Pradeep D’souza, from whose home 191 birds and bats were rescued, says officials never responded to his calls to collect the animals
The man who rescued 191 birds and bats and kept them at his home says he had to do so because the forest department (FD) officials never responded to his calls.
95 kites are still at the BSPCA hospital in Parel. Pic/Emmanual Karbhari
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mid-day had reported yesterday about how the beasts had been taken from D’souza’s Masjid Bunder home — these included 25 owls, 95 kites, 25 parrots, 7 bats and 9 seabirds. 152 of the birds had been taken to the Parel hospital of the Bombay Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA).
mid-day’s report yesterday
D’souza, however, says the FD has been ignoring information he provided about the beasts he rescued. He said, “I have been rescuing birds for 20 years and have released them once they are cured.
We have our own ambulance and vet to treat the injured birds immediately after they are brought to us. I contacted the forest department about these birds many times, but nobody came to collect them.”
He also added, “Five of the bats are unwell. It’s strange that the hospital deemed all seven to be fit.” Reacting to this, Lt Col (Dr) JC Khanna, secretary and officer in-charge at BSPCA, stated that the on-duty vet had conducted a three-hour complete body check up of all the rescued birds brought to the hospital and that the information was correct.
Officials say
Speaking to mid-day, K P Singh, chief conservator of forest, Thane FD, said, “He should’ve contacted the Range Forest Officer. One can easily get the number on the Internet. We should work together as a team to rescue animals.”
Singh continued, “But, I will see to it that no officer at lower levels ignores distress calls.” Singh also said the department would meet with D’souza to avoid such a situations in future.
Except for the kites and seabirds, 50 birds, including owls, parrots, and the 7 bats have been shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Katraj, Pune, say FD officials.
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