New Delhi: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP from Kendrapara Anubhav Mohanty Monday filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a direction against practices of encouraging and rewarding wild animal killing in the country.
The Lok Sabha MP urged the court to issue directions against indiscriminate and brutal killing of wild animals. Mohanty submitted in his petition that many state governments, including Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, have financially incentivised the killing of wild animals like Rhesus Macaque, wild boars and Nilgai.
“Unfortunately, a popular way of getting rewarded by the state government is by planting bombs and poisons in our forests,” Mohanty said.
The BJD MP filed the petition in response to the death of several animals and a child after use of heinous practices such snares, wire traps, explosives, bomb baits, poison baits etc were reported and documented to annihilate wild animals.
The appellant prayed the court for directions to states which are rewarding and encouraging killing of wild animals.
Mohanty reiterated the protection rendered to animals under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 even though they may be declared as vermin under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, still renders true.
The petitioner sought proactive, constructive and scientific way forward to mitigate human-wildlife conflict instead of encouraging citizens to kill wild animals.
Significantly, the apex court had July 10 issued notices to Odisha and 12 other states in another petition seeking directions to the authorities to declare barbaric practices of stuffing food items and chalked off sticks to ward off wild animals as illegal and unconstitutional.