Baby parrots, turtles rescued from Crawford Market in Mumbai

MUMBAI: As many as 21

baby parrots

and 15

turtles

, which are scheduled species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, were rescued from

Crawford Market

during a surprise raid by the state forest officials and activists of Plant and Animals Welfare Society (

PAWS-Mumbai

) on Wednesday.

Three persons - M Gulab Khan, Fayyaz M Shaikh and Sandip More - were also arrested for trading in protected

wildlife species

. The raiding team was led by the Mumbai range forest officer, Santosh Kank.

"We had gathered specific information as to how prohibited wildlife species like parrots and turtles are hidden in small boxes inside the Crawford Market (new name: Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market). This information was later given to the

forest department

which carried out the raid", said activist Sunish Subramanian of PAWS-Mumbai.

The PAWS-Mumbai activists also cautioned citizens not to buy caged birds such as parrots or captive turtles, as it is illegal to buy or sell them.

"Baby parrots are stolen from their nests in forest areas and smuggled into the cities to sell them as 'pets'. There is a lot of cruelty involved in this trade, as birds are meant to soar high in the sky and not be kept in small cages all their lives", added Subramanian.