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FEATURE : Jain followers in New Delhi offer free treatment for birds and vow of release

Indian veterinary assistants tend to an injured pigeon at the Jain Charity Birds’ Hospital in New Delhi on April 6. PHOTO: AFP

Y.D. Gaur enforces one paramount rule at the speciality hospital where he works in New Delhi: No patient, once cured, is ever allowed to return home. Instead, they just fly away.

As chief veterinarian at the Indian capital’s 80-year-old Birds’ Hospital, Gaur deals with a daily influx of patients suffering a wide range of ailments, from ulcers and asthma to paralysis and tumors.

Those requiring extensive treatment are admitted and, in some cases, prepared for surgery, while others are dealt with on the spot and allowed to leave the same day.

Many are brought in by worried owners who must balance their concern for their pets with the knowledge that admitting them to the hospital means giving them away for good.

Since it opened in 1927, the hospital has operated a policy whereby all birds must be released after treatment, rather than returned to their owners or the person who brought them in.

The hospital is managed by followers of Jainism, one of the oldest religions originating in India, who believe that every living thing has a soul that is potentially divine.

Such is their commitment to avoid harming any living being that Jain monks wear masks over their mouths to avoid accidentally swallowing insects.

Funded entirely by private donations — all treatments are free — the three-story hospital has a dedicated following that never lets it go short of money, medicines or bird feed.

Bolstering the hospital’s reputation further is its startlingly clean environment, with no bird droppings or foul smells.

“It’s cleaner than many government hospitals,” said Rinki Patel, a housewife and first-time visitor to the facility that boasts an operating room, an intensive care unit and a general ward.

At any one time, the hospital looks after 3,000 to 5,000 “resident” patients.

The most common are pigeons, doves, parrots and budgies, with the odd peacock to brighten things up.

The seriously ill are put into intensive care on the first floor, where they have a cage to themselves. On other “wards” dozens of birds share large cages.

Broken wings and bones are carefully set and bandaged. Those in “post operative care” are dosed with antibiotics and carefully monitored for infections. Those too weak to eat are hand fed.

“That bird has paralysis caused by a virus,” Gaur said, pointing to a black pigeon.

“It looks as if it has just cocked its head or twisted its neck, but it’s a serious condition. Some nerve soothing medication will cure it,” he said.

The hospital claims a recovery rate of 90 percent.

Common injuries include those caused by children throwing stones, or birds getting caught in the blades of ventilators or ceiling fans, but some ailments require highly specialized treatment.

“Recently we operated on two peacocks with eye tumors. The growth was removed in both cases. One was as big as a tennis ball,” Gaur said, adding that both patients were well on the way to recovery.

Delhi’s high pollution levels have also led to a rise in avian asthma cases. All patients are put on a high-nutrient diet of seeds, grain, fruits and vegetables during their stay.

“We have had some eagles as patients. But they were also kept on a vegetarian diet,” said Gaur’s assistant vet, Vinod Kumar.

Once a week, those deemed to have recovered are taken to the hospital roof to be set free, although a fair number opt to resist the call of the wild.

“Though we encourage them to fly, only a few do. Others stay back because they are used to the easily available food here,” Kumar said. “They show no inclination to leave.”
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