Rare species of birds, animals seized in raid on pet market
Staff Correspondent
A Forest Department team in a drive yesterday recovered 127 different rare species of wild birds and three monkeys from the Kataban pet market in the city.The team led by Dhaka Divisional Forest Officer Md Abdul Latif recovered 40 parakeets of two species--rose-ringed and blossom-headed, 12 partridges, 21 hill mynas, 31 spotted doves, a kite and a purple moorhen. The team also recovered three rhesus monkeys from the market. However, the bird traders had fled the market with a number of rare birds as they had come to know about the raid beforehand, Forest Department sources said. The birds and animals recovered in the raid have been kept at the Forest Department office at Mohakhali. The department sources said it will take care of the birds and animals and later release them in the wild. Wildlife experts said all these birds breed only in the wild and cannot procreate in the cage. The bird traders at Kataban have been continuing the illegal business of wild birds for a long time although the Wildlife Protection Act-1974 prohibits capturing and hunting of wild birds and animals. The Forest Department did not conduct any raid on the Kataban market in recent times. However, officials concerned told reporters that from now on the department will conduct such raids on regular basis. Dhaka division Magistrate MA Fattah and police forces accompanied the Forest Department team during the raid.
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