BHUBANESWAR: A day after a snake rescuer and YouTuber, with millions of followers, was arrested for allegedly keeping two snakes and sharing videos of wildlife rescue on internet, PCCF (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden Susanta Nanda on Sunday urged social media influencers and content creators to refrain from unethical display of wild animals on digital platforms.
Taking to micro-blogging site X, the PCCF wrote while the Forest department appreciates the help rendered by people at large in preserving state’s wildlife, fishy acts will not be tolerated.
He also thanked social media service providers for suspending the accounts of accused Mirza Md Arif, from Kajimahala area of Purunabazar in Bhadrak for uploading videos of wildlife rescue including videos of snakes and other scheduled species on YouTube, Facebook and other such platforms in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act - 1972 norms.
Arif, who was popular on YouTube, had over 2.82 million followers on the platform. He also had 1.44 lakh followers on Facebook and thousands in Instagram. His videos were getting millions of views too, though forest officials said such act amounts to violation of the Wildlife Protection Act and is a punishable offence with imprisonment of up to seven years.
Following his arrest, officials of Bhadrak wildlife division said the accused was forwarded to court after which he has been sent to judicial custody. Meanwhile, the Forest department has started investigating details of utilisation of funds that the accused reportedly received by sharing such videos from his accounts on different social media platforms.
As per forest officials, the profile of the accused on YouTube, that described him as a trained snake rescuer, involved in wildlife protection and social work, also had a mention of an e-mail id for business related query. Besides, Arif had shared account details and phone numbers to receive donations. “How much was received and how it was used is under investigation,” Nanda stated while responding to a post on X.