A YouTuber in India has been arrested for making and eating peacock curry, The Times of India reports. The peacock is the national bird of India and a protected species.
A video posted by YouTuber Kodam Pranay Kumar has caused a stir in India. He then claimed that it was not really a peacock, but a chicken. He allegedly gave his video a misleading title only, “for purely promotional purposes.”
When police seized his mobile phone, other images were found that allegedly confirmed that the bird being cooked in the video was indeed a peacock. Some of the curry was sent to a lab to determine if it was peacock meat.
Pranay Kumar has been remanded in custody for fourteen days. The video is no longer available online.
Strict penalty for peacock hunting
The blue peacock is a national symbol in India and can be seen, for example, on the “Peacock Throne” of the ancient Mughal Empire in the 17th century. The Mughal Empire covered much of India in the 16th and 17th centuries. The long-feathered bird was once common in India, but due to urbanization in the country, the peacock is having a hard time. There are strict penalties for peacock hunting.