Italian officers confiscate 377 exotic animals bound for Malta

Italian authorities have confiscated 377 live exotic animals bound for Malta at a Sicilian port over welfare and wildlife trade concerns.

Illegal trade in protected animals is “detrimental to the entire ecosystem and the legal market”, the Italian financial police said in a statement.

Officers found that 76 specimens belonged to species protected by the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES.

The statement described the operation as one of the most significant confiscations involving species protected by the convention. It also described illegal trade in protected animals as increasingly widespread.

Local financial police and officials from the Customs and Monopolies Agency intercepted the Maltese man during joint checks near the boarding point for the catamaran to Malta.

The man was transporting 300 tortoises and 77 parrots inside a vehicle that lacked adequate space and temperature control to safeguard their health.

The species identified in the supplied reporting were three species of macaws and two species of cockatoos: Ara macao, Ara chloropterus, Ara ararauna, Cacatua roseicapilla and Cacatua alba (Photo: Guardia di Finanza)

Vets from the Ragusa Health Authority attended the scene and confirmed the unsuitable conditions.

The CITES operations team from the financial police company at Catania-Fontanarossa then carried out further investigations and confirmed the protected status of 76 specimens.

The species identified in the supplied reporting were three species of macaws and two species of cockatoos: Ara macao, Ara chloropterus, Ara ararauna, Cacatua roseicapilla and Cacatua alba.

Officers reported the man to the Ragusa public prosecutor’s office over allegations of keeping animals in conditions incompatible with their nature and causing serious suffering.

They also reported alleged offences under law 150/1992, which implements the wildlife trade convention in Italy.

Authorities confiscated all the animals and immediately placed them with an amateur breeder, who cared for them in a suitable facility.

The joint operation formed part of cooperation between the financial police and the customs agency under a memorandum of understanding renewed in 2025. Their work includes checks in customs areas and action against illegal trafficking.

The financial police stressed that the man remains presumed innocent until a final conviction.