Guwahati: The Kokrajhar police and Kachugaon forest division on Tuesday apprehended YouTuber Jahid Lifestyle for capturing parakeets from the wild and offering them for sale on his YouTube channel.
The activists of PETA recovered two parakeets from his possession. The special operation was carried out in the Gossaigaon area by Kokrajhar police on Tuesday.
The accused, whose real name is Jahidul Islam, was arrested on the basis of a complaint by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
PETA India had made a formal complaint to the Assam Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) or the Chief Wildlife Warden, and Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Kachugaon, for the release of the birds from the possession of YouTuber Jahid Lifestyle.
ALSO READ | 30 Mild Earthquakes Jolt Northeast In Less Than 3 Months, Expert Says A Major One Can’t Be Ruled Out
A preliminary offence report has been registered by the Kachugaon forest division under sections 9, 39, and 51 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972, against the accused for poaching, capturing and selling wild parakeets against the provisions of the act.
Parakeets are protected under Schedule IV of the WPA, 1972, and Catching, trapping, and selling them is a punishable offence.
In the videos, YouTuber Jahid Lifestyle and his accomplices are seen entering forested areas, climbing trees to reach the nests of the parakeets, and capturing them.
On the pretext of creating “educational” content on how to raise and feed parakeets, the YouTuber can be seen “on video” feeding a mixture of processed sugary biscuits and water to the baby parakeets, which is contrary to their natural diet and highly detrimental to their health.
“PETA India commends the Kachugaon forest division for apprehending the accused and rescuing the parakeets, who should never have been rescued in the first attempt and who deserve to be freed in the wild again,” said PETA India Cruelty Response Coordinator Saloni Sakaria.
“Capturing, buying, selling or caging parakeets is illegal and can result in a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to Rs 25,000 or both,” Sakaria said.
“Caged birds have nothing to sing about. Birds belong in the sky, never in cages, and we urge anyone who is keeping a bird in this way to turn them in to their local forest department or an animal protection group for rehabilitation and to be reunited with a flock,” the activist added.
In the illegal bird trade, countless birds are torn away from their families and denied freedom, which is natural and important to them, so that they can be sold as “pets” or used as bogus “fortune-tellers.”
Fledglings are often snatched from their nests, while other birds panic as they are caught in traps or nets that can seriously injure or kill them as they struggle to break free.
Captured birds are packed in small boxes and an estimated 60 per cent of them die in transit from broken wings and legs, thirst, or sheer panic.
Those who survive face a bleak, lonely life in captivity, suffering from malnutrition, loneliness, depression, and stress.