Addicted Parrots Raid Poppy Farmers

[jh]

Farmers in India are complaining that parrots seemingly addicted to opium are destroying their poppy crops.

Tiny parakeets, which appear to have become hooked on the powerful narcotic, have been spotted raiding fields in Madhya Pradesh dozens of time every day.

Crop destruction by birds has exacerbated problems with low rainfall, which is already reducing the yields of legal opium producers in the state.

I need another hit


Video here

[testcase]

Poor babies (the drug growers)..............

[GeneL]

Seems to suggest a solution for the illegal opium problem in the US. Breed masses of parakeets and introduce them to opium before turning them loose in areas where the production comes from.
You think???

[pRICE cUBE]

No crops and a huge mess.

[Thrift Store Scott]

testcase wrote:
Poor babies (the drug growers)..............

You do realize these are legitimate, legal producers of opium such as is further refined into morphine for actual medical use, right?

GeneL wrote:
Seems to suggest a solution for the illegal opium problem in the US. Breed masses of parakeets and introduce them to opium before turning them loose in areas where the production comes from.
You think???

I see your logic, but schemes exactly like that have resulted in serious problems for displaced or preyed upon native species, just ask Australia. Aside from the potential disastrous ecological impact, the parakeets would be largely ineffective after the first week or so when the protective nets went up. Illegal producers of opium usually have translucent camouflage covers* over their fields to protect them from discovery by air anyway, so the rogue parakeets might not be able to raid the illegal fields to begin with.

* The "Fake Pool" from Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams is an example of this- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WJQuE5yObQ

[srf1957]

GeneL wrote:
Seems to suggest a solution for the illegal opium problem in the US. Breed masses of parakeets and introduce them to opium before turning them loose in areas where the production comes from.
You think???

.

This is on the same order as people who don't want to spray mosquitos that transfer west nile and equine encephalitis and one other disease in this area. They say the swallows eat hundreds in a day and that is all you need . They are not on the endangered species list yet .

[GeneL]

I have to say that my comment was "tongue in cheek" !!!!

Precious was laughing at me when I posted it.