Accused arrested for killing two Russell’s Vipers

Forest officials arrested a man in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district for brutally killing two protected Russell’s Vipers and unlawfully trapping a hare. The arrest followed swift intervention by PETA India and Sanghamitra Animal Foundation. A non-bailable wildlife case was registered.

Hyderabad: Responding to a gruesome incident in which two Russell’s Vipers, a snake species protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (WPA), were violently bludgeoned, the Kurnool Forest division of AP Forest department arrested the key accused and took him into custody.

Thanks to the intervention of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India), in coordination with Md Idris from Sanghamitra Animal Foundation, the local Forest officials were alerted, enabling them to arrest the accused quickly. Further investigation is underway.

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The shocking incident reportedly took place in P Kotakonda village, Devanakonda Mandal, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. Videos capture the gruesome killing of two Russell’s Vipers, a snake species, being violently bludgeoned with a stick in agricultural fields. Other footage shows the unlawful trapping of an Indian hare, a species protected under Schedule II of the Act, which had wandered into the fields. The hare is later shown motionless, presumably killed shortly after capture, PETA in a press release said.

The POR was registered under Sections 2(5), 2(16)(a), (b), and (c), 2(36), 2(37), 9, 39, and 50 of the WPA, 1972. The offences are non-bailable and punishable with a jail term of at least three years, which may extend to seven years, and a fine of at least Rs 25,000.

“We commend P Syamala, Divisional Forest Officer, Kurnool division, and P Tejaswi, Forest Range Officer, Adoni, for registering the POR and sending a clear message that cruelty to wildlife will not be tolerated,” says Virendra Singh, Cruelty Response Coordinator at PETA India. “Humans are encroaching on animals’ homes, not the other way around.”