Born Free USA’s training programs for wildlife law enforcement in West Africa is making a big difference! In the past two months, law enforcement officers in Nigeria seized 20 live parrots who were being trafficked for the pet trade.
On May 11, agents of the Nigerian Quarantine Services at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos seized a grey parrot who was destined for Lebanon. The trafficker was carrying the grey parrot in a metal cage without hiding it and could not produce an authorized CITES permit for the export of the bird. When caught, the trafficker abandoned the bird and ran away.
Timothy Daniel John, CITES Focal Point and Head of Wildlife and CITES Management Division explains, “The seizure was made by an officer who was amongst the trainees that were trained in the training workshop on CITES organized by USAID in 2020… All officers look out first for all offending goods. Those with knowledge of CITES go further to look of illegal wildlife trade good.”
The source country of the bird seized at the airport cannot be confirmed, but it has been determined Nigeria was a transit country for the 19 parrots seized at the border with Niger. Born Free USA has studied West African wildlife trafficking routes extensively and Nigeria is one of the region’s top transit countries. John says, “Sometimes, since they are of African origin, Nigeria is used as a transit route from West African and Central African countries, for example Niger Republic, Benin Republic, and Cameroon.”
The confiscated birds were handed over to the National Park Service Headquarters in Abuja and will be officially transferred to the Conservator General for custody and quarantine until they are released into their natural environment.
“The training is really working,” John confirms. “It has given me a better perspective into how traffickers ship the illegally obtained wildlife and forestry-related products, their methods of trafficking the products, the common method of camouflage, and the common methods of concealment.” The Customs Officer who assisted in intercepting the birds added that the training manual issued during the training has been highly useful in these seizures.
“The training is really working. It has given me a better perspective into how traffickers ship the illegally obtained wildlife and forestry-related products, their methods of trafficking the products, the common method of camouflage, and the common methods of concealment.”
Timothy Daniel John, CITES Focal Point and Head of Wildlife and CITES Management Division
Born Free USA congratulates Nigerian law enforcement authorities on their victories to keep wildlife in the wild in Nigeria and across the West African region!
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Aurora
