Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh), Aug 15 (IANS): A joint team of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh forest department have rescued 184 parakeets from a family of professional hunters at Dariyapur village under Bijnor's Najibabad forest range.

The rescued parakeets include 27 Alexandrine and 157 Rose-ringed parakeets.

All the parakeets have been released in the Amangarh tiger reserve.

Both types of parakeets are listed under Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. The chicks are often stolen from nests to be sold to customers who can raise them as pets and teach them to mimic sounds or sentences.

The Alexandrine are better speakers than the Rose-ringed parakeets.

According to M. Semmaran, Bijnor divisional forest officer, "On a tip-off, a joint team raided a house at Dariyapur village under Najibabad forest range. We have rescued 184 parakeets. A woman, Dana Devi, was arrested while her son, Dheeraj Kumar, managed to flee. The accused are from Sitapur but reside here for trapping birds. They have been booked under the Wildlife (Protection) Act."