Delhi authorities rescued 103 protected birds and turtles from a pet shop in west Delhi's Moti Nagar, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Wednesday, while a baby orangutan rescued in India in November 2024 was repatriated to Indonesia earlier this week.
The wildlife rescue operation in Moti Nagar led to the seizure of 54 parakeets and 49 turtles and tortoises, including the Indian Star Tortoise, a species protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Sirsa said in a post on X.
The rescued animals are under veterinary care and will be released into the wild once declared fit, the minister said, adding that legal action had been initiated against those involved.
Sirsa commended the Forest and Wildlife Department for its enforcement action and thanked Delhi Police and citizens who alerted authorities. He also urged people not to buy wild birds and turtles as pets, saying illegal wildlife trade had no place in the national capital.
In a separate development, a baby orangutan of Sumatran origin rescued in India in November 2024 was repatriated to Indonesia on Monday, October 19, the Embassy of India in Jakarta said.
The repatriation was carried out through coordinated efforts by wildlife protection agencies and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) management authorities of both countries, the embassy said in a post on X.\
(With agency inputs from ANI and PTI)
