PUNE: The Gujarat forest department along with the Wildlife SOS-GSPCA team recently seized several wild animals kept illegally as pets across the city of Vadodara. A total of 18 parakeets and one baby Rhesus macaque, were rescued in the operation.
Over the weekend, the Wildlife SOS-GSPCA team, operating out of Vadodara, assisted the Gujarat Forest Department in seizing a total of 18 birds including Alexandrine, Rose-ringed and Plum-headed parakeets, and one baby Rhesus macaque in a city-wide operation.
After weeks of intel gathering by the Wildlife SOS-GSPCA Rapid Response Unit, the NGO alerted the forest department about several wild animals being kept illegally as pets in households, a news statement by the Wildlife SOS-GSPCA said.
The Forest Department dispatched a team of officers who were joined by the Wildlife SOS team on a mass seizure operation which included Gorwa, Kishanwadi, Ajwa Road and Lalbaug areas. While the birds were being kept in cages, the baby Rhesus macaque was found tied to a rope in the balcony of a house that was raided by the authorities. The animals are currently under the custody of the forest department and cases have been registered against the offenders under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Each year, millions of wild animals fall victim to the illegal pet trade, the statement said. Many are kept in exponentially small spaces and deprived of basic nutrition and care. According to experts, at least 75% of these animals die within the first year of becoming a pet, with a vast majority succumbing to suffocation, disease, starvation and dehydration during transit.
Raj Bhavsar, Project Coordinator at Wildlife SOS and President of GSPCA said, “Parakeets are social animals and keeping them in a caged environment can negatively affect their physical and psychological health. While it is important to educate the consumers about the ills of this practice, it is equally essential to uproot the problem at the source and halt the poaching of wild animals which supports the illegal pet trade industry.”
Over the weekend, the Wildlife SOS-GSPCA team, operating out of Vadodara, assisted the Gujarat Forest Department in seizing a total of 18 birds including Alexandrine, Rose-ringed and Plum-headed parakeets, and one baby Rhesus macaque in a city-wide operation.
After weeks of intel gathering by the Wildlife SOS-GSPCA Rapid Response Unit, the NGO alerted the forest department about several wild animals being kept illegally as pets in households, a news statement by the Wildlife SOS-GSPCA said.
The Forest Department dispatched a team of officers who were joined by the Wildlife SOS team on a mass seizure operation which included Gorwa, Kishanwadi, Ajwa Road and Lalbaug areas. While the birds were being kept in cages, the baby Rhesus macaque was found tied to a rope in the balcony of a house that was raided by the authorities. The animals are currently under the custody of the forest department and cases have been registered against the offenders under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Each year, millions of wild animals fall victim to the illegal pet trade, the statement said. Many are kept in exponentially small spaces and deprived of basic nutrition and care. According to experts, at least 75% of these animals die within the first year of becoming a pet, with a vast majority succumbing to suffocation, disease, starvation and dehydration during transit.
Raj Bhavsar, Project Coordinator at Wildlife SOS and President of GSPCA said, “Parakeets are social animals and keeping them in a caged environment can negatively affect their physical and psychological health. While it is important to educate the consumers about the ills of this practice, it is equally essential to uproot the problem at the source and halt the poaching of wild animals which supports the illegal pet trade industry.”