Wildlife activist questions legality of live snake displays at Maharashtra colleges

The alleged handling of live snakes including venomous species and those accorded the highest level of protection under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 during a recent wildlife awareness programme at colleges in Badlapur and Sangamner in Ahilyanagar district has raised concerns over public safety and the use of wild animals for demonstrationspopcorn numberTen descNo of species displayed classDefaultWhile the show at Badlapur college was organised by NGO Scales and Tails Conservation Trust the Sangamner college show was organised by snake rescuer Sachin Giri PicsBy Special ArrangementOrganiserSpeakSanket Karnik of Scales and Tails Conservation TrustlsquoThe officials from Badlapur Forest Department approached us to conduct a wildlife awareness programme at a college We gave a presentation to students about reptiles and other wild animals After the presentation one of our team members arrived at the venue with a rescued nonvenomous Indian rat snake The officials then asked us to show the snake to the students as part of the awareness programme Our intention was to just educate the students about wildlife rsquoSachin Giri snake rescuerlsquoThe reason we showed live snakes was purely for educational and awareness purposes No snake was harmed or stressed during the session I have been involved in wildlife rescue operations for over 40 years with the sole intention of preventing people from killing snakes out of fear or lack of awarenessrsquoExpert raises legal concernsPawan Sharma president of NGO RAWW and honorary wildlife warden of Mumbai questioned the need to use live snakes in educational outreach programmesldquoDo we take elephants tigers rhinos or leopards for awareness sessions or outreach programmes Then why do we need live snakes in schools and colleges or any controlled environment other than a zoo andor a rescue centre in todayrsquos time These snake species have been listed under Schedule I and II of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 Such an act is a clear violation of the WLPArdquoSnake show at BadlapurA video allegedly recorded during a snake awareness programme at a college in Badlapur has been circulating on Instagram and other social media platformsIt purportedly shows a person handling a live Indian rat snake a nonvenomous species in front of students The video has drawn criticism from wildlife enthusiasts who have questioned the need to handle live snakes during awareness programmes and alleged a lack of action by the Forest Department against those involvedSnakes displayed in SangamnerAccording to a wildlife enthusiast and activist from Ahilyanagar who did not wish to be identified a similar programme was held at a college in Sangamner about three days agoNearly 10 snake species were allegedly displayed including the Indian rock python Indian sand boa spectacled cobra common krait Russellrsquos viper common rat snake and trinket snakeThe activist questioned the practice of handling live snakes particularly venomous species highlighting the risks to both handlers and audiencesAccording to the activist while the show in Badlapur was done by NGO Scales and Tails Conservation Trust in the presence of Maharashtra Forest Department officials the Sangamner show was done by snake rescuer Sachin GiriAllegations against rescuerThe wildlife activist alleged that Giri had previously faced action by forest officials following complaints about similar programmes However he claimed that live snake displays continued at public events including Ganesh mandalsThe video of the programme which has been uploaded to special media platform Instagram has garnered more than 14000 views ldquoThe jurisdiction falls under the Sangamner forest range The use of live snakes in public demonstrations raises questions about compliance with wildlife protection laws and the safety of those attending such programmes I hope the authorities take strict action against those involvedrdquo he said