For Immediate Release:
28 October 2024
Contact:
Meet Ashar; AsharM@petaindia.org
Hiraj Laljani; HirajL@petaindia.org
Mumbai – Following a concerned citizen’s report about an Alexandrine parakeet being kept in a small cage at a residence in Andheri, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India worked with the Mumbai range of the Thane Forest Division to rescue the bird and get a preliminary offence report (POR) registered against the alleged illegal custodian. The POR was registered under sections 9, 39, 44, 48, and 48(A) of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972.
Following the rescue, the parakeet was sent for a health check and is now under the care of the forest department. Upon examination, it was discovered that the parakeet is in a distressed state, suffering from weakness, and unable to take flight. The department is providing intensive treatment to ensure recovery before any plans for release are made.
The photos of the rescued parakeet are available upon request.
Alexandrine parakeets are protected under Schedule II of the WPA, 1972 (as amended in 2022). Buying, selling, or possessing this species is an offence punishable by a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh or a jail term of up to three years – or both.
“PETA India is grateful to the Thane division of the Maharashtra Forest Department, particularly Deputy Conservator of Forests (Territorial), Thane Division, Shri Sachin Repal, IFS, for promptly ensuring the parakeet’s rescue and taking punitive action against the perpetrator,” says PETA India Cruelty Response Coordinator Sinchana Subramanyan. “Caged birds have nothing to sing about. Birds belong in the sky – never in cages – and PETA India urges anyone who sees a bird kept in one to encourage that they be turned over to the local forest department or an animal protection group for rehabilitation.”
In the illegal bird trade, countless victims 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 others 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 or 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 abuse in any way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on Facebook, Instagram, or X.
#
The post Mumbai Forest Officials Acts Against Illegal Possession of Alexandrine Parakeet, Following PETA India Complaint appeared first on PETA India.