Bengaluru police held two men for illegally transporting 29 parakeets, lifted from the wild, from Chennai on Tuesday. The smugglers were intercepted by the police in an area north Bengaluru when the birds were being transported to Mysuru.
Deccan Herald reported that, 30-year-old Vijay Raghavendra, who is a businessman, and Ramesh, an engineering student, were arrested at Rajagopalnagar, near Peenya. The two men, who were first-time offenders, were unaware that the birds are protected, the Rajagopalanagar police said.
Bangalore Mirror reported that 17 of the 29 birds were babies and the rest were adults and sub-adults.
The rescued birds belong to Alexandrine Parakeets and Rose Ringed Parakeets species, which are protected under Schedule 4 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, reported DH.
Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre (WRRC) is trying its best to keep the baby birds alive they were separated from their mothers when poachers lifted them from the wild. It is proving to be expensive for them.
A week’s birdfeed, which needs to be imported, costs around Rs.15,000 and a weekly medical expense of Rs.5,000 needs to be arranged until the birds can be subsequently sent back to the wild, reported BM.
WRRC president Suparna Baksi Ganguly ,"Some of these babies now with us are barely four-five-weeks-old. They need utmost care from doctors and our team are ensuring a round-the-clock care. They have to be hand-fed for at least eight weeks. The costs on the birdfeed - Kaytee Exact - hand-feeding formula for baby birds, which is an imported one, is a big challenge before us. They take a long time to mature and fly by themselves. It's an ardent task for our staff for at least five to six months.”
This is an aggregated report from Bangalore Mirror and Deccan Herald