Friday, May 13, 2011

Birds cannot be kept in cages: HC

AHMEDABAD: Keeping birds in cages is illegal confinement and against fundamental right of the birds to move freely. The Gujarat high court has held this in a judgment passed on Thursday on petitions filed by bird sellers demanding interim custody of caged birds, which were confiscated by Surat police.


The court was deciding the issue - whether the birds have a right to live freely and/or whether can birds be kept in cages and/or whether by keeping the birds in cages violates their fundamental rights?

Coming to conclusion that every bird has right to move freely and keeping them in cages is illegal confinement, Justice M R Shah ordered to free all birds and animals that were seized from bird sellers by Athwa police. The police had seized 494 birds like parrots, doves, love-birds, munias and animals like rabbits and dogs, from Abdul Kadar Sheikh and others.

These bird sellers were booked under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Wildlife Protection Act. They approached local court demanding interim custody of birds, but a magisterial court ordered to free the birds.

The high court was apprised with the fact that the birds were kept in small cages, their tails were cut and cello-tape was put on their wings and there were rings on their legs so that they could not fly. Justice Shah observed, "Everybody is talking about fundamental rights of the citizen, such as, right to live freely, right to food, right to move freely etc.
A day has come to think about the rights of the birds and animals, because of such act even the birds have vanished."

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