Animal Cruelty: Odisha man's cobra video reflects disconcerting trend

Bhubaneswar: The rampant use of reptiles to create videos to attract attention on social media and earn money has raised concerns among public while many accused the State government of being lackadaisical towards this disconcerting trend.

A recent video from Bargarh district showing a man carrying out a dangerous stunt with a cobra went viral on social media. Soon, it dragged tons of criticism and stern action was demanded against the accused, who uploaded several such videos on social media.

While the Wildlife Protection Act prohibits such practices and people at large have strongly condemned this cruelty against animals, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) here have been appraised about the matter.

"Snake charmers who used to earn a living through such acts have already stopped the practice, but today, educated boys and girls are getting into such cruel acts for money," said Honorary Wildlife Warden, Khurda, Subendu Mallick.

PCCF Ajay Mohapatra on the other hand expressed his helplessness saying "whom do we arrest, for what do we arrest..." However, he said that he will look into the matter. "Let me inquire following which we will decide what can be done," he added.

Meanwhile, the accused from Bargarh, Rohit Meher has accepted his mistake. "Those were my earlier posts. I made a mistake by doing so. I have already deleted the videos and will not repeat the same in the future," said Meher.