Four animals rescued from Pune’s Yerawada area

Four animals including one from the schedule 1 category were rescued from Yerawada in a joint operation by the Pune forest department, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, and RESQ Charitable Trust. Among the animals rescued is a monkey that had been chained cruelly in a slum. The animals have been admitted to the RESQ facility in Bavdhan for further treatment, and the forest department has registered an offence against one person.

After a concerned citizen informed PETA that a rhesus macaque monkey was being kept chained in a Yerawada slum, the organisation informed Aditya Paranjape, honorary wildlife warden, who passed on the information to the Pune forest department. Subsequently, a team of officials visited the spot only to also find two Alexandrine parakeets and a common hill myna – animals protected under the schedule 2 and 1 categories, respectively, of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 (WPA) – kept in small cages close to where the monkey was kept chained. All four animals were immediately seized by the forest department.

R Varak, range forest officer, Pune forest division, said, “Our team rescued four animals from Yerawada. We have registered an offence against Shahnagar Kureshi from whose home the animals were seized. However since he was out of town, a lookout notice was issued against him on June 24. We will be conducting further investigation to trace if there is any trafficking angle involved or if any other racket exists behind this.”

Saloni Sakaria, PETA India cruelty response coordinator, said, “Buying, selling, or possessing a schedule 1 species is an offence under sections 9, 39, and 51 of the WPA and is punishable by a jail term of between three and seven years and a fine of at least ₹25,000. We urge anyone who learns of cruelty to animals to report it to a local animal protection group and the police or the forest department in cases where wild animals are involved.”

“Monkeys kept in people’s homes as pets or to be made to dance are often chained or confined to cramped cages. When used for entertainment, they are typically trained by beating and food deprivation and their teeth are commonly pulled out to prevent them from defending themselves,” Sakaria said.

“In the illegal bird trade, countless victims are separated from their families and denied everything 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, and others 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 into small boxes, and an estimated 60% of them die in transit from broken wings or legs, thirst, or sheer panic. Those who survive face a bleak life in captivity, suffering from malnutrition, loneliness, depression and stress,” said Sakaria.

In the instant case, the rescued animals were sent to the RESQ Charitable Trust for a health checkup, treatment and temporary rehabilitation. They will be released into their natural habitat after complete recovery, informed a PETA member.