Caged ‘Bird’ Urges Amritsar Residents to Let Birds Fly Free
Ahead of Independence Day, PETA India and the Ashray Foundation held a peaceful demonstration to emphasise how cruel it is to deny birds the freedom to fly. During this action, a volunteer posed as a caged bird outside VR Ambarsar Mall.
In nature, birds engage in social activities, such as taking sand baths, playing hide-and-seek, dancing, building nests with their mates, and nurturing their young. But when they’re caged, these same vibrant animals become depressed and withdrawn. They often over-preen themselves to the point of mutilation. Some people force birds to endure wing-clipping so that they can’t fly away, yet flying is as natural and important to birds as walking is to humans. Birds are captured from nature, packed into small boxes, and shipped to be sold into captivity, and many suffer and die in transit, usually from broken wings or legs, dehydration, starvation, or stress.
The government has banned the capture of and trade in species of indigenous birds in India, and The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, makes it illegal to keep an animal in a cage or receptacle that doesn’t offer reasonable opportunity for movement. For birds, “reasonable movement” means flight. Despite these laws, birds – including munias, mynas, parrots, owls, hawks, peacocks, and parakeets – are crammed into cages and sold at markets.
