KUPANG, Indonesia: Indonesian authorities have foiled a smuggling attempt of more than 1,200 endangered Javan white-eye birds after discovering them stuffed into cages, they said on Sunday (Jul 13).
The popular cage bird is listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and a protected species by the Indonesian environment and forestry ministry.
Officials found the huge cache of birds in eight cages on Friday, including 140 that died, at a port on Flores island in eastern Indonesia, Joko Waluyo, an official at a provincial conservation agency, told reporters on Sunday.
The birds were due to be taken by ferry to Surabaya, a city in the east of Indonesia’s main island Java.
“The alleged perpetrator, who has not yet been found, brought Javan white-eye birds in eight bird cages. The number of birds that were attempted to be transported was 1,260, 140 of which were found dead,” said Joko.
Source: CNA
