Birds lose battle in the skies

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

It was nice to meet you all in Asia For Animals conferance!

Below is press coverage on Kite Festival.

 

Regards

Nilesh Bhanage

PAWS

 

............................................

 

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1074108

 

 

Birds lose battle in the skies

 

Deepa Suryanarayan

Friday, January 12, 2007 23:04 IST

 

 

The fun of flying kites doesn’t always take into account the terrible

damage it inflicts on the bird population

 

January is not a great time of the year for birds in the city. With Makar

Sankranti round the corner, hundreds of birds get injured as the main

highlight of the festival is kite-flying.

 

This year bird lover Dharmendra Sanghvi from Karuna Trust has taken the

initiative to design a special instrument to help bird rescues during

Makar Sankranti.

 

“It is a 12-feet long rod, with a basket ball net and a knife attached to

one end. We will use this knife to cut the manja in which the bird gets

entangled. And as it cannot fly, we will catch it in the net,” explained

Sanghvi.

 

Apart from this, Sanghvi has 25 volunteers on stand-by, who have been

especially trained to rescue birds.

 

“We are also sending two teams of volunteers to Surat and Baroda, where

kite-flying is a passion and where maximum number of casualties are

reported among birds during this season,” said Sanghvi.

 

There is another frightening trend this year, said bird lovers. “While

earlier people used to fly kites using manjas mixed with pieces of glass,

this year, the manja is being imported from China. It is a nylon thread

that is unbreakable, and will cause maximum damage not only to birds but

also to humans if not used carefully,” warned Sanghvi.

 

Birds get frightened when they see an alien object like kite in their

territory, say bird experts. Secondly, the 'manja' inflicts deep wounds in

the bird's wings and legs, resulting in bleeding. If the wound is not

treated, the birds die a slow painful death.

 

“Birds, mostly pigeons, crows, kites, owls, are at risk,” said Nilesh

Bhanage, PAWS -Thane. The only way to stop this cruelty, according to

experts, is to fly kites in open spaces, where there are no trees.

 

If you spot an injured bird, call 26701413 or 9819100100.