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Radefeld (dpa / sn) - A groomed protected bird in a package has called the customs officers in the dispatch point in Radefeld near Leipzig.
The shipment from Ukraine should be cleared for import into Germany and was declared as home decoration, as the main customs office in Dresden announced on Monday.
In the X-ray, however, the customs officers clearly recognized the outline of a bird.
Experts from the Senckenberg Museum für Tierkunde in Dresden found that the prepared animal, about 37 centimeters tall, was a specimen of a long-eared owl (Asio otus).
The owl, which is protected under the Washington Convention on Endangered Species and is subject to strict trade regulations, has been temporarily confiscated.
The recipient now has the option of submitting the necessary import permits within one month, the customs authorities said.
Otherwise the bird will remain confiscated and the recipient will face criminal proceedings.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210308-99-735553 / 2