Muvattupuzha: The forest department has booked a case against volunteers of Daya, an animal rights organisation, over the rescue of barn owls trapped on a beam on the top floor of an apartment complex in Kakanad.

While forest officials too had visited the site but left after offering advice, it was the Daya volunteers who risked their lives to carry out the daring rescue of the birds. The case, registered by the Kodanad Range Forest Officer, alleges that the volunteers violated the Wildlife Protection Act by capturing the barn owls, a protected species, from their natural habitat without permission and displaying them to the public.

According to the notice, the rescued owls were shown to members of the public, children were allowed to touch the birds and videos of the incident were circulated on social media. The Daya volunteers have been issued a notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, instructing them to appear at the Malayattoor Divisional Forest Office at 11 am on March 10. They have also been directed to cooperate with the investigation and refrain from tampering with any evidence.

The forest department has also warned that legal action will follow if these instructions are ignored.

The Daya volunteers, meanwhile, maintain that the barn owls were rescued with the knowledge and approval of the Assistant Forest Conservator.