NGO: Smugglers who stuffed over 100 exotic birds in drain pipes in Indonesia linked to “parrot smuggling network” in PHL

This photo taken on August 23, 2017 shows a Blyth’s hornbill flying over Sorong’s Malagufuk village./ AFP/ Goh Chai Hin /

The Philippines may have been the destination for the 125 exotic birds allegedly stuffed into drain pipes by smugglers who were arrested in Indonesia, a wildlife conservation group said.

Dwi Adhiasto of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which works with Indonesian authorities to halt the lucrative illegal trade in wildlife, said this was because the four men–who are allegedly part of a wildlife trafficking ring–are linked to “a parrot smuggling network there.”

The four men have been charged after 41 endangered white cockatoos and 84 eclectus parrots were discovered squashed into plastic piping that had been cut and sealed at each end by wire.

They face a maximum five years in prison and 100 million Rupiah ($7,400) fine if found guilty.

The vast jungles of Indonesia are home to 131 threatened bird species, according to wildlife trade watchdog TRAFFIC, more than any other country except Brazil.

But there is also large-scale illegal trading of birds, which sees them sold in giant avian markets in Indonesia’s major cities, or smuggled abroad.

Exotic birds are usually poached and trafficked by smuggling gangs for sale as pets and as status symbols.

White cockatoos, which are native to the remote North Maluku province, are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Their global population is estimated to be between 43,000 and 183,000, IUCN says, but is in decline because of poaching, trafficking and habitat loss. (Agence France Presse)