Resident rescues four owls

25. 02. 2006

If it were not for Rahul Sarvades prompt actions, the four owls you can see in the picture would not have been alive today.

Sarvade, a 20-year-old resident of LBS Marg, rescued four owls from Mulund Link Road on Feb 17 when an unidentified person was on his way to sell them.

I was chatting with my friends near Link Road when we noticed a man carrying a big black box with holes punched into it. We could also hear noises from inside the box so we questioned the man about the contents of the box. He seemed frightened at being accosted, says Sarvade.

The man said that he was carrying chicken to be sold in the market, but Sarvade was not convinced. I though something was fishy about the whole affair so I told one of my friend to call PAWS. In the meantime, with help from another friend, I forced the man to open the box and found the four owls inside, he adds.

The man finally admitted that he was to deliver the birds to a Bhandup resident who wanted to sacrifice them. He said he regularly got the birds from the National Park. He had been doing that for the past several years, Sarvade adds.

Sunish Subramanian, the PAWS animal welfare officer, says, We got a call from Sarvades friend around 3 pm and we reached the spot in less than five minutes because our office is close to Link Road. The man ran away after seeing our van. We had encountered a similar case last week but werent able to catch him either.

The owls were provided first aid for a day and then sent to SPCA Parel, as required by the Wild Life Act. Naresh Patil, the PAWS vet, says, When the owls were brought to the centre, they were in critical condition. So we kept them here for a day before sending them to Parel.

If you see an animal in distress, call PAWS on 25968314 or 9833480388