Highly endangered species such as the Macaw and the Marmoset, assumed to have been smuggled from the United States, were seized by forest officials in the city on Thursday.
Karthikeyan, a resident of Dhandeeswaram Nagar in Velachery, had around seven species of birds and one species of monkey locked up in cages at his residence. He reportedly planned to sell them in the city. His neighbours came to know by word of mouth that he sold birds imported from the US.
The Blue Cross, on learning of Karthik’s activities, sent in three volunteers around 3 pm to conduct a check. Blue Cross general manager Dawn Williams said, “We got information that this man was keeping these birds under very cruel conditions. They were confined too close together, insulation tape had been used to bind their wings and they were living in their own faeces.” Sushana Wittal Dev, a Blue Cross volunteer, said, “He says that he bought these animals to sell them. But he doesn’t have any license to do the business and the shop he owns doesn’t look like a shop. We don’t know whether he bought these animals or smuggled them. The species like Macaw have a market value of around Rs 1 lakh for a pair.”
The volunteers spoke to State forest minister K T Pachamal and he immediately sent a special squad to rescue the animals. Forest Department sources said, “Karthik claims he is a dealer in such things and likes purchasing exotic species and selling them. We have given him a day’s time to prove this. Until then, these animals will be under the supervision of the forest department ”
Williams said the animals found at the house included eight monkeys (marmosets) and close to 30 birds, including species such as the macaw, the black-capped lory, the cockatoo and the Princess of Wales parakeet.
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