Over 200 rescued parakeets under Forest Department’s care in Coimbatore
The Hindu
Over 200 parakeets, including pet birds, rescued & rehabilitated by Forest Dept & volunteers at Coimbatore's avian recuperation centre.
Warbles of parakeets welcome one to the avian recuperation centre on the District Forest Office campus in Coimbatore. The centre currently houses over 200 parakeets, including pet birds surrendered by the public and those rescued by the Forest Department and volunteers.
The Forest Department launched a special drive in September, urging the public to hand over parakeets that were kept as pets. Within three months, the drive witnessed a positive outcome as more than 200 parakeets were handed over by people from different parts of the district.
District Forest Officer N. Jayaraj said the department staff and volunteers of ‘Animal Rescuers’, a non-governmental organisation, were taking care of the rescued birds.
A total of 12 species of parakeets are found in the Indian subcontinent. Keeping of any type of parakeets is prohibited under Schedule II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. “However, in most cases, people were unaware of the consequences and keep them as pets”, said one of the volunteers of Animal Rescuers.
The rescued parakeets at the centre are mainly Rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri) and Alexandrine parakeets (Psittacula eupatria). These are the most common species that are traded and kept as pets.
In most cases, the sellers and even the pet owners tend to clip the wings of the parakeets and trim their beaks. “It usually takes anywhere between three to six months for the feathers to grow back to normal stage,” said the volunteer.
In the case of birds with trimmed beaks, it takes a longer period for recovery. During rehabilitation, health supplements and grains are included in the diet.