That Bird Won't Fly

Better days...
TAIF, 4 December 2007 — A 33-year-old Saudi man rich enough to buy a $27,000 trained hunting falcon in Morocco was also rich enough to — in a fit of airport rage — slaughter the bird in front of airport officials because he was being prevented from boarding with the animal. According to a report in yesterday’s Al-Watan newspaper, the man was prevented from boarding the last leg of his flight back home to Saudi Arabia because he didn’t have clearance to import the animal into the Kingdom. So he killed it ... right in front of airport security. The man thought that killing the bird would be a good way to get on the plane, but he was wrong. The man missed his flight anyway after airport security officials decided that a man who would slaughter a falcon right inside Cairo International is probably somebody who should be prevented from flying. Authorities decided to detain the man and investigate whether he should be charged with criminal activity. So, please note: the next time you find yourself stopped for trying to board a plane with a live animal, it’s probably not a good idea to kill it in front of airport security.