Marine organisers get a jolt for exhibiting rare stingray

Questions have been raised about the display of marine animals at an exhibition on Tuesday, since permission from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) wasn’t taken for the same.

Over 800 rare and endangered marine species are on display in the exhibition, organised by Laukik Creations at Podar College, which is open to the public till October 12.

But the event has been deemed illegal as the organiser didn’t take prior permission from AWBI, which is the advisory body established under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, for such exhibitions. “According to Performing Animals Registration Rules (PARR), 2001, which have been framed under the PCA Act, it is mandatory to register animals with AWBI if a person is eager to train or exhibiting them,” said Meet Ashar, honorary animal welfare officer, AWBI.

He added, “The exotic animals are not a part of the Wildlife Protection Act. However, the India wing for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and AWBI have confirmed that they did not receive any application from the organiser for permission to conduct such an exhibition.”

Dr Shobhana Vasudevan, principal, Podar College, said, “The organisers had taken permission from us to use our premises, but we weren’t given any details about the species that were to be displayed. I was told that the organisers have been conducting such exhibitions for the past six years.”

Denying the allegations, Laukik Soman, the organiser, said, “I have been conducting exhibitions for the past five years and no one has ever objected to anything so far. None of the allegations are true.”

He added that a stingray that was put on display at the exhibition is an uncommon species in India, but not rare.