not strange in that people try to smuggle exotic animals and fish out of Australia all the time
esp the cockatoos and budgies, you get a lot of money for them on the black market
You remind me of the book collaboration between Barney Frank (D-MA) and Monica Lewinsky. Both being bird lovers, they once wrote a book titled, "I Never Touched A Parakeet, But I kissed a Cockatoo".