The police in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district arrested one Sengkud Sangma for killing, cooking and eating a rhesus macaque – a protected primate species – following a complaint by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Garima Jain of PETA said the local unit of the animal-friendly organisation filed a first information report against the Sangma last week after he posted photographs of his “conquest” on Facebook. The charge in the FIR under sections 9 and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 is a non-bailable offence and is punishable by up to seven years in prison and a fine of at least ₹10,000.
The police said he was arrested on Sunday and will be produced at a local court soon.
"We commend the Superintendent of Police, the Deputy Commissioner, and the Divisional Forest Officer of West Garo Hills District for sending out a strong message that such cruelty will not be tolerated," said Meet Ashar, PETA-India’s lead emergency response coordinator Meet Ashar.
"This incident is exactly why laws exist to protect wild animals from being hunted or poached, and it's imperative that humans heed these laws – for everyone's sake,” Ms Jain said.
