Chennai, Dec 26 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu forest department will slap the Goonda Act against those involved in the smuggling of Alexandrine parakeets.

This is the breeding season of these parakeets which are in the 'near threatened' category of the International Union For Conservation of Natural Flaura and Fauna (IUCN) and the forest department is contemplating slapping Goonda Act as a deterrent against the smuggling.

With this being their breeding season, the possibility of smugglers becoming live has led to conservationists and bird lovers upping their ante to prevent the smuggling of these baby parakeets.

According to conservationists and bird lovers, the Alexandrine parakeets lay eggs after making nests in fruit-bearing trees and four eggs are laid by each parakeet. A tribal group that specializes in collecting baby birds from nests in adjacent Guntur and Chittoor districts and selling them in Chennai market.

The tribal people from Thiruvallur who specialize in collecting baby parakeets by climbing the trees at night sell them in the Chennai market at a price of Rs 2000 per pair. Sources in the Tamil Nadu Wild Life Board told IANS that there are certain smugglers who have been into the trade of Alexandria parakeets and these smugglers collect the parakeets from these tribal groups and sell them to pet lovers at huge money.

A senior officer with the Tamil Nadu forest department told IANS said, "The parakeets have been offered variable rates and it depends on the financial strength of the buyer as well as his love towards the bird. The price collected varies from Rs 5000 per pair to as high as Rs 10,000 a pair."

The officer said that a decade ago, the Alexandrine parakeets were under the "least concerned" category according to the IUCN classification but in a decade it has been placed under the "near threatened" category.