COIMBATORE: An animal rescue organization in the city says that caging parrots is against the law citing schedule 4 of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972). To create awareness about laws regarding birds and to put an end to cruelty towards animals, they will be conducting an awareness programme at the Brooke fields Mall on Saturday evening in the city. "Parrots are among the most common species which are kept in cages, at times cruelly," says Joseph Reginald a volunteer for 'Animal Rescuers', a students' organisation constituting animal lovers. At the same time most people are unaware this is an offence, he says. A survey conducted among parrot owners in the city revealed that all of them thought that it was a domestic bird that could be caged. However, many cases are unreported as people are unaware that this is an offence. Caging any Indian bird is illegal as they are categorized under wild animals and are thus protected by the wildlife protection act. Only exotic and foreign birds don't fall under this category. Parrots that are most commonly kept as pets include the Indian hanging parrot and the rose-ringed parakeet, he says. There are a few species of parakeets in India. There are around a dozen parakeets in the country including the Blue Winged, Nicobar, and others apart from the two mentioned above. Activists say that caging birds or clipping their wings is a punishable offence. N I Jalluddin, president of Nature Conservation Society (NCS) says that many cases of cruelty to birds go unreported. Caged birds may not survive for more than two years. "Even if they live, they will not be able to fly confidently. Unless the cage is big enough for the birds to move around comfortably, it is a case of cruelty," he says. In the last one year, around 600 birds have been rescued in the district by animal welfare activists and forest officials. 'Animal Rescuers' will use 350kgs of rice to create a cartoon with a message against cruelty towards parrots. The rice will later be distributed to birds.