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A Sri Lankan court has fined a 19-year-old beauty pageant contestant after footage of her dancing with a protected python spread widely across social media.
The Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court ordered Methmi Hiranya to pay 50,000 Sri Lankan rupees, approximately $166, for possessing and using the wild animal during a New Year beauty pageant in Colombo.
The man who rented out the 2.1-meter, or 7-foot, non-venomous python was handed a larger fine of 100,000 rupees, approximately $332, for illegally possessing and commercially exploiting protected wildlife.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to charges brought under Sri Lanka's Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance following an investigation by the Colombo District Range Forest Office of the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Range Forest Officer M.D.P. Sanjeewa said the court had imposed the maximum penalties available under the law.
Authorities released the python back into the wild shortly after the pageant, with officials confirming that the animal had not been harmed.
The Department of Wildlife Conservation also warned that Sri Lankan law prohibits people from possessing, transporting, displaying, selling or renting out protected wildlife species, adding that legal action would continue against those who break the rules.
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