Ethiopian Airlines could be sued for parrot smuggling

The Yaounde-based Last Great Ape Organization (LAGA) announced on Wednesday that it was considering suing Ethiopian Airlines after the group helped Cameroon’s security forces catch smugglers attempting to fly 1,000 African Grey parrots out of the country. The airline could find itself in a court case for being complicit in the wildlife smuggling activities.

On Tuesday, LAGA worked together with national security forces to seize a shipment of 500 African Grey parrots from an Ethiopian Airlines plan just before it was scheduled to take off from Douala on its way to Bahrain.

A week earlier, officials arrested two Ghanaians for attempting to illegally smuggle another batch of 500 parrots from Douala to Bahrain.

Ofir Drori, the director of LAGA said: “We’re considering initiating a court case against the airline company, which has been found to be irregularly involved in the transport of wildlife without permission.”

Ethiopian Airlines has so far declined to make a public statement or comment on the issue.

African Grey parrots are regarded as one of the most intelligent pets in the world and have an amazing ability to mimic human speech, making them very popular as pets. However, the bird is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), requiring all exports from signatory countries (of which Cameroon is one) to receive a permit from a national authority.

All together the two shipments are estimated to be worth £394,000.

www.ethiopianairlines.com