According to a press release from the United States Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) a Guyanese man was detained at the John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sunday with 29 finches in his luggage.
The song birds which were concealed in hair rollers were discovered during a secondary baggage examination after the 26-year-old arrived on a flight from Georgetown.
According to the CBP the unidentified man, who was destined to an address in New Jersey, was not criminally charged instead he paid a US$300 civil penalty and was allowed to withdraw his request for admission, and placed on a Guyana-bound flight yesterday.
The birds were quarantined by CBP agriculture specialists and turned over to United States Department of Agriculture Veterinary Services.
The Tanager Finch- also known as towa-towa in Guyana is highly prized for its singing with competitions held weekly across the country. Similar competitions have cropped up among the diaspora in areas such as Brooklyn creating a market for the birds.
