Matsu islands: Prosecutors in the Matsu Islands (Lienchiang County) have indicted 11 individuals in connection with the alleged smuggling of more than 4,500 fertilized parrot eggs to China.

According to Focus Taiwan, an investigation revealed that the 11 individuals purchased fertilized parrot eggs from Thailand and Vietnam. The Fuchien Lienchiang District Prosecutors Office stated that the two main suspects, surnamed Chang and Yang, targeted the lucrative Chinese market, where rare parrot species are popular pets.

Utilizing the offshore counties of Lienchiang and Kinmen as transit points, the suspects transported the uninspected eggs without export/import permits from Thailand or Vietnam by air to Taiwan, where the eggs were hatched. The parrots were raised in facilities in Nantou and Yunlin counties, and their eggs were then shipped by sea to Kinmen or Matsu before being transferred to Chinese smugglers at sea.

Between 2024 and March 2025, the suspects smuggled a total of 4,512 parrot eggs out of Taiwan, earning an estimated NT$5.68 million (US$195,578) in illicit profits. The largest single shipment involved over 1,000 eggs. Prosecutors have recommended the confiscation of illicit gains and charged the suspects under the Wildlife Conservation Act, the Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Diseases, and the Money Laundering Control Act.

Among the smuggled eggs, 570 were from protected parrot species listed in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which included grey parrots, blue-and-yellow macaws, white-bellied parrots, white cockatoos, and yellow-naped parrots.

Chief Prosecutor Tsai Chieh-cheng informed CNA that the investigation began following a tip-off, which led authorities to the smuggled parrot eggs in Kinmen and Matsu. Further analysis of the suspects' communications and financial records confirmed the smuggling of 4,512 eggs to China.