Parrot, and parrot egg smuggling...

This is a horrible international problem. The eggs are taken from wild nests, and most, if any, will never hatch.

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2004/2004-11-15-02.asp

http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/0214-06.htm

Excellent article on internet fraud.
1. It would be COMPLETELY ILLEGAL to ship any bird, bird egg, or PART of any bird (including feathers) from any country (including Cameroon and all countries of Africa) without CITES Permits from both the exporting and importing countries. THIS IS INTERNATIONAL LAW! IF (and that's a REALLY BIG IF), an exporter in Africa could get a CITES Export Permit for a SOUTH AMERICAN SPECIES (such as the Hyacinth Macaws the scammers are so fond of offering), it would take MANY MONTHS TO OBTAIN. The scammers all offer immediate shipping on eggs and birds! The Hyacinth Macaw is an Appendix I species (the most highly protected) and it is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to get legal CITES permits on Appendix I parrots.

2. IF (BIG if), CITES permits could be obtained on CITES I or II parrots out of Africa, the United States would not allow the entry, as all birds listed on these appendices are prohibited from importation into the United States (for most practical purposes- there are some highly regulated exceptions). This is because a law was passed in the U.S. in 1992 called the Wild Bird Conservation Act. Therefore ANY offer to sell birds to U.S. citizens to be shipped from other countries should be carefully scrutinized for legality.

3. The low prices are RIDICULOUS and designed to scam a number of people for relatively small amounts of money. A healthy pair of adult Hyacinth Macaw would sell for AT LEAST $18,000.00 in the United States. BELIEVE ME, there are not a lot of Hyacinth Macaws in the entire continent of Africa and this species is VERY VALUABLE there. I have been offered dozens of pairs of Hyacinth Macaws from Cameroon at $1600.00 to $2500.00 per pair. What a joke!

4. It would be NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to have fertile parrot eggs transported safely in a portable incubator by air freight from Africa to North America! Bird eggs are fragile and fertile eggs can easily die with vibration or a drop or increase in temperature. EVEN IF IT WERE LEGAL, THIS WOULD BE NEARLY IF NOT COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE TO DO! ALSO, it would take much more than the 10-24 hours quoted by the scammers and EVEN IF the "eggs" did arrive within this time frame, and EVEN IF they had CITES permits, they would STILL HAVE TO GO INTO USDA QUARANTINE! I do not know of any USDA quarantine that accepts live eggs.