India 'microtags' snakes to snare illegal charmers
(AFP) – 3 days ago

NEW DELHI — Officials in New Delhi have injected microchips into
snakes used by snake charmers in a bid to regulate the basket and
flute performers who have long been a favourite with tourists in
India.

The chips, which contain a unique ID code, will effectively act as
name-tags, allowing officials to ascertain whether individual snakes
have been registered by their owners, Delhi's forest department chief
Deepak Shukla said Wednesday.

India implemented laws in the late 1990s proscribing the commercial
use of wild animals, including performances with live snakes.

In Delhi, the state government offered an amnesty for charmers in 2003
but only 10 came forward to register their combined stock of more than
40 snakes.

It was these animals that were tagged with the microchips in Delhi on
Monday and Tuesday.

"There are many charmers who did not accept the amnesty and they will
be punished if they are caught now with snakes that do not have these
electronic chips," Shukla said.

The tagging process was carried out by Goa-based snake expert Nitin
Sawant, who injected the chips into the tissue of 42 snakes, including
king cobras, common cobras, rat snakes and one red sand boa.

"The idea behind this entire programme was to stop the random
collection of fresh snakes by these traditional charmers," said
Sawant, adding that many of the animals he tagged were in poor health.

"I told these charmers to give up their profession because they are
not capable of looking after their snakes," he said.

The wildlife legislation has emptied most large cities of snake
charmers, although a small number can still be seen around major
tourist sites in places like New Delhi, risking arrest as they cajole
foreign visitors into taking a snapshot for a small fee.

Animal rights groups say snake charmers are cruel impostors who use
physical abuse to train the reptiles to move to the sway of their
flute-like instruments.

The entertainers generally rip out the snakes' fangs and feed them
milk, meaning the animals are unable to catch prey and die when
returned to their natural habitat.

Reply via email to