Lucknow: A 10-feet-long python weighing nearly 50 Kg was killed by a group of villagers in Uttar Pradesh, state forest officials said Wednesday.

"The villagers in Sultanpur district killed the python when the reptile reportedly attacked their cattle and tried to swallow one of them," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ram Kumar told IANS.

Though the villagers claim they killed the python in self-defence, they have been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, he added.

The exact number of the people involved in killing of the python is yet to be ascertained, officials said.

The incident took place Tuesday night in Purva village in Sultanpur, some 150 km from Lucknow.

Under the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) 1972, killing of python is prohibited and treated as an offence, officials said.

 

Source : IANS