Bird-singing contests in New York fuel illegal smuggling of finches

06/25/2019

The male chestnut-bellied seed finches are judged on how fast, and how long, they sing when held beside each other in cages, stimulating their instinct to establish dominance.
Bird-singing contests in New York fuel illegal smuggling of finches

NEW YORK — Some bet as much as $200. Others wager as little as breakfast or a beer. The real prize — bragging rights and status — goes to the owner of the bird that sings the most vigorously during the competitions that kick off at dawn on Sundays in parks in Brooklyn and Queens.

The male chestnut-bellied seed finches are judged on how fast, and how long, they sing when held beside each other in cages, stimulating their instinct to establish dominance.

But this avian twist on “America’s Got Talent” has also fueled an illegal cottage industry: the smuggling of finches into the United States from South America.

Last week, a 39-year-old Connecticut man was charged in federal court in Brooklyn with smuggling nearly three dozen finches from Guyana into the country through Kennedy Airport. The 34 birds were nestled into plastic hair curlers and placed in carry-on luggage, which was selected for a spot inspection, according to court records.

He’s the fourth man arrested in New York on similar charges since April 2018, in what officials said is indicative of the persistent illegal smuggling of the tiny songbirds that can sell for $3,000 in New York City. The value of a champion finch can increase to as much as $5,000, prosecutors said. The man charged last Monday, Francis Gurahoo, of East Hartford, Connecticut, expected to earn about $100,000 from the sale of the birds, prosecutors said.

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Massive wild bird seizures reflect soaring pressure on Sumatran birds

07/12/2018

The seizure of over 8,000 birds in three incidents over a 10-day period highlights the large-scale extraction of birds from the wilds of Sumatra in order to feed Indonesia's chronic and unsustainable demand for caged birds.

All the birds confiscated by Indonesia's Agricultural Quarantine Agency had originated from Sumatra and were destined for sale in Java, which is home to the largest bird markets in South-East Asia and supports a thriving illegal trade in wild-caught songbirds.

On 27 November, Cilegon quarantine officers working with Indonesian NGO, FLIGHT, seized 2,140 birds found on a truck at Merak port on the north-west tip of Java. 

Just 10 days prior, the same quarantine office confiscated 4,851 birds packed into boxes from a truck in Kota Serang, the westernmost province on Java. The consignment originated in Lampung, a province in the southernmost tip of Sumatra, and was headed for several locations in Java.

In operations from 21-23 November, Bandar Lampung quarantine officers seized a further 1,536 birds, which had been stuffed into dozens of plastic crates in the luggage compartment of a bus at Bakauheni Port in southern Sumatra.

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Paradise Park cockatoos have first chick

A pair of cockatoos smuggled into the UK from Australia as eggs have had their first chick at an animal park in Cornwall.

The red-tailed black cockatoo chick is being hand-reared by staff at Paradise Park, near Hayle, after being hatched in an incubator.

Its egg was taken away to be hatched because its parents had broken other eggs, the park said.

Staff said their latest addition was "very endearing".

The adult birds had so far not managed to raise any chicks because of previous egg-breaking, the park said.

Smuggling vest

Curator David Woolcock decided to prevent this by taking an egg before it was broken and hatching it in an incubator.

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-20115147

Being smuggled out: Rare falcons’ trip to Kuwait cut short, freed in Pindi

ISLAMABAD: 

An attempt to smuggle two rare falcons out of country was foiled and a Kuwaiti arrested from Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) on Thursday.

This is the second attempt to smuggle rare species of birds that was thwarted by the Punjab Wildlife Department and the Airport Security Force (ASF) in seven months.

Officials said the birds were taken into custody at around 5am, after the suspect, Muhammad Ammar, was stopped during security check.

The suspect, who was wearing a loose trouser, was boarding a Kuwait-bound plane when the authorities stopped him for inspection. They found the birds tied to his legs. The birds were smaller than the ones previously seized by the department, said an official.

The suspect was detained for a few hours for an inquiry, during which he claimed the birds had been gifted to him. However, he confessed to his crime when he was produced before a magistrate later. The court fined him Rs300,000, while the birds were set free at Ayub National Park on court orders.

Continued:  http://tribune.com.pk/story/447149/being-smuggled-out-rare-falcons-trip-to-kuwait-cut-short-freed-in-pindi/