Baby Alexandrine parakeets in trade NEW DELHI: People For Animals (PFA) rescued 440 parrots while they were being transported on a bus in Ghaziabad on Friday. The birds, stuffed in four cages, were being taken to Delhi's Jama Masjid area from where some of them would have been transported to Jaipur. About 60 of them were found dead or died soon after being rescued. The condition of another 60-70 was said to be critical.
PFA members said they had received information that a bus carrying parrots was on its way to Jaipur from Moradabad via Delhi. "Around 1am on Friday we received information regarding the registration number of the bus. It was an Uttarakhand Roadways bus, and we informed the police stations along its route to intercept it. A PFA team comprising Ravinder Shukla, Naveen Chaurasia and Rohit Verma was also sent. Cops at a police picket in Simbhavli, just before Ghaziabad, noticed the bus and when they signaled the vehicle to stop, the driver stepped on the gas and drove on. The cops gave chase and when the bus stopped at Ghaziabad, two men, including the driver, were arrested," said Saurabh Gupta, PFA member.
Two others - Shakil Khan and Abdul Kadir- jumped out of the window and escaped, sources said. The two men sell birds in Delhi's Jama Masjid area and have several cases under the Wildlife Protection Act lodged against them. "The arrested men are identified as Mithun, 20, and the driver Raees Ahmed. Mithun said Khan and Kadir gave him Rs 1,500 to ensure that the birds reached Delhi safely," said Gupta. The two have been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Cops are looking for the owners of the consignment, Ali Hassan and Jayesh Kumar.
PFA members said that the over 400 parrots were stuffed in four wire mesh cases, each cage partitioned into two sections. "They were so crammed that they could hardly move. This was done to ensure that the bird did not make any sound. The cases were packed in gunny bags. There were 220 Alexandrine parrots and another 200 Rose Ringed parakeets. Sixty of them died early on while several more were seriously injured and we are not expecting them to make it through the night. Each bird would have sold for Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000," said a member.
Sources said that Meerut, Moradabad, Bareilly, Jama Masjid and Ahmadabad had become hot spots for illegal trade in birds.