Live Pigeons in Backpack
Aug. 24th, 2004 12:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
draggonlaadyCopied from The Herald Sun
24aug04
Movement in a passenger's backpack has led Customs officers to foil an attempt to smuggle live pigeons into Australia.
Customs officers at Melbourne Airport seized two live pigeons from a passenger's luggage this morning after noticing his backpack moving.
The 26-year-old male Australian national had been selected for a baggage examination after he arrived on a flight from Singapore.
He revealed he had pigeons inside his backpack after questioning from the Customs officers.
Customs regional manager Geoff Johannes said the backpack was isolated and officers contacted the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service.
Quarantine vets identified the birds as male and female Turkish Tumbler pigeons.
While Tumbler pigeons are common in Australia, these birds were of a rarer Turkish variety.
Mr Johannes said they would be destroyed as they could have carried bird flu, an exotic strain of Newcastle disease or other diseases which could be catastrophic to Australian fauna.
Penalties for smuggling wildlife can attract fines of up to $110,000 or imprisonment of up to 10 years.
No action has yet been taken against the man.
Alrighty... so I'm guessing that boyo here was trying to save some money by not putting his birds through the legal quarantine. Which results in both birds being killed and himself facing significant jail and monetary penalties. Can we say "shouldn't have done that"?
24aug04
Movement in a passenger's backpack has led Customs officers to foil an attempt to smuggle live pigeons into Australia.
Customs officers at Melbourne Airport seized two live pigeons from a passenger's luggage this morning after noticing his backpack moving.
The 26-year-old male Australian national had been selected for a baggage examination after he arrived on a flight from Singapore.
He revealed he had pigeons inside his backpack after questioning from the Customs officers.
Customs regional manager Geoff Johannes said the backpack was isolated and officers contacted the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service.
Quarantine vets identified the birds as male and female Turkish Tumbler pigeons.
While Tumbler pigeons are common in Australia, these birds were of a rarer Turkish variety.
Mr Johannes said they would be destroyed as they could have carried bird flu, an exotic strain of Newcastle disease or other diseases which could be catastrophic to Australian fauna.
Penalties for smuggling wildlife can attract fines of up to $110,000 or imprisonment of up to 10 years.
No action has yet been taken against the man.
Alrighty... so I'm guessing that boyo here was trying to save some money by not putting his birds through the legal quarantine. Which results in both birds being killed and himself facing significant jail and monetary penalties. Can we say "shouldn't have done that"?
