Fact check: Arunachal Pradesh tribals hunt snakes due to rice scarcity? Minister hits back at report

 Did the Arunachal tribes eat snakes to address hunger amid coronavirus lockdown? A video of a hunt that has gone viral would seem to suggest so. But what is the truth?  

In a video that went viral on social media, a group of hunters was seen with a 12-feet long king cobra that they killed in Arunachal Pradesh due to rice scarcity. But is this real?

Many reports said that the hunters killed and consumed the snake due to lack of food. But Arunachal administration clarified that there is no food shortage in the state.

Who reported fake news?

NDTV has published an unsubstantiated story about the hunting of snakes for consumption in Arunachal Pradesh. Sharing a photo of a group of hunters with a 12-feet long cobra slung over their shoulders, the NDTV report said that the tribals have been left with hunting animals for food as they have run out of stocks of granaries amid the coronavirus lockdown.

BJP leader and the minister of state (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and minister of state in the Ministry of Minority Affairs of India, Kiren Rijiju has bashed the media outlet for their claim.

Rijiju criticised NDTV for publishing the story about the hunting of snakes for consumption in Arunachal Pradesh. “Dear @ndtv please don’t make stories without verification! I’m dead against hunting and killing of animals so is the State Govt. But to say that there’s no rice left for the people leading to the killing of cobra is rubbish! No one hunts snakes for consumption in Arunachal Pradesh,” the BJP leader said.

Arunachal Pradesh government:

The official Twitter account of the Arunachal Pradesh government issued a clarification stating that there is no shortage of rice stocks in the state.