Birds enrich our community as well!
Last month, our most experienced paravet, Rama Rao, attended to an injured crow. The poor bird’s wings were injured from what we are assuming are electric wires that run across the city. Generally, crows are extremely smart birds who know that these wires can potentially shock the body if their wings touch two wires, closing the electric loop. It’s also possible that the crow was injured by “manja”, the string used in India to fly kites. This is also a common way by which many birds are injured. We are seeing more and more such cases where birds are falling to the ground due to injuries sustained to their wings. Along with crows, we are seeing pigeons, egrets, and even eagles with these injuries.
VSPCA, under the guidance of Mr. Pradeep Kumar Nath, has taken up a few initiatives to help all kinds of birds, especially parrots. In many cities across India, including Visakhapatnam, people visit fake astrologers with their tarot cards and caged-up parrots. Often, the birds’ wings are broken by these astrologers, and they are kept in tiny cages with little to no food and water. VSPCA has witnessed birds stuffed in drawers of a cabinet at one such astrologer’s den. When questioned about it, the man said this is a “common way” to keep these birds.
There have been several instances where our team has tracked down the fake astrologers and rescued these severely malnourished and dehydrated birds, whilst warning the astrologers about the consequences if they are caught again abusing these highly intelligent and beautiful birds. VSPCA has worked with the Forest Department on such rescue missions, as the parrots’ “owners” can be aggressive. After rescuing these birds, VSPCA offers jobs to these “astrologers” at our facilities, where they can continue to earn a living, but as a caretaker for these birds.
We thank the Forest Department as well as our volunteers and team for carrying out these operations and ensuring that the parrots are safe at our shelters. At VSPCA, there are hundreds of parrots in the aviary. They are extremely lively creatures despite having their wings broken. One can learn a lot from their sophisticated ability to live so happily in the present moment!
If you would like to learn more about how intelligent and empathetic parrots are, please read this beautiful article from New York Times, where they talk about a unique and deep bond that a veteran suffering from PTSD and an injured parrot share.
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