By Alana Mazzoni For Daily Mail Australia
Published: 23:07 GMT, 26 March 2019 | Updated: 23:11 GMT, 26 March 2019
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An Australian woman has found a kookaburra caged up and on sale for $1,200 in a US pet shop.
Wendy Davidson - who has been living in the US state of Virginia since 2015 - said she heard about the bird and decided to visit the local pet store to see for herself.
'I was deeply saddened to see one of our native protected species in a small cage alone and so far from home,' she told Daily Mail Australia.
'I couldn't stop thinking about him being a prisoner in solitary confinement.'
Ms Davidson said the pet shop told her the bird had held been at the store for more than four years.
The next day, Ms Davidson contacted several different US authorities to find out what she could do to rescue the bird, which the shop had named Thunder.
She reached out to zoos both back in Australia and in Virginia, as well as the wildlife trafficking alliance, the Australian Consulate General in New York, and the US Department of Agriculture and Animal Care.
'Those that did reply basically fobbed me off or claimed that they didn't have
