Over 700 Parakeets and Other Birds Recovered in Kanpur Raid, Following PETA India Complaint; Three Traders Arrested
Acting on a complaint by PETA India and with the support of the Kotwali Police Station, the Kanpur division of the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, led by Divisional Forest Officer Smt Divya, IFS, recovered over 700 birds – including some 90 rose-ringed parakeets, 50 plum-headed parakeets, 10 Alexandrine parakeets, 250 scaly-breasted munias, 150 Indian silverbills, 110 red munias, 50 tricoloured munias, and a common hill myna – from shops at Parade Bazar in Kanpur. PETA India had sent a formal complaint to Kanpur forest officials requesting that the birds be recovered and the sellers booked. Three alleged perpetrators were arrested after the Kotwali Police Station registered a first information report against them under the relevant sections of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972.
In April, Kanpur forest officials rescued Indian ring-necked parakeets that were being kept in small, dingy cages at a sugarcane juice vendor’s shop and registered a preliminary offence report against the alleged illegal custodian in response to a complaint by PETA India.
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.
Common hill mynas are protected under Schedule I of the WPA, 1972. Buying, selling, or possessing a Schedule I species is an offence punishable by a jail term of between three and seven years and a fine of at least Rs 25,000. Rose-ringed, plum-headed, and Alexandrine parakeets – as well as Indian silverbills and scaly-breasted, red, and tricoloured munias – are protected under Schedule II of the WPA, 1972. Buying, selling, or possessing species protected under Schedule II is an offence punishable by a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, a jail term of up to three years, or both. Non-native endangered species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and Schedule IV of the WPA, 1972.
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.
The WPA, 1972, bans the capture, caging, and trading of indigenous birds, and 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.
