Mapusa Following a tip off from a member of the Forest Department in Goa John, Tanja and Yuvraj left the centre in Assagao and headed for Mapusa city to confiscate some birds which had been illegally captured to be sold at Mapusa market.
We had been told by our source that his neighbour was keeping the birds in small cages outside his house. We drove to the address given to us but could not immediately see any sign of the birds. After a few minutes however we first heard then saw 5 Ring Neck Parakeets kept in 2 small cages on the balcony of the house.
Initially we had to deal with the keeper’s mother as he was nowhere to be seen however after a short time he immerged from the house. John introduced himself and produced his warrant, which gives him authority to confiscate any illegally held animal. It was explained to the keeper of the Parakeets that his choice was to either hand the birds over to us to be released, in which case no further action would be taken, or to face prosecution under the Wildlife Protection Act.
The birds were handed over without much argument or resistance and it was carefully explained to him that if ever any birds were found on his premises again he would face prosecution. The birds were taken back to the IAR centre and given to Astrid for examination to establish whether they were fit to be released and luckily they were in such condition that they were set free on the same day.
Siolim On his regular travels through the village of Siolim John had noticed a cage containing 3 Plum Headed Parakeets outside a small shop and he decided to go and confiscate those as well. The owner of the shop did not speak English but luckily we had Yuvraj with us and he explained the situation to him and gave him the option of surrendering the birds or face prosecution under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Again we were fortunate not to have to face any resistance from the keeper although he did request that he may keep the parakeets until the following day to allow his son to say goodbye to them. Although there was always the possibility that the birds would be moved over night we decided to believe the man when he gave us his word that the birds would still be there.
The birds were brought to the centre on Monday 19th September but due to them having been in captivity for approximately 9 months it was not possible to release them. Instead they were examined for injuries and taken to Karin Kruker’s place in Pilerne for rehabilitation. They are all to be released as soon as they are fit to survive back in the wild.