400 ornamental birds seized in Sharjah
MINISTRY RAIDS RESIDENTIAL APARTMENT WHERE THE ENDANGERED SPECIES WERE KEPT
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, in coordination with local authorities in Sharjah, seized nearly 400 ornamental birds protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).
Trading in these species is prohibited under Federal Law No 11 of 2002 concerning Regulating and Controlling the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The birds were seized from an an apartment, the ministry ■ said yesterday. “... the perpetrator, of Asian origin, harboured, with the intent to trade, a large number of birds in his residential apartment, which is close to the Birds and Animals Market in Al Jubail area, Sharjah,” it said.
Mohammad Al Za’abi, director of the environmental compliance department at the ministry, said the ministry is committed to further tightening controls on the movement of and trade in endangered species via the application of modern and effective techniques at border crossings and within the local markets.
He said: “We coordinated with the Sharjah Police’s investigation department to orchestrate the raid on the Asian’s apartment. We seized around 400 Cites-listed birds, as the perpetrator failed to present a proof of their legal ownership. Our control team handed the birds over to one of the ministry’s quarantine centres.”
He noted that the ministry, through the UAE Federal Feedback Gateway and direct phone calls to the customer happiness centres, has received 28 notifications about cases of violation of various nature. ■
The ministry has received 28 notifications about violations through the UAE Federal Feedback Gateway and direct phone calls to the customer happiness centres.