Hong Kong Customs yesterday (October 29) seized an illegally imported live bird of a suspected scheduled endangered species, with an estimated market value of about $4,000, at the Lo Wu Control Point.
Customs officers intercepted an incoming 70-year-old local male passenger at the Arrival Hall of the said Control Point yesterday. Upon examination, the live bird was seized from his personal baggage. Officers of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) attended the scene for inspection and preliminarily identified that the live bird was of an endangered species listed in the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and regulated under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance in Hong Kong. The case was handed over to the AFCD for follow-up investigation.
Customs reminds the public not to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong.
According to the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person importing, exporting or possessing specimens of endangered species not in accordance with the Ordinance commits an offence and will be liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years upon conviction with the specimens forfeited.
Under the Public Health (Animals and Birds) Regulations, it is an offence to import any bird unless it is accompanied by a valid health certificate. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $25,000.
Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
