Dehradun, Apr 28 (PTI) The forest department has rescued 34 protected rose-ringed and Alexandrine parakeets from two meat shops in Roorkee and arrested two people for allegedly trading in the protected bird species.
The action was taken after raids conducted on the orders of Haridwar’s Divisional Forest Officer Vaibhav Singh on a few shops in Roorkee following a complaint lodged recently by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India, forest department officials said on Monday.
Shoaib and Sarik were held after being found in possession of protected parakeets. They had unlawfully confined them in cages at their meat shops in Roorkee’s Purani Tehsil area, they said.
They were booked under different sections of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and remanded by a local court to judicial custody on Saturday.
Rose-ringed and Alexandrine parakeets are protected under Schedule II of the WPA Act, 1972. Buying, selling, or possessing this species is punishable by a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, a jail term of up to three years, or both, they said.
The illegal activity came to light when a PETA India staff member noticed parakeets confined in cages inside two shops while passing through the area.
Subsequently, PETA India sent a complaint to the Haridwar forest division of the Uttarakhand Forest Department, requesting that the birds be recovered and the shop owners be booked.
PETA India Cruelty Response Coordinator Virendra Singh has thanked the forest department for “promptly rescuing the parakeets and taking stringent punitive action against the perpetrators”.
This operation is part of PETA India’s ongoing efforts, in collaboration with forest departments and other authorities, to combat the illegal trade and trafficking of protected bird species across India. PTI ALM NB
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