Government officials raided a pet shop in Bahrain after concern was raised over the way birds were being ‘packaged’ before being supposedly transported to purchasers.
The Bahrain Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) received a call from the Animal Wealth Directorate over the weekend to assist in the case involving a shop found selling up to 20 birds contained in small plastic mesh bags.
“The shop owner claimed that his customers requested the birds be packaged in this way as it is easier for them to be transported and that he had sold a number of them that evening,” said BSPCA deputy chairwoman Yasmin Alhilli who witnessed eight bags full of birds placed under bird cages.
“Yet, he failed to produce a single receipt for the Industry and Commerce Ministry.”
The police were called to the scene, in addition to the Industry and Commerce Ministry officials.
“I was very happy to be called to assist by an official government body that had witnessed this and even happier that the police and the ministry responded so quickly and took action,” she added.
A joint case against the shop owner has been filed by the animal charity alongside the Animal Wealth Directorate.
The two are set to work even closer together, with the ministry’s backing, to step up inspections of pet shops in the kingdom to ensure standards of animal welfare are being adhered to.
Ms Alhilli thanked Muneer Al Najjar of the Animal Wealth Directorate and Major Mahmood Al Mahmood of the Interior Ministry, also highlighting the Industry and Commerce Ministry’s inspector’s swift action.
The BSPCA was established in 1979 by a small group of committed and passionate animal lovers. It was officially registered by the Labour Ministry as a humane, charitable, non-profit organisation dedicated to the welfare of animals.
The society is run by a dedicated group of volunteers and receives no official funding. It depends on the generosity of the public for its funds as well as monies generated by its thrift shop to help run its shelter in Askar and other activities.
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