Wildlife officials seize 46 endangered parakeets

Wildlife officials have seized 46 parakeets from a bird trader in West Bengals Darjeeling District.

Siliguri (West Bengal), Aug 10 : Wildlife officials have seized 46 parakeets from a bird trader in West Bengal's Darjeeling District.

Mohammad Ukil, was produced before a court here and charged with the illegal trade of endangered birds.

Ukill was nabbed when officials raided a bus and found parakeets packed in a carton. The flock comprised blossom-headed, slaty-headed and rose-ringed parakeets.

The illegal bird trade thrives in the northern parts of West Bengal, and demand for them is high, with Bihar being a major market.

Wildlife agencies claim that poaching is adding to the decline of the bird population in India. Birds are already facing the threat of a shrinking habitat, said Animesh Bose, programme coordinator of the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation.

Parakeets and Hill Mynahs are included in endangered list of birds.

India is known to be home to 1,225 bird species, including 257 water birds. It also supports 81 species of migrant waterfowls, which arrive from Central Asia and Europe during winter.

The hunting or the caging of endangered wildlife is banned in India, but lax laws and enforcement and mild punishment, ensure that the poaching and smuggling of rare species is rampant.

Wildlife authorities say that in most cases, the birds are trapped and their feathers torn out, or they are killed for their pristine feathers.

In India, parrots are used by fortune tellers to forecast the future. The caging of the birds, especially parrots, is considered illegal and punishable with a fine, or imprisonment of up to five years.

Birdlife International, a worldwide conservation group, recently warned that some 300 Asian bird species face extinction, particularly in India, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and China, due to poor protection and habitat destruction.

ANI