Italian authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle 37 birds, including 23 Diamond Firetails and 14 Pacific Parakeets, from Turin, Italy to Tangier, Morocco. The birds, discovered hidden under a car seat at the port of the city of Genoa, faced a terrifying 50-hour voyage in a ship’s car deck with no water, reported the Italian newspaper La Stampa on Tuesday.
The Diamond Firetail, an endangered and fragile bird from South Australia, has been declining since the 1980s due to habitat destruction, loss of natural food resources, and feral cat predation.
The Pacific Parakeet is popular bird species cited in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Despite its popularity, improper trade control could lead to its extinction, despite not being currently endangered.
This incident sheds light on the wider issue of bird smuggling, which is a form of wildlife trafficking. Such illegal activities entail the exploitation of animals, which are subjected to cramped and brutal conditions all for the sake of money.
Birds, appreciated for their exotic nature, are victims of this illegal trade, as they are subjected to health dangers during the transit and often perish as a result.
The man transporting them, who remains unidentified, claimed to have purchased the birds as children’s gifts from a birdwatcher and is now facing animal cruelty charges under Article 544 of the Penal Code.
The Coast Guards reported the incident to the International Organization for Animal Protection (OIPA), prompting their intervention.
Giuliana Luppi, Oipa’s zoophile guard’s coordinator in Genoa, described the heartbreaking scene and emphasized the miraculous rescue from the harsh conditions, stating “The victims of this attempt of trafficking are now safe in a wild animal recovery center, a structure with birdhouses that allows them to live with dignity.”
She concluded, “It was truly painful to see the suffering of these poor creatures, and it is incomprehensible how the suspect imagined he could get them to their destination alive.”