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Partridge from Pakistan: Probe ordered against Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for violating wildlife law
The stuffed partridge was gifted to the Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu by a Pakistani journalist, while he was on a visit to the neighbouring nation for the launch of the Kartarpur corridor.
After two animal rights activists lodged a complaint, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has ordered an inquiry against Punjab local government and tourism minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for possessing a stuffed black partridge, allegedly in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Ordering an inquiry, AWBI chairman SP Gupta has asked director general of forests, Siddhanta Das, to send a report if any offence is committed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and the rules made there-under. AWBI is a statutory body established under Section 4 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
“It has been noticed by the board that Navjot Singh Sidhu has brought a stuffed black partridge, which is protected under the Wild Life Protection Act. Further, it is illegal/prohibited to keep nails, hairs, skin of any animal or its bringing into the territory of India without permission,” he wrote in a communication on Sunday, citing a complaint received from Sandeep K Jain, honorary state animal welfare officer, Punjab, and media reports.
The bird was gifted to the minister by a Pakistani journalist, while he was on a visit to the neighbouring nation for the launch of the Kartarpur corridor. Sidhu had, on December 12, gifted the partridge to chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh.
Gupta, a retired IAS officer of Haryana, told HT that he had asked the director general of forests in the Union ministry of environment and forests to send a report within three days for appropriate necessary action.
Jain and another activist, Naresh Kadyan, had complained to the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, seeking action against Sidhu for possessing the stuffed black partridge. Jain, in his complaint, said the black partridge was a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act and sought action.
When asked, CM’s media adviser Raveen Thukral said the chief minister’s office (CMO) had sent the stuffed partridge to the chief wildlife conservator the same day with a letter to know whether he can keep the bird. “The conservator was conveyed that in case the chief minister cannot keep the stuffed partridge it should be used for research,” he added.
