Actor Vikram case: Farm owner in Erode asked to produce documents on Lar Gibbons

The Erode Forest Division has requested the owner of an animal breeding farm in Perundurai to provide registration documents and other relevant information regarding two Lar Gibbons found on the premises. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and the Forest Department conducted an inspection following a viral video posted by actor Vikram, who was seen interacting with a Lar Gibbon at the farm.

The owner, K. Keshavanathan, has been asked to produce the registration certificate and other necessary documents. The inspection came after the video drew criticism from wildlife activists over the possession of the endangered species without the required documentation. The Lar Gibbon is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The inquiry revealed that the farm owner had purchased the animals from Manipur and brought them to Perundurai, and that the registration process was incomplete as the owner had applied for registration only two months after the animals arrived at the facility.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hindu's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.