Odisha forest officials arrest man for keeping wild boar as pet

The wild boar was later released into the mangrove area. (representative)

Kendra Parra:

Forest officials in Odisha’s Kendrapara district on Saturday rescued a wild boar from a man’s home and arrested him for illegally confining the wild animal inside his home, an official said.

The accused, Bhajan Raptan (50), a local of Pitapatta village under the Mahakalpada forest range, kept the animal in a cage as a pet, the official said.

Kartikeswar Khandei, forest officer of Mahakalapada forest range, said Raptan was booked under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and was remanded to judicial custody after a local court rejected his bail application.

He said the offense of keeping wild animals as pets would be punishable with imprisonment of three to seven years or more and a fine of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000.

The forest official said this offense is also cognizable and non-bailable.

He added that the wild boar was later released into the mangrove area, which is an ideal habitat for such animals.

The Odisha forest department has issued a warning under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, asking people not to click photos or selfies with wild animals and post them on social media platforms.

A week ago, forest officials arrested a couple in Jajpur district under provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, for clicking photos of wild animals and posting them on social media platforms.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)