More than 500 birds stuffed into tiny cages waiting to be sold as exotic pets have been saved
Many know it, but it is not always obvious: Not all animals are made to live in captivity or to become domesticated.
Buying "exotic" creatures as pets because we may like them, or they are sold to people as being "suitable" to be kept at home, it is actually often not a good thing for the animals.
That human beings exploit and abuse animals for their own economic convenience is certainly not a novelty.
However, every time situations such as the one we are about to tell you about occur, it is necessary to once again declare strong condemnation and opposition to certain practices.
In Calcutta, India, a group of rescuers, under the guidance of wildlife animal protection authorities, recently rescued over 550 protected birds that were living in horrible conditions.
The birds were parakeets, parrots, Asian Koel, and many others, crammed to capacity in very small cages, so small as not to allow many of them to survive. The nine people who were directly responsible for the abuse and mistreatment were arrested.
Although some of these birds can also live in captivity, the conditions in which the officials of the Indian Office of Wildlife Crime found them were not at all acceptable. After their rescue, all the surviving birds were transferred to veterinary care centers.
To aggravate the situation is the fact that the birds were going to be sold as domestic pets, despite being members of clearly protected species. They would, therefore, have ended up in ordinary pet shops waiting to be bought and sold, far from their natural habitat.
Facts like this, unfortunately, represent a small drop in a sea of animals that are being abused for the benefit of traffickers.
Remember that buying and keeping as a pet, a particular "exotic" animal specimen of dubious origin is neither the best or correct choice. Furthermore, it is necessary that more and more people become fully aware of this situation.
