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The Parakeets Tale behind the Gilded Cage
The onset of spring ensures breeding success for most of the Indian parakeets. Unfortunately, during this period, despite the ban on bird trade, hundreds of parakeet chicks are collected and supplied to the illegal pet markets. A TRAFFIC India / WWF-India survey on bird trade highlights the cruel facet of this shameful harvest. Abrar Ahmed reports.
For centuries, parrots have been kept as pets or companions in our homes because of their beauty, charm, longevity and their astonishing ability to ?talk?. Due to the high domestic and international market demand, thousands of birds are collected annually on a global basis. However, the people who keep parakeets cannot imagine in their wildest dreams, what goes on behind the scene.
No other avian group has been subjected to such commercial exploitation, numerically and financially than parrots. Out of 330 parrot species found in the world, about 100 species are presently endangered due to trade and trapping pressures combined with fragmentation and loss of habitat.
In India, parakeets contribute 60-70% of the total live bird trade, and out of its 14 species found in the country, seven are reportedly traded commercially. The Alexandrine parakeet is the most preferred species while the Roseringed parakeet is the most traded species. Other species include the Bluewinged parakeet of the Western Ghats, the Indian lorikeet, the Red-breasted parakeet and the Slatyheaded parakeet from the Himalayas and the north-east and the Blossom headed parakeet, which is found all over the country.
Though a large percentage of trade in parakeets is in adults, chicks of two to four weeks are the most preferred. This is simply because unlike adult birds, the parakeet chicks can be taught to mimic a few words. All Indian parakeets nest in tree cavities. Chicks more than a week old are removed from their nests between early March to May by using curved needles tied to a rope which are inserted into the nest cavities entangling the chicks. The shortage of old trees with preferable nesting holes and the coming up of mono-culture plantations like that of Eucalyptus have also contributed to the decline of the local parakeet populations.
Chicks collected by local trappers are sold to sub-dealers who then pass them to main dealers from where they are sold in open markets. A chick of parakeet can sell at a grass root price of Rs. 2 to Rs. 500 in a pet shop while a trained talking parakeet can fetch upto Rs. 2000 in a local bird market. A chick of Alexandrine parakeet can fetch upto 100 dollars in the international market. TRAFFIC India study reveals that about 50,000 parakeet chicks are still collected annually despite a blanket ban on bird trade in India. This export is mainly to France, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Sweden.
A wide mass awareness campaign can help curtail the demand for keeping wild birds as pets. Active enforcement alone may not be the only answer, as seized chicks, due to the absence of any rescue centre, do not survive unless manually fed. Issues such as inability of most Indian zoos to rehabilitate seized birds need to be seriously considered. More wildlife volunteers and active people need to come forward to help check the widespread trade in these hapless creatures.
http://www.wwfindia.org
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