Officials freed the birds from the bottles, but many were weak and several later died.

Cockatoos were classified as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 2007.

CNN reports that wildlife smuggling is big business in Indonesia, and the water bottle method is commonly used to smuggle birds.

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Rebecca Ramage-Tuttle, assistant director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia, says the the DOE rule change is “a slippery slope” for civil rights. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC