This Naga Panchami, Hyderabad-based NGO is all set to save snakes
According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India holds the world record for the highest snake mortality on a single day.
Hyderabad: As the city gears up for Naga Panchami, the volunteers from Greater Hyderabad Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GHSPCA) are all set to rescue, treat and release back the snakes that are harmed or injured during the festival.
For Naga Panchami, snakes are captured and often kept in suffocating bags or tiny boxes and starved, have their teeth violently yanked out, their mouths painfully sewn shut, and are brought into the cities. The snake’s venom duct is often pierced with a hot needle, causing the animal’s glands to burst. Some snakes have their eyes damaged and at times, they die due to indigestion.
According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India holds the world record for the highest snake mortality on a single day.
“All happens well when the rituals and cultures are respected and followed in good deeds but a lot of harm happens when it goes to extremes,” one of the volunteers says adding that snake charmers usually catch snakes before Naga Panchami in the quest for easy money.
As per the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, it is a crime for snake charmers to catch and exploit snakes for business purposes or even own them.
The GHSPCA and the forest department along with other animal rescue organisations have been conducting raids and rescuing operations every year since 2009 across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, especially in Hyderabad.
This year too, the organisation is all set to rescue snakes. “Due to our relentless efforts, the snake rescues have decreased from more than 200 to four. However, due to the pandemic, we did not conduct a rescue operation earlier this year,” says Soudharm Bhandari of GHSPCA.
The organisation has also urged citizens not to support atrocities against the reptile species by reporting snake charmers to the authorities.
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