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13 July 2005
AMSTERDAM — Three men are in custody in the Netherlands for allegedly trading in protected birds.
The men from Rotterdam, Lekkerkerk and the Poortugaal district were arrested after officials of the agricultural inspectorate AID, the agricultural ministry and police carried out a raids on houses in the Rotterdam-Dordrecht region at the end of June.
Various protected birds were confiscated, including rare owls. Some other rare birds had died in captivity.
The suspects appeared in a Rotterdam court on Tuesday and were remanded in custody for a further 30 days, the public prosecutor’s office revealed on Wednesday.
“It appears from this investigation that the demand for owls has increased due to the Harry Potter films,” a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office said.
The movies are based on author JK Rowling’s hit books about the teenage wizard who has an owl called Hedwig.
[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2005]
Subject: Dutch news