Dutch authorities have intercepted 261 suspected wild parrot eggs at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, with a chick hatching from one of them. The illegal cargo was discovered in the hand luggage of a couple flying from Central America to Asia, according to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).
The eggs were individually wrapped in paper and bundled in T-shirts. A chirping chick was emerging from one of them, the NVWA said, but it was too young for its species to be identified. The Royal Military Police detained the two travellers, whose identities have not been disclosed.
All parrot species are protected under the CITES convention, a global treaty regulating the endangered animal trade, meaning strict rules apply to the possession and trade of the birds and their eggs. The couple lacked documents showing their legal ownership of the eggs, the NVWA said. The seized eggs and newly hatched chick have been transferred to a specialised care facility for incubation and ongoing care.
In a similar incident in November, a man was charged with smuggling after US Customs and Border Protection officers at the US-Mexico border found two parakeets hidden in his underwear. The birds, an endangered species native to Mexico, were heavily sedated. In July, more than 1,600 parrots and canaries were seized at Lagos international airport in Nigeria, being illegally transported to Kuwait.
Parrots, songbirds, and birds of prey are among the most trafficked birds globally for the exotic pet trade, private collections, or for their feathers, according to the United Nations 2024 World Wildlife Report. The non-profit World Animal Protection International estimates that in some areas, wild African grey parrot populations have declined by as much as 99 per cent due to trafficking.
