds include 33 Saker falcons, four Peregrines, and
one Gyrfalcon. They were flown into Astrakhan in Russia for an avian show in
the neighbouring Kalmykia region which borders the Caspian, but arrived without
the necessary CITES documents from their country of origin.
Rosprirodnadzor refused permission for the birds
to be returned to Saudi Arabia on November 28. A source at Russia's Foreign
Ministry told reporters it had sent a diplomatic note to Saudi Arabia's embassy
in Moscow after hearing on Wednesday of a planned attempt to take the 49 birds
abroad.
A spokesman for Russia's customs service said
the princes had not been fined and were attempting to obtain the correct
paperwork to take their charges home.
The WWF said nine of the falcons had proved to
be of Russian origin, suggesting they were smuggled at some point.
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