Following a concerned citizen’s report about Alexandrine parakeets being kept in a small dingy cage at a man’s residence, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India said it worked with North 24 Parganas forest officials to rescue the birds and register a preliminary offence report (POR) against the alleged illegal custodian.

The POR was registered under Sections 9, 39, and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972.

The case is ongoing in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Barrackpore.

"Following their rescue, the parakeets were sent for a health check and were released in nature following a release order from the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Barrackpore. These birds are protected under Schedule II of the WPA, 1972. Buying, selling, or possessing this species is an offence punishable by a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh or a jail term of up to three years – or both," read a statement issued by PETA India.

“PETA India is grateful to the North 24 Parganas forest division of the West Bengal Forest Department, particularly Divisional Forest Officer Shri Abhijit Kar, for promptly rescuing the parakeets and for taking stringent punitive action against the perpetrator,” says PETA India Cruelty Response Coordinator Sunayana Basu. “Caged birds have nothing to sing about. Birds belong in the sky, never in cages, and we urge anyone who’s keeping a bird in this way to turn them into their local forest department or an animal protection group for rehabilitation.”

In the illegal bird trade, countless birds are taken from their families and denied everything that is natural and important to them so that they can be sold as “pets” or used as bogus fortune-tellers.

Fledglings are often snatched from their nests, while other birds panic as they’re caught in traps or nets that can seriously injure or kill them as they struggle to break free.

Captured birds are packed into small boxes, and an estimated 60% of them die in transit from broken wings and legs, thirst, or sheer panic. Those who survive face a bleak, lonely life in captivity, suffering from malnutrition, loneliness, depression, and stress.