Switzerland uncovers global bird smuggling scam

Customs investigation uncovers international bird smuggling Keystone-SDA

Customs investigators have uncovered a trade in protected birds between Switzerland and several European countries.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

According to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, dozens of animals have been illegally imported since 2024.

The starting point of the investigation was the inspection of two Portuguese nationals at the border crossing of the Great St Bernard Tunnel in November 2024, said the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS). The two men, aged 54 and 46, had not declared around ten protected birds.

Further investigations revealed that a third man was involved in trafficking between Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Portugal. The three people used the premises of their company to store the birds.

According to FOCA, they are said to have illegally imported a total of more than 50 birds with forged purchase receipts and without the necessary certificates. The value of the goods amounts to almost CHF100,000.

Following the initial investigation, the 2025 customs investigation carried out a further inspection in western Switzerland and Ticino. Around 30 more protected birds were confiscated.

The three perpetrators from the 2024 case were charged with offences against customs, tax, species protection and animal welfare legislation. The 2025 inspections also led to the opening of several new investigations in various cantons in western Switzerland.

Protected species

The bird species concerned are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, also known as the Washington Convention).

The trade agreement came into force in 1975. Together with Switzerland, more than 180 countries have pledged to work together to protect species. The species protected by CITES are categorised into three protection categories depending on the severity of the threat. More than 6,000 animal and 34,000 plant species are currently listed in the CITES appendices.

In Switzerland, the import of specimens of these species always requires a CITES certificate from the country of origin and, depending on the species, an import licence from the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO).

All imports are inspected. An export licence is required for the export of CITES specimens for all species without exception. These licences are issued by the FSVO, which issues between 85,000 and 105,000 licences each year.

Adapted from German by DeepL/mga

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.  

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at [e-mail]