A young woman who drew wide attention on social media after performing a dance with a python at a New Year beauty pageant has been fined Rs. 50,000 by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.
The man accused of renting the protected reptile to her for money was fined Rs. 100,000.
Both pleaded guilty when the case was taken up.
How the case arose
The prosecution followed an investigation opened by the Department of Wildlife Conservation’s Colombo District Range Forest Office in Bellanwila after video of the performance circulated widely online.
Wildlife officers subsequently arrested both the woman and the man who had supplied the snake.
The court fined the woman for possessing and using a protected wild animal in a dance performance. The male suspect was fined for illegally possessing a protected wild animal and offering it for hire, in breach of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance.
Department’s warning
The Department of Wildlife Conservation used the ruling to remind the public that the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance strictly prohibits the possession, transport, exhibition, sale or hiring of protected wild animals, and said legal action would continue against those involved in such offences.
The investigation and prosecution were led by the Colombo District Range Forest Office under the supervision of Range Forest Officer M.D.P. Sanjeewa.
Neither of those fined was named in the report of the proceedings.
The case lands as Parliament weighs a separate and broader overhaul of animal protection law. The Animal Welfare Bill was gazetted in July carrying fines of up to Rs. 250,000 and up to two years’ imprisonment for cruelty, and has drawn argument over how it would apply to animals used in public events and processions.
Sources: Daily Mirror.
