CAMEROON

A wildlife conservation group in Cameroon specified on Wednesday that it was considering suing Ethiopian Airlines for complicity after it caught smugglers trying to take 1,000 African Grey parrots out of the central African country. 

The Yaounde-based Last Great Ape Organization (LAGA), working with Cameroon's security forces, seized a consignment of 500 African Grey parrots on Tuesday aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane shortly before it was due to leave Douala airport.

The discovery came just over a week after the authorities arrested two Ghanaians for trying to illegally export a first batch of 500 parrots out of Douala to Bahrain.

"We're considering initiating a court case against the airline company, which has been found to be irregularly involved in the transport of wildlife without permission," LAGA director Ofir Drori told Reuters in an interview.

No comment from Ethiopian Airlines was immediately available.

The African Grey is a medium-sized parrot which is held to be one of the world's most intelligent birds, partly for its ability to imitate human speech. This makes it a popular pet.

The species is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to which Cameroon is a signatory. The pact requires that exports be accompanied by a permit issued by a national authority.

In total, the two batches of parrots are estimated to be worth $800,000 (394,000 pounds).