New York: Man wants to smuggle 35 finches into the USA under pants and jacket

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Finches are known for their delicate voices (symbol image)

Photo: Holger Duty / BIA / imago images

Customs officials at New York's JFK Airport discovered 35 live finches on a man's body.

The US Attorney's Office said the birds were attached to the ankles and the inside of the jacket in small special containers.

Accordingly, the man tried to smuggle the finches from Guyana into the country for singing competitions.

He was released on bail of $ 25,000.

During an inspection, the officers discovered several elongated containers with mesh-covered openings on the man's body through which the finches could breathe.

The man built the small improvised cages out of curlers, as can be seen in photos posted online.

3000 dollars for the transportation of the animals

When the officers were questioned, the man said he had been offered $ 3,000 to transport the birds to the United States.

He had already received $ 500 as a deposit when he left Guyana's capital, Georgetown.

He was to receive the rest of the money when the birds were handed over in the USA.

Singing competitions with bets on the tenderest animal voices are held regularly in the New York boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn in particular.

Finches from South American Guyana are particularly popular because of their melodic voices.

A victorious finch can bring in more than $ 10,000, according to a US animal welfare agency.

It is not the first case of this type in the United States: In 2009, customs officials in Los Angeles made a curious discovery.

One man had more than a dozen songbirds hidden in his pants.

The animals were wrapped in fabric and attached to special stockings under their trouser legs.

Songbirds are very rare and are often smuggled into the US from Asian countries.

Breeders and collectors in particular are willing to spend a lot of money on the animals.

bam / AFP