Controversy over whether leopard was used for 'entertainment'

Bhubaneswar: A leopard who entered a shop in the town of Sonepur in Odisha was captured and put in a cage. He hurt his mouth when he tried to bite the cage. He was rescued by forest and wildlife officials, who moved him to a forest department nursery nearby.

He was kept at the residence of the District Collector in this town, about 280 km from Bhubaneshwar. Locals lined up to see him and took his photos on their mobile phones.

Even though the leopard rescue guidelines and Wildlife (Protection) Act clearly says such animals should be released into the wild, the leopard was illegally moved to the Nandankanan Zoo, Biswajit Mohanty, Secretary of the Wildlife Society of Odisha said.

Mr Mohanty said he has written a letter to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) of the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment seeking actions against the wildlife and forest officials and the District Collector for the violation.

"The animal could have been released immediately within 10 km of the capture site which was not done; rather it was forced to travel for more than 300 km to Nandankanan Zoo," a retired wildlife official said.

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The official said that the leopard was on display for two hours. He added that there is no forest in the 10 km radius of Sonepur. There are two forests across two different rivers at a distance from Sonepur but release is possible only when the place of origin of the animal is known. Once this is ascertained, his release is possible, he said.

State Forest Minister Debi Prasad Mishra said people were curious to see the animal and there was nothing wrong if the administration allowed them to see the leopard. "It was a minor incident," he added.

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However, a wildlife official who does not want to be named and witnessed the incident said that the administration was worried about a law and order situation developing as locals tried to rush for a glimpse of the leopard after he was caught at the shop. So they felt that by putting him on display, people could line up to see him and then move away.

The rescue team agreed to park the vehicle carrying the caged animal near the Collector's residence. It was a brief affair and the cage was never downloaded from the vehicle to facilitate a proper 'leopard show' as has been alleged, he told NDTV.

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He said the animal had to be treated for its injuries and that there is no place better than Nandankanan Zoo for that.