Dutch seize 261 suspected wild parrot eggs at airport after chick found hatching

Smuggled yellow-naped Amazon parrots are carried in a plastic tub at the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation in Loxahatchee, Fla., Friday, May 19, 2023. According to a criminal complaint, a smuggler was caught with 29 parrot eggs at Miami International Airport in late March when the eggs began hatching in his carry-on bag while in transit. The Central American natives are being raised by the foundation. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

AMSTERDAM - Dutch authorities have seized 261 suspected wild parrot eggs at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport after finding them in the hand luggage of a couple flying from Central America to Asia, the Netherlands food and product safety watchdog said on Thursday.

Customs officers found the eggs on March 24, packed individually in paper and grouped in bundles wrapped in T‑shirts. When they examined one of the bundles, they heard chirping and discovered a parrot chick hatching. The bird was too young to determine its species, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) said.

The Royal Military Police detained the two travelers, whose identity and nationality were not made public.

All parrot species are protected under the CITES convention, a global treaty that regulates trade in endangered plants and animals, meaning strict rules apply to the possession and trade of the birds and their eggs. The travelers had no documents proving legal ownership, the NVWA said.

The eggs and the newly hatched chick have been transferred to a specialized care facility, where the remaining eggs will be incubated and the chicks cared for.

Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Editing by William Maclean