INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Austrian collector claimed to be passionate about birds
(Representational Image)Paris, France: French police have arrested an Austrian man at a Paris airport after he flew in from Mexico with 80
small birds stashed in his hand luggage, a judicial source said Wednesday.Although all but one of the birds were still alive when they were
discovered at Roissy airport, a further 55 have since died, the source added.The birds were discovered on Friday in boxes hidden in three
bags.The Austrian collector, who is already facing court action in Germany, claimed to be passionate about birds.The birds, many of which
feed on nectar, likely died because of the "transport conditions and the stress of their capture," the source said.Exceptional permission
was given to allow the birds to leave the airport instead of facing quarantine conditions.The illicit avian cargo was placed in the care of
vets before the surviving birds were taken to a permanent home on Wednesday.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by
TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
