Wildlife department seizes 26 rare birds

On Sunday morning, the wildlife department and Rangers performed a coordinated operation on the Superhighway to intercept and confiscate a shipment of 26 birds.

Wildlife officials have taken custody of the parrots that were being carried from Bahawalpur to Karachi, sources reveal.

Alexandrine parakeet, a huge and long-tailed green bird named after Alexander the Great, is one of the birds confiscated by wildlife authorities. Alexander shipped many Alexandrine parrots to Europe and the Mediterranean.

Pet owners and breeders alike seek after high-priced birds.

Alexandrine parakeets make up 18 of the confiscated birds.

Two- and three-month-old chicks are all included. While the Alexandrine parakeet’s size makes it easy to recognise, Inspector Aijaz Lal Baksh noted that “it is difficult to recognise the species of the younger ones at this age.”

The Alexandrine parakeet appears to have been captured from the wild, he continued.

It’s crucial to state here that four parakeet species have been documented from Pakistan; rose-ringed parakeet, Alexandrine or giant Indian parakeet, blossom-headed parakeet and a slaty-headed parakeet.

According to specialists, large-scale deforestation, illegal hunting, trapping and exporting of parrots on a mass scale in the past have brought a severe drop in their number in the wild in Sindh and Punjab.

Parrot species chicks are more valuable than their adult counterparts because of their capacity to learn quickly.

“We have requested the consigned to present a comprehensive documentation, including a valid permission from the wildlife department, for transportation and a sale certificate,” stated Sindh Wildlife Conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar.

While he did not explicitly say it, he did say that it was unlikely that any of the captured birds would be able to return to the wild.

“It’s impossible for captive birds to live in the wild. The birds would be relocated to a secure facility if we can not get all the information we needed.”

Mr Mahar said that local species were no longer allowed to be exported.

The Alexandrine parakeet was found in the districts of Ghotki and Sukkur in Sindh in 1991, according to a study. The 2013 study did not find this species in these regions.