HYDERABAD: THE craze among the rich of Hyderabad with respect to petting exotic birds and animals, came to fore once again on Thursday as the city police stumbled upon an exotic pet breeder during its cordon and search operations in Kalapthar police station limits.
The police found around five species of exotic birds in cages at the residence of one Mohammed Rafeeq in the Old City. The man is also owner of the well-known exotic pet store ‘Furs n Feathers’ in Banjara Hills. In the past, police had found four Llamas, a South American species, in Rafeeq’s house. However, suspecting police searches Rafeeq is believed to have moved the Llamas to his farmhouse.
According to officials, photographs of the four Llamas and other bird species found at Rafeeq’s house are available with the police. They are verifying the legalities of possessing or breeding the Llamas in captivity. Telangana forest department officials said that sleuths of antipoaching wing will visit Rafeeq’s house on Friday to verify the species and check their legality. Surprisingly, Rafeeq has been associated with wildlife related cases in the past. Earlier in 2013, around 12 peacocks were rescued by forest department from his farmhouse, a case on which is still pending in the court.
The police is also probing his role in a smuggling case busted in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh in which five caracals and a leopard cat were rescued. V Satyanarayana, deputy commissioner of police(South Zone), when contacted, said, “He could not produce valid papers for possessing the exotic bird species when we asked for it. We have informed the forest department to identify the bird species to know if they are endangered species and also the legality of possessing the species. If it is found that possessing them is illegal a case will be booked and the birds will be sent to the Hyderabad zoo.”