Better late than never. That is the reaction of wildlife experts in West Bengal on state Forest Minister Jyotipriyo Mullick’s announcement in the Assembly this week on bringing a law under which all species of indigenous birds will be prohibited as being kept as pets.
According to Mullick, this new state law will cover all species of indigenous birds including pigeons. “Any violation, be it by a seller or buyer, will be considered as a punishable offense and will attract strict action by the competent authorities,” he warned.
He added that although the new law will permit keeping foreign species of birds, it will be lots of restrictions. “Such foreign species of birds can be kept as pets for breeding purposes only and the owners concerned will have to procure a license for the same from the competent authorities. This licence will be granted against payment of a registration fee of Rs 15,000. There will be lots of restrictions for maintenance of foreign species of birds. The owners concerned will not be allowed to exhibit them in public exhibitions and will not be able to sell them in the open market,” the Forest Minister said.
Speaking to IANS, former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests in West Bengal Atanu Raha feels that the proposal to have a state law on this count is undoubtedly a timely move although there are existing provisions under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 that prohibit keeping indigenous birds as pets.
“Barring some species like crow, shalik or martin and pigeons, no other indigenous bird species can be kept as pets. Of course there is a proposal in the state law that even indigenous bird species like pigeons will also be included in the list… I doubt how far that be applicable, since the central act on this count is silent on restrictions on these three bird species being kept as pets, So there is confusion the proposed state act can really prohibit restrictions on these three species as pets,” Raha said.
However, senior Calcutta High Court lawyer Kaushik Gupta said that while the central act is silent on these three indigenous bird species as pets, it also does not specifically mention that these three species are allowed to be kept as pets.
“So if the proposed state act also prohibits these same bird species from being kept as pets, it will not be against the central act. So anyone also keeping crow, shalik or martin and pigeons as pets or selling the same can be acted against under the proposed state law,” he said.
Meanwhile, Raha said that while the proposal for the new state law is a timely move, the question is how strictly it can be enforced.
“Under the existing legal provisions, both the buying and selling of indigenous bird species are prohibited. But keeping parrots, which is again a prohibited species, as pets is quite common. This is because there is a lack of awareness among common people on the existing legal provisions on this count. So the focus of the proposed state act should be more on crackdown on the supply side rather than on the demand side. There should be regular crackdown on the known but illegal birds trading hubs in the state like Galiff Street in North Kolkata, which is a traditional pet trading hub,” he said.
Noted wildlife activist S Mukhopadhyay said that often common people keep bird species as pets without knowledge that they are unknowingly violating the law. “So, in my opinion, there is a necessity for the state Forest Department to start a major awareness campaign to update the public on what species can be kept as pets and which not. And this should not be just for birds but for any fauna species,” he added.
That is exactly what the Forest Department is planning, said the Forest Minister.
“Before taking legal action against those who are already having Indian species of birds as pets, my department will be undertaking a thorough campaign programme, so that those who are already having Indian species of birds as pets become aware of what to do and what not to,” he said.
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