South African police arrest two Thai men for allegedly smuggling parrot eggs

Подробности

The National Zoological Garden in Pretoria is incubating the seized eggs and said some of the rescued parrot eggs had successfully hatched. Photograph: Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment The National Zoological Garden in Pretoria is incubating the seized eggs and said some of the rescued parrot eggs had successfully hatched. Photograph: Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment South Africa South African police arrest two Thai men for allegedly smuggling parrot eggs Bird eggs intercepted in homemade incubators at Johannesburg airport as officials try to halt wildlife trafficking

Prefer the Guardian on Google South African police have arrested two Thai nationals in separate incidents for allegedly attempting to smuggle endangered parrot eggs out of the country as authorities try to stem the tide of wildlife trafficking.

A 50-year-old Thai national was arrested at OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg on 20 August, carrying 50 bird eggs in a homemade incubator in a hand-luggage bag, South Africa’s environment ministry said in a statement .

View image in fullscreen The seized parrot eggs. Photograph: Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment The ministry said preliminary investigations indicated that the eggs were from parrot species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), which regulates international trade in wild animals and plants to ensure species do not become extinct. It did not specify which species.

Another Thai national, a 23-year-old, was arrested at the same airport on 16 July, allegedly trying to smuggle 418 parrot eggs in two homemade incubator bags. Thailand’s embassy in South Africa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.