It’s safe to say that the only animal you should consider buying in a plastic bag is a dead one that you plan to eat — legally, of course.
Locals in Bagaces, Guanacaste alerted police that a man was selling parakeets out of a tightly closed plastic bag on Saturday.
Police arrested the man and saved the chatty green birds before any suffocated.
As of Saturday, authorities were still trying to determine if they would press charges against the man for trafficking wild animals.
Tropical birds are the most common type of trafficked animal seized by Costa Rica’s National System of Conservation Areas, according to 2013 figures.
The rescued parakeets are currently in the care of the Environment Ministry and will be released.