FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                   ENR
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1994                                  (202) 616-1089
                                                     TDD (202) 514-1888
  
                                   
                 JUDGE SENTENCES LAST MEMBERS OF RING
        CAUGHT SMUGGLING POTENTIALLY DISEASE-BEARING ENDANGERED
                     BIRDS INTO THE UNITED STATES
                                    
       WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The last of sixteen members of a
  South Texas smuggling ring that brought in rare and
  potentially disease-bearing parrots from Mexico and Latin
  America today were sentenced to prison, the Department of
  Justice announced today.
  
       American taxpayers have spent $75 million over the past
  several years compensating U.S. poultry farmers whose flocks
  had to be destroyed after they became infected with the
  disease transmitted by the parrots.  In addition, smuggling
  poses a serious threat to many types of Amazon parrots. 
  
       Three individuals were sentenced today in U.S. District
  Court in Corpus Christi.  Judge Hayden W. Head, Jr.
  sentenced Salvador Cazares Salazar of Montemorelos, Mexico
  (16 months in jail) and Neomi Duarte Freeman of Burleson,
  Texas (27 months in jail, $15,000 fine).  Also, U.S.
  Magistrate Judge Eduardo E. deAses sentenced Corynna Ramirez
  of Alice, Texas to 5 years probation and 6 months home
  detention.
  
       In February, 1992 two members of the ring were arrested
  in Austin for the possession of 70 baby parrots.  They were
  charged with smuggling and violating the Endangered Species
  Act and Department of Agriculture regulations.  An
  investigation conducted jointly with the U.S. Customs
  Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uncovered a
  network of parrot smuggling and distribution to bird
  hobbyists and pet shops.
      
       Assistant Attorney General Lois Schiffer said the ring
  received the smuggled birds at an aviary doing business as
  Jesse's Bird Farm in Sandia, Texas.  The farm was used to
  imply that the birds were bred on site.  There was evidence
  that the parrot-smuggling ring had operated for nearly a
  decade.
  
       Schiffer, who heads the Justice Department's
  Environment and Natural Resources Division, said the parrots
  were potential carriers of Newcastle Disease, which is
  particularly dangerous to domestic poultry and for which
  there is no treatment or cure.
  To stop the fast-moving disease, entire flocks must be
  killed.  
  
       "That's why parrot smuggling transcends greed and
  stupidity," said Schiffer.  "It has caused untold heartbreak
  to American poultry farmers and millions of dollars in costs
  to taxpayers, as well as threatening the existence of
  endangered animals.  Parrot smugglers are criminals who will
  be prosecuted and punished wherever we find them."
  
       The smuggling process also threatens other breeds of
  parrot with extinction, such as the yellow-naped Amazon
  parrot, which is an endangered species.  As many as 90
  percent of the thousands of smuggled parrots die before they
  reach the United States.
  
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