



A wildlife department team foiled an attempt to smuggle parrots by air from Karachi to Peshawar and seized 32 birds on Thursday morning.





Sub-Divisional Forest Officer (SDFO) Sardar Ali told The Express Tribune transporting the birds without obtaining a permit from their department is illegal. He added that two people have been arrested and the parrots seized.“These are expensive pet birds,” said Ali. “A pair of gray parrots could cost you Rs50,000, while a pair of Eclectus parrots is sold for between Rs25,000 and Rs40,000 in the market.The two men have been fined and the birds taken into custody.”Meanwhile, an Urial Antelope escaped from a fenced area in Cherat, Nowshera on Thursday. An official of the wildlife department said these animals are kept for breeding and as a local attraction.“A one-year-old urial escaped into the forest due to broken fencing, and we have been unable to locate it as yet,” said the official, adding that they were planning to introduce the species to Nizampur Wildlife Park in Nowshera, very soon and the purchase of one pair of urials from Punjab had been planned.Published in The Express Tribune, May 16, 2014.