Exotic Indonesian birds smuggled in drain pipes

17 November 2017

A wildlife raid in Indonesia yielded startling results after 125 exotic birds were found squashed into pipes.

Police say 84 eclectus parrots and 41 endangered white cockatoos were stuffed into drain pipes sealed by wire.

Indonesia's vast jungles are home to many threatened bird species. The country is trying to rein in a rampant wildlife trade.

Separate raids were conducted in parts of eastern Indonesia, leading to the arrests of four men.

If found guilty, they face jail sentences of up to five years and fines of 100m Rupiah ($7,400; £5,600).

Indonesia is home to a large-scale illegal trade of birds, many of which find themselves sold in giant avian markets.

Many poached birds are also smuggled abroad.

Dwi Adhiasto of the Wildlife Conservation Society believes the birds uncovered from Monday's raid were on their way to the Philippines, given links to "a parrot smuggling network there".

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Cockatoos Get Protection to Curb Illegal Pet Trade

By RAMONA YOUNG-GRINDLE 

WASHINGTON (CN) - Three species of cockatoos have received final listing status under the Endangered Species Act, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Philippine cockatoo and the yellow-crested cockatoo are listed as endangered, while the white cockatoo is listed as threatened.

Because the white cockatoo is listed as threatened, the USFWS has also issued a special rule for that species under the ESA to allow import, export and interstate commerce of the birds without a permit if they are captive-bred or already in captivity at the time of listing, as long as those activities were in compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Wild Bird Conservation Act, according to the agency's press release. The ESA's special rule clause is not applicable to species listed as endangered.

The Friends of Animals (FOA) petitioned the USFWS to list the cockatoos and 11 other parrot species in 2008. In 2010, the FOA and the WildEarth Guardians sued the agency for failure to issue a 12-month finding on the petition. A 2010 settlement agreement outlined a timetable for determining listing status for the species and the three cockatoos were proposed for listing in August 2011, according to the action.

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Bird flocks black out Australia town

Thousands of birds have flocked to a town in Australia, causing power cuts and a mess, its mayor says.

Around 2,000 pink galahs and white cockatoos have descended on Boulia, Queensland, as a result of the drought, Mayor Rick Britton said.

They have been perching on power lines, causing outages when they take off, he said.

pink galah (male) credit: Wikipedia

The birds may not leave until November when rain is due, he said, so "people are going to have to live with it".

Galahs are a type of pink-breasted cockatoo found in Australia.

Several shires in Queensland are suffering from drought due to low rainfall. Boulia is in the far west of the state.

"Because we're in dry arid land we try to make our streets beautiful with lawns and trees - so the birds think that it's a little secret haven in the drought," Mr Britton told the BBC.

There were around 2,000 birds in the town, he added.

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