An organisation working with animal protection issues is offering a reward of ₹50,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of a suspected wildlife offender.
Sumanth Bindhumadhav, Wildlife Campaign Manager, Humane Society of India (HSI), said they had received a video a few days ago that showed two persons forcing a monitor lizard off a palm tree, while yelling phrases in Tamil.
In the video, they are seen beating the reptile off the tree and injuring it.
“The video was doing the rounds among wildlife enthusiasts and had probably been picked up from social media. We know the perpetrators are from Tamil Nadu and are hoping to track them down which is why we are offering a reward,” he said.
The monitor lizard ( Varanus bengalensis ) is a protected species under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
“These animals are hunted due to the popular myth that eating the meat of these lizards imparts super-human strength which is absolutely baseless. It is worrying that such videos of animals being tortured and circulated are on the rise. People do this to elicit reactions on social media because they think they are being brave,” Mr Sumanth noted.
Medicos penalised
Some months ago, a video of two medicos throwing a puppy from the roof of a building in their college went viral. This prompted animal rights activists to hunt for the animal as well as to track them and get them penalised.
The organisation has urged people who come across the video that if they are able to identify the suspects, they could call the HSI Helpline at 76749 22044.
