Chennai : PETA India had earlier awarded the forest department with a Hero to Animals Award in April in a gesture to thank them for rescuing four parrots that were being illegally sold online for astrology scams as well as for and for aiding in the arrest of two men who were allegedly involved, reportedĀ IANS.
"PETA India commends the Chengalpattu Forest Department for saving these beautiful parakeets, who should never have been caught and who deserve to fly free again. Buying, selling, or caging parakeets is illegal and can result in a jail term of up to three years or a fine of up to Rs 25,000 or both," saidĀ Meet Ashar, PETA India's manager of cruelty response projects.
"Caged birds have nothing to sing about. Birds belong in the sky, never in cages, and we urge anyone who is keeping a bird in this way to turn them into a local forest department or an animal protection group for rehabilitation and to be reunited with a flock. In the illegal bird trade, countless birds are torn away from their families and denied everything that is natural and important to them so that they can be sold as āpets or bogus "fortune-tellersā.
Fledglings are often snatched from their nests, while 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 percent of them die in transit from broken wings and legs, thirst, or sheer panic. Those who survive face a bleak, lonely life in captivity, suffering from malnutrition, loneliness, depression, and stressā, PETA India noted. --- IANS