Over 200 protected parakeets rescued from train
Ahmedabad: They pecked and necked in public, but nobody really minded the cacophonic romance by this bunch of parakeets seized as illegal railway consignment on Wednesday.
Over 200 of the rose-ringed variety of parakeets were rescued by the forest department from Kalupur railway station and taken to the office of conservator of forests(CCF) in Hansol.
Conservator of forests (wildlife crime cell), Dinesh Sharma says, “We got a tip-off from New Delhi about this illegal consignment of rose-ringed parakeets parcelled from Meerut to Ahmedabad by Ahmedababad-bound Haridwar Mail.”
“We stationed a 15-member team throughout Tuesday night at Kalupur railway station in plain clothes and patiently waited for illegal sellers to claim the parcels. But no one turned up to claim it. After initial investigation we found that the address on the parcels were fictitious.”
The rose-ringed parakeets come under Schedule IV animals as per Wildlife Protection Act and in illegal market costs from Rs 250 to over Rs 500.
Deputy conservator of forest, Ahmedabad, Ramana Murthy, says, “We found 13 dead birds in the cramped parcel boxes. They were stuffed and were under complete stress and had nothing to eat or drink inside the enclosures.”
CCF worked in collaboration with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Government of India. Sharma says, “WCCB has started their investigation by sending a team to Meerut to find out about this whole nexus of illegal trade of birds.”
“We are also looking into the role of railway officials in this nexus. Technically, for a parcel containing any birds except poultry to be transported from railways it is essential to obtain a certificate from chief wildlife warden or authorised officer of state government. We are also investigating how these parcels were booked,” adds Sharma.
On the fate of seized birds, JS Desai, city range forest officer, Ahmedabad says, “We will soon be releasing these parakeets in wild after we are done with the required documentation work.”