Scan : Smuggling birds

10 May 1997

NEW ZEALAND is being used by smugglers to launder Australian native birds
(see This Week, 3 May). The birds—and their eggs—are taken illegally
to New Zealand where loopholes in the law allow them to be exported without
penalty. Some birds fetch US$20 000 a pair. TRAFFIC Oceania, an
organisation which monitors the trade in wildlife in our region for the
Worldwide Fund for Nature, raised the issue in a report released last week. The
report, edited by Jane Holden, calls for changes in New Zealand law governing
endangered species. Nick Smith, New Zealand’s conservation minister, has
acknowledged the problem and said he will sponsor legislation to close the
loopholes. The report, Trade in CITES—listed birds to and from New
Zealand, is available for $10 from WWF, GPO Box 528 Sydney 2001, phone 02
9299 6366. Another report dealing with illegal trade in Australian wildlife was
also released last week. Wildlife Crime Policy and the Law, was written by Don
McDowell as a special investigator for the Australian Institute of Criminology,
a government agency in Canberra. McDowell’s report, which calls for greater
cooperation between the states to stop illegal trafficking in wildlife, is
available for $19.95 from government bookshops. More information can be
obtained from the wildlife protection section of Environment Australia, phone 06
250 0295.