Breach of wildlife law in ‘Hawa’: Wildlife Crime Control

The Wildlife Crime Control Unit under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has claimed that Mejbaur Rahman Sumon’s hit film ‘Hawa’ breached laws regarding wildlife conservation.

A scene of the film shows a caged Starling and according to the law, caging, selling, exhibiting or aiding and abetting the commission of any such crime is a punishable offence under the Wildlife (Protection and Security) Act, 2012.

As per media reports, a four-member team from the unit watched ‘Hawa’ at Star Cineplex.

After watching the film, wildlife and biodiversity conservation officer Rathindra Kumar Biswas informed Prothom Alo that the law was violated in the film as there is a scene that features a captivated Starling (Shalik).

He also said they would be submitting an investigation report to the authorities and it will be decided later if the department would file a case or not.

The officials said showing a captivated bird all the time would send a wrong message to the audience that birds can be kept captive in cages.

Around 33 environmental organisations also issued statements expressing their concerns over the scene too. Many even demanded to remove those particular scenes from the film.

The film’s director Mejbaur, however, told the media that he will talk about the issue after he receives any official notice.

Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s Wildlife Crime Control Unit fined director Ananya Emon TK 1.5 core for a similar scene like ‘Hawa’ in the drama titled ‘Shesh Golpota Tumii’ where a 50-second scene of the drama shows a caged parrot.