750 parrots, 16 hill mynahs rescued from a vehicle in West Bengal

Altogether 750 parrots and 16 hill mynahs were rescued from a small truck in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district, a forest department official said on Wednesday.

Two persons were apprehended in this connection, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Bardhaman, Debashish Sharma, said.

Acting on a tip-off, personnel of the forest range offices of Durgapur and Panagarh in the district stopped the small truck near Galsi on National Highway 2 after a chase on Tuesday night.

The DFO said that the birds were being transported from Patna to someone in north Kolkata's Gallif Street where a large pet market is operated on Sundays.

According to the Wildlife Protection Act, keeping wild birds as pets is illegal.The vehicle, along with the birds, was taken to Ramnabagan Wildlife Sanctuary in Bardhaman, Sharma said.

The rescued birds will be set free after getting the court's permission, the DFO said. 

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