A colourful blue and yellow South American macaw and a cotton tuft-eared marmoset, kept in cages in a pet shop located on Poonamallee High Road, were rescued by Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) authorities on Monday.
Antony Rubin, an animal welfare activist, who spotted the bird and the animal in the pet shop a couple of days ago, alerted the SPCA authorities on Monday.
Mr Rubin said both were priced at Rs 1 lakh each.
Both the legs of the marmoset were paralysed and it had suffered an injury in its tail.
The shop owner said the animal had sustained the injuries in a fall.
The macaw was very agitated when the SPCA authorities attempted to make it sit on a wooden stick, inside the cage.
It protested and squawked at high decibels.
The SPCA authorities said they would hand over the animal and the bird to wildlife authorities.
W. Dowlath Khan, SPCA chief inspector, said, in July 2006, a similar specimen of marmoset was rescued from a restaurant on East Coast Road, where it was kept, in a separate enclosure, along with love birds, emus, ducks and rabbits to entertain visitors.
Macaws are large South American parrots with blue upper parts and yellow under parts.
They inhabit forests and woodlands of tropical South America. They are popular among aviculturists due to their striking colours, ability to talk and bond closely with humans.
Marmosets are found primarily in the tropical rainforests of South America with a small number found in Central America.
Some of the zoos in the country have kept this primate species as an exhibit.
The pet shop owner informed the SPCA authorities that the macaw had been kept as an attraction for those visiting his shop and only the marmoset was meant for sale.
The owner also stated he had bought the macaw from a Chennai-based person.
