“Netherlands is important link in birds of prey illegal trade “

Two Italian nationals have each been fined €15,000 for smuggling rare birds of prey and other animals through the Netherlands.

Ricardo C and Matta S were caught with a trailer full of birds, including various hawks, pink cockatoos, Canada geese, as well as small-clawed otters, prairie dogs and other exotic animals near Apeldoorn in 2024. Several of the animals, totalling 100, were on the protected species list.

The two claimed to have bought the animals in good faith because “they love birds” but failed to produce the required documentation.

According to exotic animal shelter Stichting AAP, the Netherlands is an important link in the illegal trade in animals.

“It’s a well-known transit hub,” a spokesman for the shelter told RTL Nieuws. “Many animals are being traded here because the Netherlands is geographically convenient and there are plenty of people looking to make money out of the trade.”

Birds like the blue-eyed cockatoo can sell for as much as €56,000, he said.

“These are not cheap animals. They are transported from the Netherlands to buyers elsewhere in Europe, often collectors who have some land or a big garden in which they want to make their own private zoo,” he said. There is much demand from Italy in particular.

In 2021, a court in Oost-Brabant sentenced a 33-year-old man to 240 hours of community service and a ban on trading animals for illegally importing and selling exotic birds.