Global News - August 2007

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Rare birds returned to Mexico

Fri 24 August 2007 12:00 UK — South America

Nearly 150 rare birds have been returned to Mexico after officials caught people trying to smuggle them into the US.

Reports suggest that 149 parrots and parakeets seized from smugglers were sent home to the Central American country on Wednesday (August 23rd).

The birds have been held in quarantine for up to 18 months at San Diego's Otay Mesa border crossing. Yesterday, they were handed over to Mexican wildlife authorities so the creatures can be released into the wild.

Assistant US attorney Anne Perry told the Associated Press (AP): "This is all about money. It's all about getting around the quarantine, which can be very expensive."

Officials revealed that the smugglers routinely sedate the rare birds when trying to get them into the US and that the birds can often present a risk to public health.

"This is the black market - they certainly aren't using veterinary-approved methods," immigration official Lorraine Concha told the AP.

On receiving the birds, Ricardo Castellanos, the Baja California director of the Mexican environmental agency, said to the San Diego Union Tribune: "It's a great day to take back these birds. Some of them are in danger of extinction."

In June, officials stopped a man who was trying to illegally bring ten baby Amazon parrots into the US.

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