Man arrested for keeping wild boar as pet in Odisha

Kendrapara (Odisha): 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.