PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, October 31 (Itar-Tass) — Fourteen gyrfalcons, which are entered in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation, have been confiscated from poachers here, an official in the press service of the regional department of the Federal Security Service (FSB) told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

The birds were found in a garage in one of the city's residential districts. They were kept in anti-sanitary conditions. Most of the birds were female falcons. They are most highly valued on the markets of countries where falconry is popular.

The birds were held captive by a citizen of the Russian Federaton, a native of one of Arab states, who said he had bought the birds for a bird sanctuary "with a view to breeding them subsequently to restore the gyrfalcon population", the FSB official said.

The birds were examined by specialists of the Kamchatka Territory's Agency for forestry and wildlife protection, Rosprirodnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Nature Resources), and veterinarians and then set free. The garage owner is facing criminal liability for a cruel treatment of the birds.