Indian Parrots Are Addicted To Opium And Attacking Poppy Farms

It's not just humans that are susceptible to the addictive qualities found in heroin, apparently parrots can't get enough of the stuff either.

Indian farmers are at their wits' end after seeing their poppies being devoured by the 'opium-addicted' little bleeders.

Footage has been released which shows the ravenous birds swooping down on the buds for their next fix and tearing apart poppy seed pods before taking flight again.

Opium farming isn't a cheap affair either, with cultivators like Nandkishore having to hold special licences to produce it. He told local news they are feeding on their crops dozens of times a day which is affecting his business.

He said: "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 and some even fly away with poppy pods. This affects the produce.

"We are already suffering because of uneven rain, and now this. Nobody is listening to our problems. Who will compensate for our losses?"

Newsflare

Cultivators say their requests to the authorities in the state of Madhya Pradesh to install speakers and play loud music to scare the parrots off their land, have been rejected.

But with no alternative solutions farmers have now taken to standing guard day and night, making loud noises to scare the birds.

Nandkishore added: "We have tried making loud sounds and even use firecrackers to scare the birds. But nothing has helped."

Opium specialist at Horticulture College, Mandsaur, Dr. R.S. Chundawat said opium would have a similar effect as coffee does on humans.

He explained: "Opium gives the bird instant energy, much like a human intakes tea or coffee to derive instant energy."

Adding: "Once the feeling is experienced by the winged creatures, they have fallen prey to the addiction."

PA

This isn't the first time animals in India have been found to have an addiction problem, though.

Last year it was reported that a sheep in Mandya was addicted to nicotine, and rather than munch on vegetables and greens it plumped for tobacco instead.

While that sounds horrific and unhealthy, there is actually a reason why it started eating tobacco in the first place.

That's because farmers near Mandya sometimes use tobacco to rid animals of parasites and worms, and will even give them large quantities of it if one becomes seriously ill.

Come on, guys, don't do drugs.

Topics: Food, World News, Interesting, Animals

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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