Mobile court rescues 246 wild birds

Some of the 246 wild birds rescued by a mobile court of Rapid Action Battalion during a raid on a weekly bird market at Tongi, Gazipur yesterday. Photo: Courtesy

A mobile court of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) yesterday rescued 246 wild birds and arrested 12 illegal bird traders, fined them Tk 50,000 each and sentenced them to jail terms ranging from one to six months.
As per Bangladesh Wildlife (Protection and Safety) Act 2012, trapping, selling, buying, consuming or caging wild birds is a punishable offence.
The rescue and arrests were made during a raid in a weekly bird market at Tongi, Gazipur. Every Sunday, illegal bird traders arrive there with different kinds of trapped wild birds, either to be sold for consumption or as pets, says a Rab press release.
The birds include one common hill myna, 26 rose-ringed parakeets, 38 spotted doves, 15 White-breasted Waterhens, 137 Black-headed Munias, four common mynas, six ring-necked doves, 14 Alexandrine Parakeets, four Purple Moorhens and one Cotton Pygmy Goose.
The birds would be released back into the wild, said Bangladesh Forest Department officials.
Rab-1 members, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Abu Taher Mohammed Abdullah and joined by the forest officials, conducted the drive while Executive Magistrate Anwar Pasha handed down the fines and sentences. The illegal bird traders, hailing from different districts, were staying at Honda road, Tongi.