Customs officials in the Pakistani province of Balochistan say they have stopped the biggest ever consignment of rare houbara bustard birds from being smuggled out of the country.

They said that seventy-nine birds were found aboard a plane going to the United Arab Emirates.

An official said it seemed the birds had been smuggled out of Afghanistan.

Capturing or trading in the birds is illegal in Pakistan, but a BBC correspondent in Balochistan says that nonetheless they can be obtained, and can fetch three times their price if sold in Arab states -- where the birds are used for hunting.