For Immediate Release:
26 July 2024
Contact:
Meet Ashar; AsharM@petaindia.org
Hiraj Laljani; HirajL@petaindia.org
Delhi – Yesterday, acting on a complaint by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India and with the support of the Jama Masjid Police Station, the central division of Delhi Forest Department recovered 1,000 birds – including Alexandrine parakeets, finches, and other species – from shops at Kabutar Market near Jama Masjid. Many of the birds were found dead. Others were confined to dingy, filthy cages or stuffed into cloth bags. PETA India had sent a complaint to the forest department requesting that the birds be recovered and the shop owners booked. The Jama Masjid Police Station is registering a first information report (FIR) against the alleged perpetrators under relevant sections of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972. PETA India sought the intervention of senior officials and Smt Maneka Gandhi to open two locked shops that had numerous parakeets hidden inside, after which the birds were recovered.
In March 2022, Delhi police recovered thousands of adult and baby birds from illegal traders at Kabutar Market in response to a complaint by PETA India. These birds included ring-necked and plum-headed parakeets, hundreds of munias, two common hill mynas, and a pigeon.
The photographs and video clips of yesterday’s raid is available upon request.
Following their rescue, the surviving birds were sent for a health check, treatment, and temporary rehabilitation. They will be released in nature once their recovery is complete. The few birds deemed unable to survive in nature will be sent to a sanctuary for permanent care.
Alexandrine parakeets are protected under Schedule II of the WPA, 1972. Buying, selling, or possessing this species is an offence punishable by a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, a jail term of up to three years, or both. Endangered wildlife are also protected internationally under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Non-native endangered species protected under CITES are also protected under Schedule IV of the WPA, 1972.
“Birds are social beings who are born to fly in the open sky – not spend their lives lonely and miserable in cages,” says PETA India Cruelty Response Coordinator Sunayana Basu. “PETA India is deeply grateful to Smt Maneka Gandhi; Chief Wildlife Warden of Delhi Forest Department Dr Suneesh Buxy, IFS; Deputy Conservator of Forest (Central Division) Smt Anamika, IFS; and Deputy Commissioner of Police for the Central District Shri M Harsha Vardhan, IPS for their prompt intervention and support, which helped rescue the birds and showed that wildlife crime will not be tolerated.”
In the illegal bird trade, countless birds are taken from their families and denied everything that’s natural and important to them so that they can be sold as “pets” or used as bogus fortune-tellers. Fledglings are often snatched from their nests, and other birds panic as they’re caught in traps or nets that can seriously injure or kill them as they struggle to break free. Captured birds are packed into small boxes, and an estimated 60% of them die in transit from broken wings and legs, thirst, or sheer panic. Those who survive face a bleak life in captivity, suffering from malnutrition, loneliness, depression, and stress.
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way” – points out that the WPA, 1972, bans the capture, caging, and trading of indigenous birds and that non-compliance can result in imprisonment, a fine, or both. In addition, caging birds violates The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which stipulates that it’s illegal to keep or confine any animal in a cage or other receptacle that doesn’t provide them with a reasonable opportunity for movement – and for an aerial bird, that includes flight.
For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
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