Arrest of six people by Madurai Forest Division officials on Saturday for possession and sale of parakeets revealed the nexus between the sellers and employees of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC).
The six were nabbed and four Alexandrine parakeet chicks rescued from them by the officials after a trap was laid based on a tip-off from N. Sadiq Ali of Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust and a volunteer from TRAFFIC that works to prevent illegal wildlife trade.
District Forest Officer Nihar Ranjan said that officials conducted simultaneous raids in Thoothukudi, where the dealer was residing, and Arappalayam bus stand in Madurai, where the parakeets were brought by a TNSTC bus from Thoothukudi for delivery to forest officials who were pretending as buyers.
According to Mr. Ranjan, the sellers were using TNSTC and private buses to deliver parakeets and other exotic birds to buyers from different locations.
Forest Department sources said that the sellers used social media and websites to attract potential buyers. Once contact was established and prices were negotiated, the buyer was asked to transfer the money to seller’s bank account. After confirming receipt of money, the seller kept the birds in cardboard boxes and sent them by bus to the buyer’s location. The bus driver’s details were shared with the buyer who could collect the birds from the local bus stand.
“It looks like both TNSTC and private buses are actively used for the purpose,” Mr. Ranjan said. He added that as these birds were protected under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, the authorities could even seize the buses if it was found that the owners were knowingly transporting the birds.
The six detained included Glitus (22), the dealer from Thoothukudi district, A. Balamurugan (35), bus driver, and P. Nagarajan (48), bus conductor. The bus was going from Thoothukudi to Tiruppur. Three others were youngsters from Madurai who were acting as local dealers. The officials released all the six after imposing hefty fines on them.
Mr. Nihar said that as the rescued parakeets were too young, they would be kept under care for around two months after which they would be released into the wild.
