Rescued birds will be released after obtaining court permission, officer said (Representation)
Bardhaman:
A total of 750 parrots and 16 hill mynahs were rescued from a small truck in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district, a forestry department official said on Wednesday.
Two people were arrested in this regard, said Debashish Sharma, a divisional forest officer (DFO) from Bardhaman.
Acting on a whistleblower, staff from the Durgapur and Panagarh forestry offices in the district stopped the small truck near Galsi on National Road 2 after a chase on Tuesday evening.
DFO said the birds were being transported from Patna to someone on Gallif Street in northern Kolkata, where a large pet market is operated on Sundays.
According to the Wildlife Protection Act, keeping wild birds as pets is illegal.
The vehicle, along with the birds, was taken to the Ramnabagan Wildlife Sanctuary in Bardhaman, Sharma said.
The rescued birds will be released after obtaining court clearance, the officer said.
