Mumbai: Man helps rescue a wingless parrot by keeping astrologer busy

Shatrughan Gupta (in red T-shirt) with the astrologer

An alert shop employee helped rescue a parrot from an astrologer at Tulsipada in Bhandup West on Sunday. The employee called the Amma Care Foundation (ACF) and the Plant & Animal Welfare Society whose volunteer arrived to rescue it. The NGO volunteer said the astrologer has clipped the parrot's wings so it cannot fly.

The rescued parrot has been put in foster care till its wings regrow

Shatrughan Gupta works at a garments shop at Tulsipada. Speaking to mid-day, Sunish Subramanian, who runs the Amma Care Foundation (ACF) and Plant & Animals Welfare Society - Mumbai (PAWS-Mumbai) said, "Our volunteer Nisha Kunju rushed to the spot. The astrologer threw the cage at her and fled. Parrots are a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972."

Some astrologers keep one or two parrots in a cage. The bird is trained to come out of the cage, pick up a card and hand it over to him before going back in. The astrologer reads out the fortune on the card to the customer.

Subramanian said Gupta called the NGO saying the astrologer had been seen in the locality for few days. Gupta told them he would keep him busy till the volunteers came.

The plum-headed parakeet was then taken to a vet Rahul Meshram, for an examination. Meshram said, "The bird is fit but its wings have been clipped so it can't fly. It needs to be kept in foster care till it can fly."

- Shirish Vaktania