Caring hand for the delicate deer

Mumbai: The interior decorator from Kurla, who was arrested on Tuesday for possessing hogdeer and marine turtles, was released on bail on Wednesday after paying an amount of Rs 10,000.
Fifty-three-year-old M D’Silva was produced in the 11th Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Kurla where he was given bail. But the court told him to present himself at the Kurla police station every day, for the next 21 days, between 11 am and 1 pm.
The rescued animals — two hogdeer, three turtles, a parrot and a kite — are now in the care of the Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA).
D’Silva on Wednesday said he had not confined the animals in his home. “The two deer were brought to my farmhouse in Ratnagiri by villagers in an injured state and the kite was found in the nextdoor compound, again in a bad state,’’ he claimed. He got the animals treated by a vet, Dr Sachin Bhosle.According to D’Silva, Dr Bhosle had written to the Mumbai Zoo authorities to accept them and provide them a safe home.
“The authorities asked me to bring the animals on Wednesday, after public visiting hours. I never had any intention of keeping these animals in my home for an extended period of time.”
In July last year, a similar raid was carried out at the Worli apartment of theatre personality Bharat Dabholkar; seven star tortoises, an African grey parrot and two Marmoset monkeys were handed over to the wildlife authorities in Thane.