A five-foot-long endangered fishing cat was allegedly beaten to death by locals in Rautbhog village under the Tongibari upazila of Munshiganj on Thursday. 聽
An announcement was made through a loudspeaker, urging people to gather and kill the fishing cat.
After killing the fishing cat, locals were seen celebrating before burying it.
According to local people, two fishing cats had been roaming around in Rabnagar Kandi and nearby Rautbhog areas of Tongibari upazila in recent days.
One of the cats had snatched a baby goat from in front of a tea stall in Rabnagar Kandi, and roaring of them had caused widespread panic among the residents, they added. 聽聽
Shahin, a trader from Tongibari Bazar, said that at around 7:00pm on Wednesday, locals surrounded one of the fishing cats, and one of them threw a spear, locally known as 鈥榯eta鈥�, which struck the animal.
The injured animal then jumped into a pond, and managed to escape as people gathered, Shahin added.
The following day, the wounded fishing cat was found in a piper betel plantation near the area, Shahin said, adding that locals surrounded it once again and beat the cat to death.聽聽聽
Tongibari forest officer Md Humayun Mia said that hearing the news of the fishing cat being killed, he went to Rautbhog village and found that it had already been buried.
