Smuggling birds, animals doesn't fly with customs

Did you hear about Sony Dong, the bird man from Vietnam? Customs at Los Angeles International Airport caught him smuggling songbirds into the United States. Apparently he had 14 of them strapped to his legs. The feathers flew when an agent became suspicious about the jaunty tail feathers peeking from under his cuffs and the whitewash on his socks.

This isn't the first smuggler to go birding overseas. Several years ago, Robert Cusack also arrived in Los Angeles with his own pet problem. He was flying through customs when suddenly a bird of paradise flew out of his bag. Cusack ruffled more feathers when the agents searched him and found two pygmy apes strapped to his leg. Monkey business doesn't fly with customs agents and Cusack ended up caged.

A few years back, on a flight from Hong Kong to New York, flight attendants heard strange sounds coming from an overhead bin. When they opened the duffel, feathers flew. The owner of the bag claimed he didn't know it was illegal to bring birds into the United States. But that didn't fly with the agents either and his wings were clipped.

And on one of my flights from Rome, a passenger boarded with a live chicken in her carry-on. All went well until we reached cruising altitude and the hen decided to voice her opinion - probably heard the in-flight meal was a chicken breast. We found the chicken nesting in an overhead bin. The captain elected to return to Rome where the passenger and her bird roosted.

Some travelers covet the idea of owning an exotic bird or animal and will go to extremes to bring them back alive. One passenger once confided in me he had a fish tank filled with vicious piranhas he brought back from South America. According to him, the fish couldn't survive in our rivers, and even if they could, he would never introduce them to our waters.

But the majority of smuggling is driven by the almighty dollar. A tourist boating down the Amazon may purchase a parrot from a child for as little as $10. Back home, that same bird may be worth thousands of dollars. According to some experts, when it comes to profitability, exotic pet smuggling ranks right up there with drug trafficking.

But the Department of Agriculture isn't so concerned about exotic animals becoming a pet problem. It's concerned with the health and welfare of our own species - both animal and human.

During the 1970s, an epidemic of Newcastle virus killed millions of birds and poultry. Experts believe birds smuggled into California may have been the cause of the outbreak. And sever acute respiratory syndrome or SARS and monkey pox were originally spread from animals to humans.

Smugglers go to extremes to bring in their contraband. Customs agents have found snakes tied to a passenger's leg, parrot eggs stacked in tennis ball cans and monkeys drugged and dressed in doll clothes to look like stuffed animals.

But what's frightening is how many smugglers get away with it. This wasn't the first trip for Dong, our bird man of the hour. Inspectors found a virtual aviary filled with Asian birds in his California home. With all of our X-ray equipment and high-tech luggage inspection, live animals still get through the system. Makes you wonder what else gets past security that really shouldn't fly.

Gail Todd, a free-lance writer,worked as a flight attendant for more than 30years. She can be reached via e-mail at gailtodd@aol.com.