The customs officials stopped the car, and in the passenger seat they discovered something that they will remember forever

On April 26, 2024, customs officers at the Horgoš border crossing, in cooperation with the police, detained the protected White-bellied parrot, which a traveler tried to bring across the border without the necessary CITES permit.

The case was discovered when a car with foreign license plates arrived at the checkpoint at the entrance to the country, whose driver and sole passenger said he had nothing to report and was only carrying personal luggage.

However, during the subsequent inspection, a cage covered with a red cloth, containing a parrot, was found on the passenger seat.

The Office for the Implementation of the CITES Convention of the Ministry of Environmental Protection has confirmed that it is a protected species of African parrot, for whose cross-border traffic a CITES permit is required.

The bird was immediately handed over to the Border Veterinary Inspection, which will take care of it at the Palić ZOO, while the passenger is further under the jurisdiction of the police and prosecutor’s office.

We remind you that for the cross-border transport and transit of exotic pets that belong to protected animal species, in addition to the usual documentation, it is necessary to have a special permit, on which more detailed information can be found on the website of the Customs Administration in the pets section.

More soon…