The Tamil Nadu Forest and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau rescued five parakeets kept illegally by individuals in Chennai and Tirunelveli in the past few weeks.
A penalty was imposed on both offenders following registration of preliminary offence reports (POR) under the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972.
Parakeets are protected under Schedule IV of the WPA, 1972 and possession of them is a punishable offence. Upon complaints from various sources, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, Forest Department officials found two parakeets in Chennai in possession of an individual.
“We seized two parakeets in Chennai on March 28 and levied a penalty of ₹20,000,” said E. Prashanth, Wildlife Warden, Chennai. The person was unaware that keeping the birds was illegal, he said.
In anothe case in Tirunelveli, authorities found three parakeets at a home stay in the second week of March. The persons were fined ₹6,000.
As many as 76 cases have been booked by the Tamil Nadu Forest and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (FWLCB) from its four zonal offices in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Ramanathapuram since November 2022, said R. Kanchana, Deputy Conservator of Forests, FWLCB. The offences include keeping protected species such as Alexandrine parakeets as pets, trading in monitor lizards, sea cucumber, tiger skin and nails, forest-related violations, and so on.
The bureau is in the process of compiling wildlife crime data bank and mapping poaching and illegal trade hotspots in the State for better monitoring of illegal activities, said Ms. Kanchana. Offenders’ details are being collected from all divisions in the State.
