Poppy culinary farmers complain of an unexpected problem: Added to natural disasters that affect crops from time to time is a new problem - birds, namely, drug-addicted parrots.
In India, 44,000 hectares of poppy are legally planted every year, of which 38,000 are in the state of Madhya Pradesh. It was there that a few years ago, wild parrots discovered the taste of poppy seeds, and now huge hordes of birds ravage the fields. In addition to Madhya Pradesh, other manufacturing-related states have been hit, but they are much less affected.
According to farmers, parrots gut poppy pods, which greatly affects the volume of the crop. Some even learned to break them off and fly away with them. At the same time, huge flocks make raids 30-40 times a day.
Farmers guard the fields on their own, use sound to scare away, even use firecrackers, but intoxicated birds are not afraid of anything. Their behavior generally changes beyond recognition, they crash into trees and pillars, but then, having recovered, they still fly for a new "dose".
The government is in no hurry to take control of the situation, although Indian agriculture is already suffering from abnormal rainfall this year. In the Australian state of Tasmania, where, on the contrary, an abnormal drought reigns, farmers are calculating losses taking into account the raids of cockatoos - local birds also cause great damage to poppy fields.
One company, Poppy Growers Tasmania, says a third of the crop has become unusable due to "flying junkies". However, scientists ask not to judge birds harshly: according to experts of the BirdLife Australia organization, against the background of a decrease in available food resources due to climate change, parrots have discovered a new source of fats and proteins - poppy is very nutritious, although it has known side effects.
