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. The action was taken after two animal rights activists lodged a complaint against Sidhu.
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.