Private school in UP's Mathura booked for keeping langur tied on campus, animal rescued

NEW DELHI: A case has been registered against a private school here under the Wildlife (Protection) Act following a complaint by animal rights organisation PETA India, officials said on Thursday. Regional Forest Officer (Sadar) Atul Tiwari said the complaint was lodged last week, alleging that a langur was being kept tied to a tree without permission at Prasad Senior Secondary Public School on Maholi Road.

District-level officer of the Social Forestry Division, Rajnikant Mittal, said the allegations were found to be true during investigation following which the Forest Department registered a case. The case was registered under sections 9 (prohibits the hunting of wild animals listed in Schedules I and II), 39 9outlines that wild animals, other than vermin, are considered government property under certain conditions)and 51 (outlines the penalties for violating the act and its related rules) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and rescued the langur.

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The animal will be produced before a court for legal custody proceedings before being relocated to a suitable habitat, he said. According to the Act, the Indian langur is a protected species under Schedule II, and its illegal confinement is punishable with imprisonment of three to seven years, a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, or both. PETA India's Anti-Cruelty Campaign Coordinator Shraddha Purohit said the central government had clarified through a 1998 amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, that monkeys and other wild animals cannot be used for performances or trained for such purposes.