Smuggled Jamaican Parrots big hit at Vienna Zoo

Austrians bust international trade in endangered species

BY EILEEN FERGUSON Sunday Observer writer ferguson.munich@yahoo.com

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

VIENNA, Austria — The star attraction at the Vienna Zoo these days are a flock of rare Jamaican parrots smuggled out of the island as eggs by two Slovak nationals who were intercepted at the airport in this Austrian capital.

The interception of the men, who were posing as tourists returning from a Jamaican vacation in April this year, made big headlines in Vienna and authorities here said it marked the smashing of a lucrative illegal trade in endemic species.

On the international black-market the price for the parrots range from 4,000 to 15,000 euros each. One of the bird eggs costs 500 euros in Jamaica.

"The protection of endangered animals species is of utmost importance... Our colleagues at the Customs Department play a key role in the daily fight against unconscionable smugglers," said Austrian finance minister, Dr Maria Fekter, who commented on the incident.

"This case shows that they are having tremendous success in cracking an international smuggling ring. I heartily congratulate our Customs Officers on this great success for the protection of animals," he was quoted as saying.

The egg find was made when customs officers searched the two Slovak nationals — identified only as Marian P, 45 and Roland P, 39 — on arrival at the Eisenstadt Airport here. They claimed that they had been on vacation in Montego Bay, St James on the island's scenic north coast.

Hofrat Erich Fleckl, fraud control coordinator at the Eisenstadt Airport Vienna Customs Department, described how the Jamaican parrots were discovered.

The flight from Duesseldorf, Germany landed in Vienna and customs officers noted that the Slovaks had suitcases with white labels on them. That meant that they had travelled from a non-EU country via Duesseldorf. The two were escorted to the customs control area.

Both insisted that they had bought nothing in Jamaica except for a few cake packages as souvenirs. But following his instinct, one of the customs officers decided to scrutinise the men's luggage more closely and found packages containing chocolate cookies in Roland P's luggage. Marian P's luggage also had cake packages along with a coconut carved in the form of a monkey.

X-Ray pictures suggested, however, that there was content other than cookies.

A further search of Marian P's luggage turned up two cookie boxes and in the coconut, the controllers found 74 bird eggs. The customs criminal investigation department was immediately contacted.

The bird eggs were confiscated and the Slovaks interrogated. Roland P denied any knowledge about the eggs, but Marian P claimed that he really liked the 'green birds' in Jamaica and he accepted the eggs as gifts, without knowing what types of eggs they were. Both men were released and allowed to continue their journey.

Still, the customs officers suspected that this was a case of illegal smuggling of protected species. They had to act quickly. On the very same day, the eggs were taken to the Vienna Schoenbrunn Zoo which staff speedily adapted to facilitate its new future residents. An appropriate living area was created, and incubators and special bird feed had to be procured.

After an incubation period, 45 parrots — 22 Black-billed and 23 Yellow-billed Amazons — were successfully hatched from the 74 eggs spirited out of Jamaica.

As the hatchlings became fully-feathered birds, the initial suspicions that the birds were from endangered species endemic to Jamaica were confirmed.

A specialist team of 10 animal-care staff cared for the birds round-the-clock, losing only five of the initial 50 hatchlings.

Meantime, the Slovak authorities were contacted and a raid on the men's homes found documents which were falsified to show that the parrots had European origins.

The fines for smuggling the birds under the Austrian Trade in Endangered Species Act ranges between 1,000 and 40,000 euros, depending on the species of endangered parrot.

Since the end of September, the birds can be seen in their new home near to the giraffe station at the Vienna Schoenbrunn Zoo. To see the hatchlings perfect their climbing and flying skills is regarded as a once in a lifetime chance for bird-watchers and parrot lovers.

The zoo plans to keep some of the parrots, while giving others to scientific zoos for research purposes. They also plan to develop a programme for sustaining the hatching of these birds in Europe.

Both species of Amazona parrots are found exclusively as wild life in Jamaica, in such areas as the Cockpit Country in Trelawny and John Crow Mountains in Portland. They are protected under Jamaica's Wild Life Protection Act, which makes the commercial handling, as well the keeping of these birds as pets illegal.

NEPA, the National Environment and Planning Authority, could not be immediately contacted for comment.

However, it appeared Jamaica could stake a claim to the birds under Article VIII of the CITES/Washington Convention which states, inter alia:

"Where a living specimen is confiscated as a result of measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article the specimen shall be entrusted to a Management Authority of the State of confiscation; the Management Authority shall, after consultation with the State of export, return the specimen to that State at the expense of that State, or to a rescue centre or such other place as the Management Authority deems appropriate and consistent with the purposes of the present Convention."

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COMMENTS (13)

Jose Garcia
12/20/2011

Simple solutions such as the "get em all back now" option may not be in anyone's best interests. A few things to bear in mind are that 1. there are over 10,000 birds of each of these species in the wild, 2. both species are commonly taken from the wild and kept as pets on Jamaica, 3. authorities in Jamaica have done little to stop this poaching, 4. it would be very expensive to send the birds back, and 5. there is now at least one large European zoo with a deep interest in Jamaican parrots.

Wendy Lee
12/13/2011

So the Jamaican authorities fail to detect a massive egg-poaching-smuggling scheme, but vigilant Austrians catch the criminals, hatch the eggs and raise the endangered parrots. Instead of praising this action and looking to benefit from a link to a world-class European zoo and enforcement machinery, NEPA's reaction is to demand the birds back. Look in your own back yard, NEPA, and do something about the hundreds of illegally held Jamaican parrots suffering under atrocious conditions!

Will Will
12/6/2011

Antonette W, the eggs were carried out of Jamaica using a clever disguise. It appeared they were "factory wrapped in cake boxes". This happened not because the perpetrators were Europeans, but perhaps, because they were visitors. The Jamaicans who sold those eggs were aware of their value and that's precisely why they sold them. Customs will have to be more aware, though they will not be able to stop all contraband that leaves. Like most developing countries, poachers will sell the shirts off their backs if it means putting food on their table. They do not care about species going extinct.

Antonette W.
12/6/2011

If the authorities in JA were doing their jobs this would not have happened and if citizens in JA were better informed about how precious these creatures are, they might be more concerned. Everyone seems to know the value of things Jamaican except Jamaicans who destroy and minimize them. How did they get this out of the island so easily? I travel with a simple carry-on bag and they always stop & harass me to no end while Europeans skip away with God knows what in their huge conspicuous luggage.

renrick hall
12/6/2011

I wonder what the parrots have been saying why they are so fancied. Which parrot are they - descendants of the parson or the sailor man parrot? ....LOL!

Will Will
12/6/2011

Why not work with the Austrian authorities by putting an amicable agreement in place. The Jamaican Government could ask for monetary compensation with hatchlings being returned at some future time, and if ever greed pushes these birds to the point of extinction, the country would be assured replacement from the zoo's flock when needed.

Richie L
12/6/2011

We want our birds back!
.
Richie

Dempsy P
12/6/2011

@ Boukman Dutty - I am in full agreement with your response. In additiion to the lack of outrage there is no mention of how these birds are really doing in Jamaica. If we are not careful our natural habitant will be desimated.

Jeff Orange
12/6/2011

I'm sure the 2 Tourists did not go looking for these eggs, so there are individuals in Jamaica who are procuring these endeared species and making some serious money violating Jamaica's Wild Life Protection Act. This is a very active trade, since there is a price range establish. We need to put a stop to this nonsense ASAP before the Lotto Scammers shift their attention to parrot smuggling!

0o k
12/6/2011

Wow...now they've got our Parrots and we won't benefit. I hope the ones we have left is not endangered.
Just imagine if Trafigura was allowed to run wild in the Cockpit Country?

Boukman Dutty
12/6/2011

Don't expect Jamaica to ask for these birds back. The bid to attract tourist dollars and to seem friendly and inviting to European countries will always trump principles and the imperative of protecting endangered species.

Even this article represents by and large another mindless homage to the uniqueness of things Jamaican, without an instinct to protect them. Where is the outrage? It is drowned out by the hope that tourism, the new king sugar, will be boosted by this latest violation.

nervous investor
12/6/2011

These birds are unique to Jamaica --- it is vital that ALL the hatchlings be returned to Jamaica immediately so as not to allow the establishment of a breeding stock of these birds OUTSIDE Jamaican control.

Jay Brown
12/6/2011

That is investigative work and is where we need to get to at a much faster pace than we are doing today.

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Escaped prisoner back in custody

Smuggled Jamaican Parrots big hit at Vienna Zoo