A man was arrested after law officials found that he smuggled 35 live finches in hair curlers so they could participate in “singing contests” in New York City.
Guyanese resident Kevin Andre McKenzie flew into the John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday, where Customs and Border Protection officers found birds on him during an examination.
Photos of the man show the birds pushed into hair curlers and placed in sew-on pockets of McKenzie’s jacket. Some of the birds were also being carried on top of the man’s shoes. He was immediately charged with unlawfully importing finches. McKenzie was later released on a $250,000 bond, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special agent Kathryn McCabe reported finches are often put into “singing competitions” in the Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods of New York. “In such contests, often conducted in public areas like parks, two finches sing and a judge selects the bird determined to have the best voice,” McCabe stated in the complaint.
“Many who attend the singing contests wager on the birds. A finch who wins these competitions becomes valuable and can sell for more than $10,000. Although certain species of finch are available in the United States, species from Guyana are believed to sing better and are therefore more valuable.”
According to his statement, McKenzie was offered $3,000 to smuggle the birds into the States. He says he was paid $500 before his flight, and he was going to be paid the remaining $2,500 after getting through Customs. There are no details on whether or not anyone else has been arrested in connection to the crime.
