Bhubaneswar: A man from Odisha is in trouble for eating wild boar meat and posting the same video on social media with wildlife experts demanding stringent action against him.
A complaint has been sent to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wild Life) & Chief Wildlife Warden of Odisha against the man, identified as Bikram Nayak, accusing him of violating the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA).
In his complaint, Subhendu Mallik, former honorary Wildlife Warden of Khurda district, termed the action of Nayak as gross violation of WLPA. He pointed out that Nayak had posted two videos in an Instagram account claiming the meat to be of wild boar.
Stating that wild boar or Indian wild pig is protected under Schedule – II of the WLPA, Subhendu said Nayak can be seen commenting on mass eating of wild boar meet in one video. He can be seen cooking the same in another video.
Subhendu, who is also the convenor of Snake Helpline, said he has attached the screen-recording of the two videos as evidence. “I have also attached the URL of the two Instagram videos for your information,” he said.
“Such an act cannot be excused as the videos are going viral in social media. These videos will certainly encourage others to go for hunting of wild animals,” he said.
“Therefore, I request your good office to take strictest action as per the law of land against Bikram Nayak. I also request you to ask the DFOs to take Suo moto cognizance of wildlife handling (including snakes, monkeys, etc.) done by any person of Odisha taking account of the videos available on different social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc,” Subhendu added.
