Farmers in Madhya Pradesh, India have had it tough recently.
The region has been suffering from uneven, spotty rainfall. And now, growers
say they are incurring enormous losses due to groups of “opium-addicted”
parrots.
Nandkishore,
a local cultivator stated that “one poppy flower gives around 20-25 grams of
opium. But a large group of parrots feed on these plants around 30-40 times a
day. Some birds have been recorded tearing into unripe poppy pods to get at the
opium-rich milk inside, while some use their beaks and claws to break the pods
away from the stalks of the plants and then fly away with whole poppy
pods.” The
Daily Mail reported that some birds have even trained themselves not to squawk
when descending on the fields, stealthily “swooping in and out like silent
ninjas.”
These avian raids have greatly
diminished the plant’s yield. Nandkishore said that multiple requests for
assistance made to district officials have gone unanswered: “Nobody is
listening to our problems. Who will compensate for our losses?” India is one of
the very few places in the world where licensed opium cultivation is allowed.
To
reduce the parrots plundering the farmers have been forced to guard their
fields both day and night. Nandkishore added: “We have tried making loud sounds
and even use firecrackers to scare the birds. But nothing has helped.”
The
parrots often become visibly intoxicated. Doped-up birds have been observed
crashing into tree branches and lying dazed and incapacitated in the fields,
most eventually flying off again when the narcotic effects wear off.
This opioid crisis really is for the
birds. Poppy-pilfering parrots? What’s next, marijuana-mooching mockingbirds?
“Polly want a cracker? Polly want an effing
cracker? You’re damn right I do!"
“Squawk! Like, dude, pass the
Cheetos. Squawk!”
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