Hong Kong jails Thai parrot egg smuggler as customs cracks case amid rising trend

A traveller from Thailand has been given a two-year jail sentence in Hong Kong for smuggling 187 parrot eggs valued at an estimated HK$1.4 million, with an expert saying the seizure is part of a global uptick of such cases involving endangered species.

A Hong Kong court on Friday convicted the Thai man, 30, of illegally importing endangered species as forensic tests showed the eggs to be from endangered species such as the Moluccan cockatoo and yellow-crowned amazon.

The man was prosecuted under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance. He was intercepted at customs clearance upon arrival at Hong Kong airport.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said 188 eggs were found in the man’s carry-on baggage at the airport on March 1, and all but one were confirmed to be from 13 endangered parrot species listed in CITES appendices. It said the value of the seizure was estimated at HK$1.4 million.

CITES – or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora – is a UN treaty with 185 signatories that aims to ensure that the survival of wildlife is not threatened by trade.

“Parrot populations have been decimated by illegal trade, which incentivises poaching in the wild worldwide. With the exception of four species, all parrots have been listed on the CITES appendices. In Hong Kong, their international trade and local possession are regulated under the ordinance,” a government spokesman said.