Hyderabad: Pub Owner, 5 Others Held for Display of Exotic Pets

Acting upon a social media complaint against a pub in Hyderabad’s upmarket Jubilee Hills area for allegedly putting on display exotic animals, mammals, and reptiles for their customers, the police arrested six people, including the pub’s owner and manager, on Tuesday. The pub’s operations manager is absconding.

The police also rescued 14 Persian cats, three Bengal cats, two iguanas, two sugar gliders, a pair of cockatiel birds, and a sun conure bird and handed them over to the forest department. A complaint against the display of exotic creatures was flagged by a social media user, which caught the attention of Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar, who in turn sought further action.

The wildlife-themed event, ‘Wild Night’, was held at Xora-Bar and Kitchen on Sunday. Forest officials confirmed that the pub management had hired the services of a Saidabad pet store, ‘Hyderabad Exotic Pets’, for the party. The police arrested the pub owner Vinay Reddy, pub manager Varahala Naidu, the shop owner Yaser, and two others who sold pets, Tarun and Vamshi. Karthik, the owner of another pet shop named Happy Wag, was also arrested. Prudhvi, the pub’s operations manager, is absconding.

According to the police, Vinay Reddy organized the event to attract customers and publicize his pub. The management did not have any valid permissions for the event, the police said.

The club management, meanwhile, stated that the pets used in the event were duly licensed and in compliance with the necessary safety regulations. “We wish to assure attendees that no animals were harmed during the event as they were handled with the utmost care and diligence,” a statement by the management read.

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