Two persons were also arrested in connection with the operation, which was organized on the basis of a tip-off received by J.R. Ani, Divisional Forest Officer, Flying Squad, Thiruvananthapuram.
The accused have been identified as Balamurugan (24) and Subrahmaniam (43), both of whom hailed from Tiruchirappalli.
The team of forest officials was led by Thiruvananthapuram Control Room range officer P.V. Jayakumar, and included Palode range officer S.V. Vinod, foresters E.M. Najimudeen, R. Suresh Babu, and beat forest officers K.S. Anu Krishnan and P.R. Baburaj. The birds, listed under Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, were rescued from near the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, where they were brought to be sold in cages, each having sets of two birds.
The wings of the parakeets were found to be clipped in order to restrict their flying abilities. “They were being offered for rates ranging from Rs.600 to Rs.800, depending on the maturity of the birds. Distinctive red or black rings are seen on the neck of the adult male bird,” Mr. Ani said.
According to him, the birds are abundantly found in paddy fields in Tamil Nadu, from where they were brought for sale to Thiruvananthapuram.
There has been informed that the accused persons and a few others, who live a nomadic life, have been keeping parakeets for sale near temples in various places including Vellayani and Thiruvallam on the weekends.
Forest officials believe that the lack of awareness among the public have resulted in many mistaking such birds for parrots and buying them from hawkers to be raised as pets in households, unaware the act was legally an offense.
They have not ruled out the possibility of parakeets being sold in pet shops. Persons found guilty of the Act could attract strict penalties including imprisonment for a minimum of three years and a fine of Rs.25,000. A second offense could lead to imprisonment up to seven years.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate (Forest Offences) in Nedumangad and have been remanded. The case will be handed over to the Paruthipally range office, under whose jurisdiction the operation was conducted. Over 100 rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula Krameri) that were brought from Tamil Nadu for sale in the city were rescued by forest officials on Sunday.
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