Cockatoos Stuffed Into Plastic Bottles By Smugglers To Get Past Customs

Cruel smugglers are repeatedly stuffing the endangered cockatoo into plastic bottles in order to sneak them through customs, but officials have warned that thousands die each year as a result of this treatment.

These birds can be sold for as much as $2,000 on the black market, and, according to the Mirror, police rescued 24 cockatoos after they found them wedged and stuffed into the bottles. They were unable to move inside these bottles, which were discovered as the smugglers tried to get the birds through the Port of Tanjung Perak, which is located in Surabaya, Indonesia.

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the yellow-crested cockatoos are “critically endangered.” Authorities believe that there are less than 7,000 yellow-crested cockatoos left in the world, and Birdlife has reported that the creature’s “precipitous decline is almost entirely attributable to unsustainable exploitation for internal and international trade.”

This is because, coupled with this treatment, the birds only lay eggs once a year, and even then they only produce two eggs.

After this batch of birds were discovered, police officers immediately cut them free so that they could receive treatment. It’s not been announced if any of the creatures died from their injuries.

Officials have announced that around 40 percent of the creatures that are smuggled into Indonesia in these conditions die during their journey to the country.

Alongside the cockatoo trade, illegal bird sales have also seen around 10,000 parrots caught and then sold every year too. The BBC have reported that alongside the 24 cockatoos were a number of green parrots, too.

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