Jehanabad: Two Grey Mongoose Rescued from Illegal Confinement, POR Registered, Following PETA India Complaint 

For Immediate Release:

20 August 2025

Contact: 

Meet Ashar; [email protected] 

Hiraj Laljani; [email protected] 

Jehanabad—Acting on a video shared by a whistleblower showing grey mongoose (Urva edwardsii), a species protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972, being unlawfully possessed and chained, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India worked with the Jehanabad Forest Division of the Bihar Forest Department to register a preliminary offence report (POR) and get the mongooses seized. Following their rescue and a medical examination, they were released into their natural habitat by the Forest Department. 

Videos of the condition in which the mongooses were kept and their release into their habitat are available upon request. 

Any offence against species protected under Schedule I of the WPA, 1972 is punishable with a jail term of at least three years, which may extend to seven years, and a fine of at least ₹25,000. 

“We commend Shri Shashikanth Kumar, IFS, Divisional Forest Officer, Jehanabad, for promptly facilitating the rescue of the mongooses and registering the POR, sending a clear message that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated,” says Sinchana Subramanyan, Cruelty Response Coordinator at PETA India. “PETA India urges compassionate individuals to remain observant and report any cruelty to wildlife or other animals to the appropriate authorities, such as the police or the forest department.” 

Confining animals to cages or chaining them causes immense stress and frustration, as such captivity deprives them of the space and stimulation they need. When removed from their natural habitat, Indian grey mongooses suffer both physically and psychologically. 

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram. 

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