Kendrapara (Odisha) Mar 30 (PTI) Forest officials in Odisha’s Kendrapara district on Saturday rescued a wild boar from a man’s home and arrested him on the charge of unlawfully confining the wild animal in his house, an official said.
The accused Bhajan Raptan (50), a native of Pitapata village under Mahakalapada Forest Range, had caged and kept it as a pet, the official said.
Raptan, booked under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, was later remanded to judicial custody after a local court dismissed his bail application, the Forest Range Officer of Mahakalapada forest range, Kartikeswar Khandei, said.
The offence of keeping the wild animal as a pet is punishable with imprisonment for a term ranging between three and seven years or more and a fine ranging between Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000, he said.
The offence is also cognizable and non-bailable, the forest official said.
The wild boar was later released in the mangrove forest area, the ideal habitat for such animals, he added.
The Odisha Forest Department has issued a warning and asked people not to click photographs or selfies with wild animals and post them on social media platforms under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
A week ago, forest officials arrested a couple from the Jajpur district, under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, for clicking pictures with wild animals and posting those on social media platforms. PTI COR AAM SBN AAM SBN
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