32 Baby Birds Smuggled via Gilimanuk, Hidden in Bus Luggage Compartment

Officers from the Quarantine Service Unit (Satpel) at Gilimanuk foiled an attempt to smuggle dozens of baby wild birds. The birds were hidden inside the luggage compartment of a passenger bus that was about to cross over to Java Island.

This interception occurred in the area of Post 1 of the Gilimanuk Port, Jembrana Regency, Bali, on Thursday (May 14, 2026). Officers, acting on suspicion, conducted an intensive inspection of the bus.

“We inspected a passenger bus heading to Java Island and found three boxes in the passenger luggage compartment. Upon inspection, these contained baby birds,” said the veterinarian from the Quarantine Service Unit at Gilimanuk, Dr. I Putu Agus Kusuma Atmaja, when confirmed by detikBali on Sunday (May 17, 2026).

Following this discovery, the Quarantine authorities immediately coordinated with the Bali Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) to identify and count the birds. The result was a total of 32 birds, all of which were still chicks.

The 32 birds were of various species. Among them were nine Balinese spectacled birds and nine prinia. There were also six cisticola, five magpie robins, and three brown-breasted bush warblers.

Agus explained that when the bus was about to enter the port, neither the bus crew nor the person who entrusted the animals reported it to the quarantine officers.

“They could not show any documents, either a Veterinary Health Certificate from a quarantine veterinarian or a Wildlife Transport Permit (SATS-DN) from the Bali BKSDA,” Agus emphasized.

Because they were not accompanied by official documents and were therefore illegal, all of the baby birds were immediately confiscated by officers. This action was taken to prevent the spread of disease and reduce the number of illegal wildlife poaching incidents.

For further handling, the dozens of unfortunate birds have now been handed over to the authorized authorities. “The birds have been secured for safekeeping and will then be handed over to the Gilimanuk BKSDA,” Agus concluded.