KARACHI: A consignment of 26 birds was intercepted and seized in a joint operation conducted by the wildlife department and Rangers on Superhighway on Sunday morning.

Sources told Dawn that the parrots being transported from Bahawalpur to Karachi were now in the custody of the wildlife department, which had started inquiry into the case.

According to wildlife department officials, 18 of the seized birds are Alexandrine parakeet, a large and long-tailed green bird named after Alexander the Great, who is said to have had numerous Alexandrine parrots exported to Europe and the Mediterranean.

The highly priced bird is quite popular in the pet trade and bird breeders.

18 of the seized birds are Alexandrine parakeet

“They are all chicks between the age of two and three months. While one can easily identify the Alexandrine parakeet due to its size, it’s difficult to recognise the species of the smaller ones at this age,” said Inspector Aijaz Lal Baksh.

The Alexandrine parakeet seemed to have been caught from the wild, he added.

It’s important to mention here that four parakeet species have been reported from Pakistan; rose-ringed parakeet, Alexandrine or large Indian parakeet, blossom-headed parakeet and slaty-headed parakeet.

According to experts, large-scale deforestation, illegal hunting, trapping and exports of parrots on a mass scale in the past have brought about a sharp decline in their population in the wild in Sindh and Punjab.

The chicks of parrot species are highly priced than that of adults due to their quick learning ability.

“We have asked the consigner to produce complete documents, including a valid permit from the wildlife department, for transit and a sale certificate,” explained Sindh Wildlife Conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar.

Asked whether birds could be released in the wild, he said the Alexandrine species was hard to find now and that the seized birds might have been raised in captivity.

“Captive birds wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild. If we couldn’t get complete documents about the birds, they would be shifted to a safe facility where they could be looked after properly.”

There was a complete ban on the exports of native species now, Mr Mahar said.

A 1991 Sindh survey showed some population of the Alexandrine parakeet in the two districts of Ghotki and Sukkur. However, this species was not observed during the 2013 survey in these areas.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2022