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April 15, 2004
Caged up lives
Most people take pity on the caged birds sold in markets in Lahore and pay for their release, but the birds’ ordeal doesn’t end there because once set free, they are up for grabs again, writes Shehar Bano Khan
They flutter helplessly in a small cage, their beaks plucking at each other’s feathers in utter frustration as they try to look for escape. But escape does not come without a price. Their beady eyes turn to their human captor who is waiting to play on the empathy of a customer ready to pay for their freedom. The sparrows’ restlessness increases at the approach of the first buyer.
A rough hand reaches mercilessly inside the bird cage and clutches a sparrow by its fragile neck. Its captor is finally selling its freedom, but the buyer is only interested in paying for the release of a pair. In the hope of catching their captor’s clasp, the tiny beige coloured creatures with black patches try to touch his rough hand with their beaks.
“It’s Rs15 for a pair, sahib,” says the bird seller. Two sparrows are yanked out of the bird cage while the rest are left in sorrow. Money exchanges hands and after an initial flutter of uncertainty, the fortunate pair opens its wings and soars through the air, flying towards that much wanted freedom.
But it’s not for long. Somewhere, another bird catcher has laid out a wide net to catch more sparrows. The pair might just end up in another cage, with another seller, only to be set free again by another buyer. The procedure follows the same pattern of catching, buying and selling birds. Freedom for these small birds has become a whopping business for some.
Violating freedom is a serious crime in some countries, but in Pakistan it takes a lot for violation to reach critical proportions. It is of little consequence to us that each day the catching and selling of wild sparrows is taking place unchecked and unreported. In the past, Dawn carried a feature advocating prohibiting the sale of wild birds, but neither the World Wildlife Fund nor the local government took any notice. The business of people going on around their bicycles with cages packed with sparrows continues with such abandon that it is slowly developing into a mafia.
The bird sellers, forced by unemployment and encouraged to make quick money, are hesitant about exposing the mafia. “It’s not just about making money. They are dangerous people and I don’t want to starve my children over morals set by the rich,” says a bird seller. “I’m not stealing or deceiving anyone. All I’m doing is freeing birds for some money. What’s wrong with that?” asks the same man.
Apparently nothing. Not when you are desperately trying to make ends meet. Hunger and poverty invalidate those standards set by us for protection and conservation of wildlife. But the one factor hard to ignore and justify is the exploitation of these bird sellers by an enterprising racket rolling in the financial windfall brought on by human misfortunes.
Standing on the muddy pavement across the canal, running through Dharampura and the Upper Mall in Lahore, the bird sellers can be seen doing their usual rounds of pedaling for the sparrows’ freedom. For no obvious reason, most of them concentrate in the areas surrounding Shadman, Ichhra, the Data Sahib and the Liberty Market.
Salim prefers to do his rounds at Liberty because of its shopping attraction. “A lot of rich people come here, take pity on these birds, and pay to have them released,” he says. It costs between Rs15 to Rs20 to buy a pair of sparrows, and Salim usually makes between Rs250 to Rs300 a day. With four children to feed, an ailing mother, a younger brother, two unmarried sisters and a wife, selling birds ensures a semi if not a full stomach.
“I didn’t go to school and was not paid well as domestic help. A few years after I came from Jaranwala to find work in Lahore, a friend of mine suggested that I take up this job, which was better than scrubbing people’s kitchens. I can’t find a job that’ll pay me Rs9,000 to Rs10,000 monthly. Can I?” asks Salim.
Each Sunday the square in the Liberty Market turns into a temporary bazaar where birds are sold. Even though Sunday is not the best business time for these sellers, some of the people who stop to haggle are those struck by compassion for the helplessness of the birds trapped in the cages. “They are God fearing people and believe releasing birds will bring them His blessings,” explains Dinoo, a bird seller.
There are more than 150 bird sellers, says Dinoo, after promising to release a few pairs in exchange for that information. In the Punjab alone 500 to 600 hunters, working for different groups, are assigned to catch sparrows. Using bamboo dragnets, which are 30 feet in length, the hunters go to fields outside Lahore to trap birds. Sparrows are usually caught in the winters.
The biggest markets where these birds are kept for selling purposes to individual peddlers in Lahore are the Tollinton Market in Shadman, followed by Dharampura. Dinoo’s luck is relatively better than Salim’s because he is able to sell around 500 to 600 birds each week. “I swear, bibi, I wouldn’t be doing this if I had a proper job,” says Dinoo. “I once owned a tea stall at Lakshmi Chowk. After fracturing my leg I had to give it up,” which explains the limp in his left leg.
It is quite unlikely the trade will cease. Protection of civil liberties, let alone conservation of wildlife, is not on the local authorities’ immediate agenda. Construction of underpasses and providing security to the myriad government functionaries leaves little time for anything else.
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