49 exotic South American parrots seized by BSF

Kolkata April 1 (IANS) Border Security Force personnel on Saturday seized 49 exotic South American parrots from West Bengal s Nadia district an official said.

Acting on a tip off about bird smuggling the BSF troopers of Maluapara outpost under Nadia s Krishnanagar sector raided an abandoned house and seized the rare birds whose import/export is banned according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) agreement.

The BSF personnel launched a special patrol at 12.25 p.m. on Saturday and recovered 49 Scarlet-fronted Conure parrots from an abandoned house near the international border in Hudapara village BSF s Deputy Commandant General of South Bengal Frontier Naveen Chouhan said.

This is a second seizure of parrots in 2017 after BSF officials seized 10 parrots earlier from the same area.

No smuggler could be apprehended in the operation. The birds were handed over to the Kolkata Zoo the officer added.

--IANS
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