Birds kept for sale at the Kabootar Market opposite Red Fort in Delhi | Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY

Following a massive raid by the Delhi police on the illegal bird market near Jama Masjid, a number of parakeets were set free by PETA India at the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary last week.

The parakeets were among the many birds rescued last month in a joint operation by the Delhi police and PETA India against illicit wildlife trade at the Kabootar Market.  Thousands of adult and baby parakeets, hundreds of munias, two hill mynas and pigeons smuggled and sold illegally, were confiscated from the old and popular bird shops that sell exotic to native wild birds.

From the bestselling  Pahadi Tota, also known as Alexandrine Parrot, or old Delhi’s most popular bird, the Masakali (that goes for ₹400 a pair), the Shiraji pigeon from West Bengal and the Lal Kabootar from Kashmir to the Australian Jawa and other exotic species from Africa — the bird vendors have them all displayed in cages or stuffed inside cardboard boxes.  

“This is a Pahadi Tota… It will speak whatever you make him speak,” a shopkeeper told this reporter while pulling out one from inside a cardboard box kept in a dingy space. There were at least half a dozen more such boxes stuffed with birds in pathetic condition.

According to a PETA official, during the raid, the parakeets — a protected species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972 — were found “crammed in small cages kept on top of each other in small, dark and unventilated rooms”. 

“The birds were suffocating and jostling for air and space. Many were trapped in the wire mesh of the cages; some were found lying dead on the floor and decaying,” he said.   

The PETA had lodged a formal complaint with the Jama Masjid police station, requesting an FIR under various sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA), 1960 and the Indian Penal Code. It also filed a complaint with the Forest Department, seeking registration of a preliminary offence report under various sections of the WPA. 

DCP (Central) Shweta Chauhan said the police assisted PETA officials in carrying out the raid and handed over the case to the Forest Department for legal action. 

Birds illegally sold in India include wild birds protected under the WPA and exotic species. The PETA official said, “The capture and trade of 1,200 varieties of indigenous birds found in India are prohibited and yet 300 of them are sold openly in the town and city markets”.  

“Muniyas, mynas and parakeets are among the birds most commonly found in these markets. It is not unusual to find owls and hawks for sale as well,” the official added. Another PETA official claimed that a few shopkeepers who fled during the raids have returned to the market and continue to illegally sell protected birds.  

“The shopkeepers put some of the birds not included under the WPA on display to escape legal action. However, most of them possess illegally bought birds,” the official said. He also pointed out that although traders selling unprotected birds cannot be protected, sections of the PCA, 1960, can be invoked on them for housing birds haphazardly. 

“Birds deserve to be free. We have our teams deployed in every State and when we receive a tip-off, a random raid is conducted accordingly,”  he said. 

Senior advocacy officer at PETA India Harshil Maheshwari said, “Exotic birds are often illegally smuggled into India or bred in captivity under extremely cruel conditions. Capturing and trading of wild birds attracts imprisonment along with fine.”

The official said that indigenous birds are smuggled out of different States by train in cramped containers and almost half of them perish even before reaching the trader.  

Senior advocacy officer at PETA India Harshil Maheshwari said, “Exotic birds are often illegally smuggled into India or bred in captivity under extremely cruel conditions. Capturing and trading of wild birds attracts imprisonment along with fine.” 

“Most indigenous birds are captured in the hilly and forested areas of north and north-east India. If 1,000 birds are being smuggled, over 300 of them die during the journey itself due to the terrible conditions they are brought in,” he said.

Aditya Madanpotra, Deputy Conservator of Forests, central Delhi, said, “The Kabootar Market has been a nuisance for a very long time. The Forest Department carried out three raids in one year and rescued several illegally brought birds. We are now planning to move the trial court seeking action against selling of protected bird species”. 

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Printable version | Apr 24, 2022 1:09:40 am | https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/birds-of-different-feathers-trapped-together/article65348343.ece