YouTuber posts peacock curry recipe, faces backlash
Hyderabad: A Sircilla-based YouTuber has been arrested by the forest authorities for uploading a video on his YouTube channel showing people how to cook peacock curry. The video, ‘Traditional Peacock Curry Recipe,’ showed the preparation of a curry allegedly using peacock meat.
The video sparked outrage and concern among viewers and wildlife conservationists. Many condemned the act, calling it not only illegal but also a serious offence against wildlife.
The peacock is India’s national bird and is a Schedule-I species, protected under the Wildlife Protection Act. It means the peacock has the highest level of protection under the law. Violators are punished with a minimum imprisonment of three years, which may extend up to seven years.
Sircilla's superintendent of police (SP) Akhil Mahajan confirmed that a case was registered against Kodam Pranay Kumar on social media platform X. "A case has been registered under concerned law and strictest action would be taken against him and anyone else doing such activities," stated SP Mahajan.
The forest department arrested Pranay Kumar on Sunday, and inspected the area where he cooked the curry and shot the video. Media reports said that the Pranay’s blood samples and the portions of the curry have been sent for testing, and if the test proves positive for peacock meat, stringent action would be taken.
Tens of videos are up on YouTube, where people show cooking videos of wild animals such as pigs, wild boars and even monitor lizards.
Recently, the forest officials of Khammam district caught Tammishetty Vamshi, who the officials said operated an Instagram account showing how to trap and kill wild animals. Khammam district forest officer Siddharth Vikram Singh said the youth were in the habit of catching Jungle Cats, Palm Civets, Monitor Lizards, and Hares and selling their meat.